Binge eating tops eating disorder chart in US: Survey

Binge eating or bouts of uncontrolled eating affects an estimated 3.5 percent of women and 2 percent of men during their lifetime, first-ever national survey on eating disorders reports.

Binge eating, a pattern of disordered eating which consists of episodes of uncontrollable overeating tops the list of eating disorders affecting Americans and is much more prevalent than either anorexia or bulimia, survey conducted by the Psychiatric researchers at Harvard University Medical School and its affiliate, McLean Psychiatric Hospital reveals.

Binge eating is later followed by compensatory behavior acts under which person tries to compensate for the effects of overeating, some of these include purging i.e induced vomiting or laxative, fasting, and heavy exercising.

The research team headed by Dr. James I. Hudson, psychiatry professor at the Harvard Medical School tracked down eating habits and psychological backgrounds of over 9,000 people during 2001 to 2003.

According to study, binge eating afflicts 3.5 percent of U.S. women and 2 percent of men at some point in their lives.

The survey results also revealed that men and women between the ages of 18 and 29 were most likely to be diagnosed with the eating disorder, while people older than 60 had the lowest rates of eating problems.

Also, binge eating symptoms persist for an average of about eight years (8.3 years) as compared to less than two years (1.7 years) for anorexic patients. However, bulimia patients if not under treatment also show symptoms for about eight years (8.1 years) before settling.

Meanwhile, mood disorders like depression and anxiety were common in all three illnesses, finds survey.

Binge eating disorder is the third most dangerous eating disorder. Most people with this problem are either overweight or obese.

“Binge eaters face severe risk of obesity and related diseases such as diabetes, heart disease, stroke and certain cancers and, it's often chronic, “cautions McLean Hospital's Dr. Harrison Pope, an author of the study.

The results of the National Comorbidity Survey Replication are published in the February issue of Biological Psychiatry.