Binge-Eating Disorder: Making it Easier to Digest the Truth

Hello, Beautiful World!

This week was absolutely, mindblowingly awesome! Dr. Anné so kindly invited me to join her for her Channel 3 news segment on Good Morning, America on Wednesday on eating disorders 😆! It was such an honor to be able to join her in the studio (even if it was only behind-the-scenes).

Literally me after being invited...(but in more professional clothes)

I don't normally do story-time, but this was such a memorable experience and I really want to share it all with you guys! To begin with, I had to wake up a lot earlier than usual to get to the studio on time (with extra time to spare in case I mess-up with my driving skills somewhere). This extra time came in handy because it was a nightmare to drive on 7th street. People were driving in the middle lane, there were too many cars, the lanes were so tiny, and you couldn't make a left turn at so many places. I missed the turn to the studio because there was no place to make a left-turn; so, I had to drive an extra five-minutes ahead, make a U-turn, and find parking at the studio for normal people like me (not employee parking). I got there before I had to, and used the extra time to take some photos and sit in the lobby to check social media. Here's a funny little story: the doors in the studio were really weird (almost magnetic), and when I went to open the door, it opened mostly without my effort. The problem was that my hand was stuck in the handle, and so I had to awkwardly enter the studio being pulled by the door. How embarrassing! There was a couple inside looking at me all funky. I have seen and used a door before, people (just not that type of door)!

Outside of the studio (I took this photo from my car... in a non-creepy way, of course)

Showing off on social media (aka Snapchat)

Pardon my terrible photography skills... this is inside the lobby

Photos of people that work there? 

More lobby photos...

Some other events happened... blah blah blah... and we're finally in the studio!!!!! It was so cool watching all of the dynamics and efforts that went into a live news channel 😋. Dr. Anné went live, and it was wonderful seeing her talk about what she's so passionate about. Despite the bumpy morning, she was so calm, cool, and collected. You can watch the whole segment online somewhere I'm sure. All in all, it was pretty awesome, and I'm so grateful to have been presented the opportunity to come along :D

A beautiful panorama of the studio

Dr. Anné live!

Watching the weather segment was pretty awesome!

Getting to the disorder of the week, binge-eating disorder (aka BED), we're going to start off with some general statistics (I was really happy to read in last week's comments that you guys like this section and find it helpful 😁):*

• A 2007 study found that 3.5% of women and 2.0% of men have had BED during their life, making it more common than anorexia and bulimia, and breast cancer, HIV, and schizophrenia
• ~0.2-3.5% of females and ~0.9-2.0% of males will develop BED
• "Sub-threshold BED occurs in 1.6% of adolescent females"
• "Research estimates that 28.4% of people with current BED are receiving treatment for their disorder"
• "BED often begins in the late teens or early 20s, although it has been reported in both young children and older adults."
• Males account for 40% of those with BED

What I found most interesting about these statistics was that although BED is so much more common than breast cancer, only about a fourth of the people with BED are receiving treatment, compared to those getting treatment for breast cancer. Why is the treatment rate so low?

Before meeting with Jennifer Denkers, a clinical therapist at A New Beginning who specializes in eating disorders, I conducted a survey and looked through modern, everyday media relevant to BED. Starting off the meeting by asking her what misconceptions clients generally came in with to her in terms of BED, I learned that people come in feeling like they lack willpower. Feeling like they're lazy, and that they just can't get this right. That maybe they're just addicted to food because they really like it. They don't understand that there are underlying emotional issues behind their disorder, and that it's not because something is wrong with them. That common trend of people with mental health issues feeling as though they're the problem? It even continues to apply to eating disorders. 

Jennifer Denkers, LPC

From here, Jennifer and I discussed more about BED using the survey questions as a basis:

Misconceptions:

• Myth: Binge-Eaters have weak willpower
• Truth: Absolutely not! BED usually comes about from two factors:
• Underlying emotional factors (unmet emotional needs, trauma, etc.)
• Brain chemistry
• Myth: BED isn't a real disorder. Everyone overeats at some point in their life. 
• Truth: Although it is true that people do sometimes eat beyond the point of being full, BED is a a very different pattern of overeating (those with BED eat a lot of calories in one sitting in secrecy, but tend to eat very little in front of others). It includes a lot of rituals, secrecy, and an element of lacking control.
• Myth: BED is the same as bulimia.
• Truth: The difference between bulimia and BED is that people with bulimia have compensatory behaviors (exercise, laxatives, purging, etc.), while those with BED typically do not. 
• Myth: BED is rare. 
• Truth: We can see this is false simply through the general statistics I listed earlier. In fact, BED has only been recognized recently, which is why people didn't seek treatment (because they didn't see it as a psychological issue). This goes to answer my earlier question about why treatment rates are low. 
• Myth: BED treatments include discipline and diets. 
• Truth: Typically, treatment focuses on helping patients incorporate movement that works with their lifestyle. Also, it provides education on how our body utilizes food (along with food in general). However, the main focus should be on the underlying emotional factors that come into play.

Some things that can be myths or truths, depending upon the case:

• People tend to think that those with BED are overweight or obese. This is not necessarily true as there are binge-eaters who aren't overweight. 
• Side note: in fact, there are even healthy people can be overweight. 
• Although stress can play a role, BED doesn't only affect women who are stressed-out. As shown by the earlier statistics, men are also affected by BED. 
• Weight-loss surgery doesn't cure BED because a lot of what underlies BED is more emotional core issues. Surgery only really helps with the physical aspect of things, not reaching the emotional aspect. Hence, binge-eaters can still eat their way back and gain weight. So, surgery can be a tool, but not a treatment. 

Since the media plays a huge role in how we perceive things, I also asked Jennifer about she felt regarding the portrayal of BED in Elf, Super Size Me, and Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. 

• Elf:
• Scene: Elf is home alone, and eats pasta covered in chocolate, marshmallows, syrup, and more sugary, junk food. 
• Not necessarily a portrayal of BED because it's not always sugar that's consumed excessively. Also, this scene doesn't show the shame, guilt, and secrecy that people with BED feel afterwards. 

• Super Size Me
• This is more of a depiction of disordered eating (and not knowing the effect of food on our body) rather than BED. It's basically showing how overeating foods that aren't nourishing for the body affects the body and general health. 

• Charlie and the Chocolate Factory
• Scene: Augustus eating a lot of chocolate in the factory and in his day-to-day life.
• This is more compulsive, over-eating than BED. Not necessarily all binge-eaters binge on chocolate, and they won't eat in excess in front of others (they binge in hiding). 

BED as a mental health eating-disorder diagnosis has not been around as long, making it hard for people to see their behavior as a psychological issues that needs treatment. Also, by nature, our culture is very shaming of those who are overweight, obese, or don't live a 'healthy lifestyle.' This is perpetuated by different media, including the diet and fashion industry. For example, magazines put much emphasis on celebrities and their weight gain/loss. We need to shift our focus away from such labelling and stereotypes, and work to simply be healthy individuals. 

 I hope you guys like my Week 4 post! Thank you all for following me on this enlightening journey, and showing me so much support!

Lots of love 💗,

--Saleena 

Sources:

*Overview & Statistics (n.d.). Retrieved February 28, 2017, from https://www.nationaleatingdisorders.org/binge-eating-disorder