Do you have a binge eating disorder? 5 tips to cope with it

  

It’s normal to gulp down food from your plate and polish it off when you are extremely famished. However, if binge eating food uncontrollably is a habit, you might need to hit pause to reconsider if this is normal. Gobbling down food in heavy quantities in one sitting and noticing this behavior to feel out of control is known as a binge eating disorder. Some of the other binge eating disorder symptoms include consuming food even when you feel full or not hungry, trying to eat alone secretively, excessive eating until you are uncomfortably full. It is one of the most common types of eating disorders. However, fret not! Everything has a solution.

Ways to deal with binge eating disorder

There are some ways in which one can work to control binge eating. Let’s find out!

1. Have food at the right intervals

People suffering from BED might give in to this perception that they can start skipping meals or start eating less in order to solve the underlying issue. However, as per the expert, the truth is one should always avoid skipping meals and ensure that one has food regularly to avoid the feeling of excessive hungriness that can lead one to overeat.

2. Identify your triggers and patterns

Eating disorders generally have triggers. The list could be endless from stress to maybe even a picture of food, poor self-body image, easy accessibility of favourite foods, etc. Try to identify those triggers and keep yourself under check to avoid those triggers and eat in moderate amounts. “Determine the patterns relate to the binge eating and check whether specific thoughts or emotions are associated with it,” suggests the expert.

3. Keep your stress levels under check

Stress eating is one of the most common types of eating disorders. High levels of stress always translate to binge eating and other unhealthy food habits. Try to follow your passion or join hobbies like yoga, meditation, aerobics, painting, or hit the gym regularly to keep stress at bay. When you tune down your stress levels, you naturally end up eating just enough or in moderation.

 

4. Rely on your support system

The expert says, “Find ways to express your experiences using any medium that you are comfortable with. Rely on your support system to share your experiences and concerns and find ways of coping with the situation.” You can take the help of friends or family to voice out the health concerns that have been constantly pestering you, and your loved ones will do their best to help you come out of such issues seamlessly.

5. Speak with an expert, if needed

If your binging does not stop or other challenges continue to raise levels of distress, then you can consult an expert who might give you better-coping mechanisms to heal from this issue.

The bottom line

Most people these days sedentary lifestyle, the outcome of which could be binge eating disorder. It’s something that can be easily treated by rectifying your lifestyle and managing your triggers. Seeking professional help is the best way to learn newer and better ways to cope up with the underlying issue.

 

This is only for your information, kindly take the advice of your doctor for medicines, exercises and so on.   

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USC experts discover brain differences in young children with binge eating disorder

Brain scans of children ages 9-10 with a type of eating disorder that causes uncontrollable overeating showed differences in gray matter density compared to their unaffected peers, according to a USC-led study.

Binge eating disorder, which affects about 3-5% of the U.S. population, is characterized by frequent episodes of eating large amounts of food and a sense of having no control over the behavior. The study’s findings suggest that abnormal development in the brain’s centers for reward and inhibition may play a role.

“In children with binge eating disorder, we see abnormality in brain development in brain regions specifically linked to reward and impulsivity, or the ability to inhibit reward,” said lead author Stuart Murray, Della Martin Associate Professor of Psychiatry and the Behavioral Sciences at the Keck School of Medicine of USC, where he serves as director of the Eating Disorders Program.

“These kids have a very, very heightened reward sensitivity, especially toward calorically dense, high-sugar foods. The findings underscore the fact that this is not a lack of discipline for these kids.”

Pandemic saw increase in eating disorders among young people.
Experts say eating disorders in young people soared during the pandemic, along with steep increases in hospitalizations. Social isolation, stress, disruption of routine and a social media-fueled quest for perfection all exacerbated disorders such as anorexia, muscle dysmorphia and binge eating.

Binge eating disorder puts people at risk for obesity, metabolic syndrome, abnormal cardiac function and suicidal thoughts. Treatment goals include reducing the frequency of binge eating episodes by removing “trigger” foods, as well as addressing underlying anxiety or depression. Treatment with medication and talk therapy is effective about only half the time, Murray said.

For this study, Murray and his colleagues analyzed brain scans and other data from 71 children with diagnosed binge eating disorder and 74 children without binge eating disorder, who are part of a large longitudinal study called the Adolescent Brain and Cognitive Development Study. That study includes data of 11,875 children ages 9-10 who were enrolled in 2016-2018 and recruited from 21 sites around the U.S.

In the children with binge eating disorder, they saw elevations in gray matter density in areas that are typically “pruned” during healthy brain development. Synaptic pruning, a development phase that occurs between ages 2 and 10, eliminates synapses that are no longer used, making the brain more efficient. Disturbed synaptic pruning is linked to a number of psychiatric disorders.

“This study suggests to me that binge eating disorder is wired in the brain, even from a very, very early age,” Murray said. “The question that we don’t know, which is something that we will address in time, is whether successful treatment of binge eating disorder in kids helps correct brain development. The prognosis of almost all psychiatric diseases is better if you can treat them in childhood.”
 

 

This is only for your information, kindly take the advice of your doctor for medicines, exercises and so on.   

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Eating disorders on the rise: Poor body image and anxiety are contributors, say experts

An eating disorder diagnosis is a health crisis that disrupts personal and family functioning.

The present pandemic has made people anxious; this has made them binge eat: Dr Vineeta Tandon.

Encouraging children to have healthy eating habit since childhood will prevent eating disorders: Shalini Garwin Bliss.

