Eating Disorder Research

If you have a binge eating disorder, you may find it hard to stop yourself from eating compulsively this Christmas season. In fact, holiday celebrations only present a number of opportunities for you to binge. You would not be the only one who tends to eat more too since holiday food appeals to all for being specially prepared and decidedly tasty. With a binge eating disorder, it can be considerably more difficult to pull yourself away from the dinner table. The disorder is a thorny problem among those who are trying, or need, to shed excess weight, especially women. Mostly, the problem also occurs at some point in the life cycle, for example, among high school students and those going off to college. This might be viewed as a natural phase, part of growing up. But if you become overly concerned about your appearance to the point of an obsession and seek to control it through diet, you may unwittingly put yourself at risk for binge eating. There are many things that can trigger an episode of binge eating during Christmas. It may be the sight of a succulent turkey or decadent chocolate cakes and holiday treats. Unfortunately, if none of your family members are aware about your binge eating disorder, they may be prompting you to go for seconds or thirds. Additionally, the time of day may be a significant stimulus. You may feel the particular urge to indulge in the late afternoon, more particularly in the evening or late at night. You can feel the added stress of putting on more weight if you eat late into the night. Ironically, binge eaters are actually intent on losing weight, and the early part of their day is focused to trying to avoid eating too much. But in the late afternoon or evening, you start feeling like you can no longer stand the repression of appetite and you just let go. Having big dinner spreads that can last for hours sure does not help! The best way to avoid binge eating is to avoid restrictive dieting. If you limit calorie intake below a normal quantity, a chemical signal reaches the brain that food is needed. It is also advisable to develop alternative ways of making yourself feel better, particularly when you feel stress. You should not turn to food in an excessive manner, and should instead look for other ways to help you cope better. Whether you are actually overweight or of average size, as a binge eater you often grab some food when you want to feel better about yourself. Hence, it is important that you develop self esteem. Know that there is more to you than just looks. Your appearance only plays a small part of who you are. Engage in activities that boosts your self esteem. When that happens, perhaps you will become free from your binge eating disorder.

The number of Australians with eating disorders has doubled in the past decade and experts blame obesity hysteria. Currently, almost five per cent - one in 20 people - suffer from either binge-eating disorder or other extreme fasting and purging behaviours. This is a major leap from the two per cent recorded ten years earlier. Binge eaters engaged in behavior that included fasting, purging and the use of laxatives to control weight.  These conditions affect the sufferers' lives and they have not been able to function properly. It has been found that women were five times more likely to have a disorder than men.  The study however noted  a sharp rise in males with particulary bingeing problems.  Psychiatrists blame the increased media hype about obesity, dieting and body shape.  While it is true that people are getting heavier and need to lose weight, there is the other side of the problem if the obesity epidemic is not monitored carefully.  It may just be the case of swinging from one extreme form of eating behavior to the other.  The fear is that moderation and healthy balanced diet may get forgotten in the process.