Binge Eating Disorder (BED)-  Symptoms, Causes, and Treatment.

Introduction

Binge eating is an overeating disorder in which an individual eats a large amount of food in a discrete period time and feel uncontrollable over the amount of eating. Unlike Bulimia nervosa, people with BED are not having a purging, fasting, and excessive exercise. As a result of these people with BED habitually become obese or overweight.

As people with bulimia nervosa, BED patients also have distorted attitude on their shape, weight, and eating. They also possess mood swings such as personality disorder and depression.

Pathophysiology

• Changes in the cortex of the left orbitofrontal as lesions result in increased volume of the insula, which is non-specific and is the most common in all eating disorders.
• The increase in the grey matter gyrus rectus pointedly relates mutually to the weight gain and the huge response to sucrose pleasantness.
• Decreased white matter in the medial temporal lobe and in the parietal lobe is also affiliated with the BED.

Causes

Since it is like mental disorders, there is no specific reason behind the Binge eating disorder.

• Passably it is the result of a combination of genetic, physiological, and environmental factors.
• The BED can also be inherited.
• Abnormal functioning of neurotransmitters involved in appetite regulation, such as leptin and ghrelin.
• Also, the protein regulators, which are supposed to maintain body metabolisms and blood sugar such as adiponectin.
• The undesirable effects of any psychiatric medications which stimulate appetite supposedly.
• Age also plays a major role in creating a BED.

Risk factors of Binge Eating Disorder

• People, who are more obese either genetically or otherwise, are extremely at risk of having episodes of BED.
• Family history
• Abnormal levels of serotonin in the brain and slight changes in functions of the brain.
• Dietary restrictions, hunger, and negative moods.
• History of being bullied, either physically or sexually abused.
• Being on mental health disorders.
• Foremost anger, sadness, boredom, and anxiety.
• Impulsive behavior.

Timeline on BED history

Epidemiology of Binge Eating Disorder

BED influences around 2% of men and 3.5% of ladies, with most building up of the suffering amid their youngsters or early adulthood. Men make up around 33% of individuals with pigging out the turmoil.

Binge eating disorder is the most common eating disorder in the United States. About 3.5 percent of adult women and 2 percent of adult men have binge eating disorder. For men, binge eating disorder is more common in midlife, between the ages of 45 to 59.

Symptoms

The Person who suffering from binge eating disorder may feel embarrassment or disgrace about their eating habits. Some of the Physical, behavioral and psychological symptoms include:

• Eating even after having food fully
• Couldn’t control or stop eating what is eaten already
• Never satisfied when no matter the amount of food consumed
• Feeling that you’re eating behavior is out of control
• Not sleeping well and feel tired
• Developing intolerance to a food or feel constipated
• Depression, self-esteem, and anxiety
• Sensitive behavior related to food
• Erratic behaviors like spending much money on food
• Eating in secrets

Physical symptoms of binge eating disorder

Complications of Binge Eating Disorder

Some of the complications are as follows

• Depression and anxiety
• Difficulties in gastrointestinal
• Pain in muscle or joints (arthritis)
• Hypertension
• Cardiovascular disease
• Gallbladder disorder
• Sleep disorder like insomnia or sleep apnea
• Type 2 diabetes
• Obesity
• Bipolar disorder in children’s

Diagnosis and test

• It is the challenging to diagnosing the disorder, though the individual has secrecy, shame, and denial. Because of these characteristics conditions, individual may not get detected for a long time. In many cases, the individual request the health professionals for the help with weight loss, or seeks treatment for an obesity-related health problem, or an associated mental health problem like depression or anxiety.
• The doctor will do the complete medical history and physical examination. Though there are no laboratory tests to diagnose the disorder, the doctor may do various diagnostic tests such as blood and urine tests and other laboratory measures, to rule out physical illness as the cause of the symptoms.
• These tests may also help to detect medical consequences of an eating disorder, such as changes in digestive enzyme levels, liver functioning, or electrolytes (the normal salt concentrations in the blood).
• The individual is also referred to psychiatrist or psychologist, health care professionals specially trained to diagnose and treat mental illnesses. They have special treatment with some of the assessment tools to identify the eating disorder.

Treatment and medications

The helpful support and treatment from health professionals include such as psychiatrists, nutritionists, and therapists can give more effective treatment to treat binge disorder. This treatment will address the issues that are amalgamated with eating habits and focusing on the central cause of the habits.

It is needed to focus on ease from the emotional triggers that cause binge disorder and should have proper guidance to cope with the mechanisms to deal with stress and depression and anxiety,  etc.

There are three types of treatment which is helpful in treating binge eating disorder. These therapies are:

Cognitive behavioral therapy: This type of therapy focused on making the patient understand the thoughts and feelings that influence their behaviors.

Interpersonal psychotherapy: In this type, the therapy focused on teaching the individuals about the relationships with peers, family members and the way they see themselves.

Dialectical behavioral therapy: this type of therapy will teach the patient with skills and to cope with the stress and regulate emotions.

With these therapies, the group therapy also provides treatment by a trained eating disorder therapist and also as eating disorder support groups, this is also good and effective methods to recover from the binge eating disorder.

Prevention of Binge Eating Disorder

There is no way to prevent binge disorder but some of the behavior and daily habits may help to reduce the symptoms.

• It’s better to make them towards healthier and behavioral treatments before the disorder get worse n’s
• Consult a pediatrician, they may give a good advice and to find the early indicators of an eating disorder and help prevent its development