In early January 2020, the Academy for Eating Disorders, a US-based professional association in its publication titled Nine truths about Eating Disorders by Dr Cynthia Bulik brought to attention the need to spread awareness about the subject. The document aims to eradicate the stereotypes and educate both medical professionals and the public about these deadly disorders. In India, unfortunately, there has been sporadic research on eating disorders, with no published attempt to collate and summarise the literature landscape. The earliest description of an eating disorder (ED)-like syndrome came to light in 1694 where two adolescents had loss of appetite, extreme fasting and weight loss. In India, the occurrence of ED was not reported until 1966.

A study involving the examination of 210 medical students of Chennai using eating attitudes test (EAT) and BITE self-report questionnaires reported 14.8 per cent of the studied population to have syndrome of eating distress. Another study conducted on a North Indian population revealed the prevalence of bulimia nervosa (BN) to be 0.4 per cent.

 

What is eating disorder?

According to Shalini Garwin Bliss, head dietician at the Manipal Hospitals in Gurugram, eating disorders are characterised by abnormal eating habits. "If we talk to a group of teenagers in an informal setting about their physical appearance, we will find that a majority of them are dissatisfied with their weight, as well as, their physical appearance. Most of the girls are not satisfied with their body image, they want to have zero figure. This obsession will lead to eating disorder. The present pandemic has only worsened the condition. Our daily life and routine has been disturbed. Teenagers for the last two years were home-bound. This stay-at-home routine restricted activities and social life which in turn has caused a lot of anxiety among the young. Binge eating or not eating at all has become common," Bliss said.

'I am fat' syndrome

Dr Shambhavi Jaiman, psychiatrist, Department of Mental Health and Behavioural Sciences, Fortis Healthcare tells you that eating disorders have to be seen in a different light. "Yes, the condition involves overeating along with purging. Here, the binge eating is associated with the body image – 'we are fat'. During the pandemic, what was observed is that binge eating is associated with anxiety. While eating disorders have not gone up per se, anxiety has definitely gone up. Also, if a person was prone to eating disorders, COVID has added to the burden," Jaiman said.

Lack of data

Pulkit Sharma, a Puducherry-based clinical psychologist shared an interesting insight about lack of data. "In our country, there is a lot of emphasis on slimness in the society. Being stick thin is normal healthy behaviour. Slimness is so glorified and idealised that a lot of family and friends don't even realise that someone around them has an eating disorder. Or for that matter even think there is an issue. If someone is not eating, is considered good, it will help her get a good husband," Sharma said.

Symptoms to watch out for

It is important for family and friends to watch eating pattern of people whom they suspect may have this eating disorder. "Such people usually have different eating patterns. They tend to eat a lot and if they have body image issues, they will purge. Others will not eat at all because they think they are fat,"Jaiman said. She sees around 20-30 per cent teenagers who have issues with body image and hence tend to be more prone to eating disorders.

Not just teenagers

Dr Vineeta Tandon, senior consultant, Internal Medicine, PSRI Hospital, New Delhi opines that eating disorders are not limited to teenagers alone. "It affects people all ages. People today are eating a lot of processed foods, package food that is high in sugar and salt. The young prefer to eat less fresh foods. We are moving away from proteins, an important nutrient and are consuming wrong fats – saturated fats than paying attention to the unsaturated ones which we get from fish and nuts. We have incidents of eating disorders on the rise because emotional eating has contributed to it. A lot of people found gratification in eating while they were home-bound," Tandon said.

Disorder linked with mental health

Sharma says that once a person has a certain image about their body, it will change eating habits and relationship with food. "Such people will have lot of anxiety while eating or thinking about food. People today have weighing machines in their homes and they track their eating on health apps and see how many calories they have consumed. Once you get anxious about how you look, everything changes. Poor mental health can precipitate eating disorder," Sharma added.

Types of eating disorders

There are sub-types of anorexia as well. According to Bliss, broadly speaking the six common eating disorders are:

Anorexia: It refers to loss of appetite, especially as a result of disease.

Anorexia nervosa: A disease characterised by refusal to maintain a minimal body weight, intense fear of gaining weight, body image distortion.

Binge: An episode of eating marked by three particular features: Amount of food eaten is larger than most persons would eat, and the excessive eating occurs in a discreet period, usually less than two hours.

Binge Eating Disorder: A disorder characterised by the occurrence of binge eating episodes at least twice a week for a six-month period.

Bulimia nervosa: A disorder characterised by repeated episodes of binge eating followed by inappropriate compensatory methods such as purging, including self-induced vomiting or misuse of laxatives, diuretics or non-purging including fasting or engaging in excessive exercise.

Purging: It is a method intending to reverse the effect of binge eating. This may involve self-induced vomiting, which is the most common purging method. Additional methods may include laxatives, enema and diuretic abuse.

How to manage these disorders

"One of the first steps to prevent eating disorders it to encourage 

healthy eating habits since childhood. Make a schedule of eating. 

Ensure that you stick to it and include an exercise; it can be walking 

or yoga or aerobics or even dancing classes," Bliss said in 

conclusion.

This is only for your information, kindly take the advice of your doctor for medicines, exercises and so on.   

https://gscrochetdesigns.blogspot.com. one can see my crochet creations  
https://gseasyrecipes.blogspot.com. feel free to view for easy, simple and healthy recipes    
https://kneereplacement-stickclub.blogspot.com. for info on knee replacement