Wednesday, November 29, 2006

Binge eating disorder in brief terms

Binge eating disorder is also reffered to as overeating. People who have it are often overweight and suffer from obesity. Binge eating disorder is characterized by periods of uncontrollable eating. It is different from bulimia nervosa as binges are not usually accompanied by purging. Still such excessive consumption of food is followed by feelings of shame and guilt.

The reasons for binge eating disorder vary from person to person. Most often there are a number of contributory factors. Generally speaking, people who suffer from it eat excessively in order to cope with life.

Like bulimia nervosa and anorexia nervosa binge eating disorder is primarily a psychological disease and binges and weight gain are merely symptoms of underlying mental issues.

Generally about one of five young women suffers from this disease. Approximately 1-4% of the US population suffers from it. Men make up about 40%. There is no pre-determined age for binge eating disorder but the onset of it usually occurs during the late adolescence or early twenties.

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