Binge eating raises the risk bar; can cause numerous health problems

Zee Media Bureau

New York: Everyone is well aware of the fact that binge eating is a trigger for obesity in the long term, however, a new study has raised the warning signs further, saying that binge-eating disorder (BED) could also lead to illnesses associated with the endocrine and circulatory systems.

Many people take BED very lightly, so it is important to understand that it's actually a serious problem, in which an individual frequently consumes unusually large amounts of food and is unable to stop craving for more.

According to the study, individuals with BED could be at an increased risk of 2.5-times of having an endocrine disorder and at 1.9-times of having a circulatory system disorder.

The endocrine system influences heart, bones and tissues growth, and even fertility.

It plays a vital role in determining whether there were chances of developing diabetes, thyroid disease, growth disorders, sexual dysfunction, and a host of other hormone-related disorders.

BED is closely associated with hypertension - commonly called high blood pressure - that causes the heart to work harder and could lead to such complications as heart attack, stroke, or kidney failure, among others.

Among individuals with obesity and BED, there is a 1.5-times increased risk of having a respiratory disease and a 2.6-times of having a gastrointestinal disease.

"We encourage clinicians to -- have the conversation -- about BED with their patients. Accurate screening and detection could solve BED problem with treatment," said Professor Cynthia Bulik, from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, in the US.

"BED afflicts people of all shapes and sizes. The somatic illnesses that we detected were not simply effects of being overweight or obese," Bulik clarified, in the study published in the International Journal of Eating Disorders.

(With IANS inputs)