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Binging is a popular buzz word these days. People talk about binge-watching a show. Binge drinking and eating have been part of the conversation for a while now, but recently binge eating has elevated a diagnosable disorder – and college students are susceptible.
“Anorexia nervosa and bulimia nervosa are life-threatening, but more recently, binge eating disorder is the most prevalent,” says Amy Ozier, associate professor at NIU’s College of Health and Human Sciences. According to one recent study, binge eating disorder (BED) is the most common eating disorder in the United States, affecting 3.5 percent of women and 2 percent of men, and up to 1.6 percent of adolescents.
What is Binge Eating Disorder?
BED differs from bulimia in that there is no compensatory behavior such as purging or excessive exercise, says Kara Britzman, a psychotherapist at NIU’s Counseling & Consultation Services.
“A binge eating disorder clinically speaking is eating within a discreet time frame an amount of food that is significantly more than most people would eat, and accompanied by extreme distressing emotion,” Britzman says.
And unlike an occasional binge or overeating at a meal, BED is recurrent episodes that occur at least once a week for three months, eating larger amounts of food than normal during a short time frame, and a lack of control over eating during the episode, according to the Binge Eating Disorder Association (bedaonline.com).
The food those with BED ingest might be unusual, such as eating two rolls of cookie dough, or a container of frosting in one sitting. Eating can occur in privacy, impulsively and in response to emotions. Many who suffer from BED also have low self-esteem, display an overemphasis on weight and shape, and might also eat in response to boredom, depression, anxiety and stress. And, unlike anorexia or bulimia, those with BED are more likely to be overweight.
BED can lead to serious medical concerns including high cholesterol and high blood pressure. And, in extreme cases, eating disorders can cause death. According to the National Association of Anorexia Nervosa and Associated Disorders, eating disorders have the highest mortality rate of any mental illness.
Why college students are affected by BED
Christie Nagel, a graduate student in NIU’s Nutrition & Dietetics program who is researching eating issues, says the undergraduate college population is the most susceptible group affected by BED. Young adults are also affected by disordered eating – manipulating the way they eat because of a significant emotional discomfort with their bodies or with food.
Britzman further explains college students are at risk of disordered eating because they follow popular diets and eating trends (from weight-loss diets to clean-eating plans). Disordered eating can be a precursor to an eating disorder.
“College can be a difficult time for some students, and transitioning to a new environment can become overwhelming. College students are a high-risk group for the onset of an eating disorder because of sudden life changes and new life experiences,” Nagel says.
Chevese Turner, founder of BEDA, says her disordered eating began as a young child when she discovered the power of food, and that she wanted more than she was allowed. She became ashamed of her appetite and would coax siblings to ask adults for food on her behalf. She struggled throughout her youth to enjoy her life while concentrating on how not to think about food.
“I could restrict for a time, but ultimately I would succumb to frenzied eating to satiate myself quickly. My head would pound from lack of food, and a very full stomach was comforting – at first,” Turner says.
In her late teens and 20s, as her friends and classmates were heading off to college, she was stymied by anxiety.
“I attempted twice to attend college and found I could not handle the pressure and resulting anxiety and depression that came with the demands of a higher education. This failure, in my perfectionist mind, was unforgivable,” Turner says.
Ozier says those with eating disorders often have perfectionist tendencies, and work hard to please others. They attempt to get some control with food, but they cannot.
Seeking help for BED
Because BED is now a recognized diagnosis, defined in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, fifth edition (DSM-5), a mental health professional can make an assessment based on certain criteria. Treatment plans typically include talk therapy, and learning how to bring stress levels down as well as identifying triggers to binge eating.
If someone is concerned for a friend, or themselves, they can reach out to counselors or connect with an organization such as the Binge Eating Disorder Association to learn more.
It’s important to take control of your own health, Britzman says, and seeking information about a potential problem doesn’t necessarily mean you have to do anything further. Information is power.
Feb. 21-27 is National Eating Disorder Awareness Week. Several events are planned for this week. Learn more here.