Mortality Rates of BED

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Contributor: Leigh Bell, BA, writer for Eating Disorder Hope

BED is the most common eating disorder in the United States, where about 3.5% of women and 2% of men have the illness. However, a recent study of 46,351 men and women ages 18 to 65 published in The International Journal of Eating Disorders, found roughly 11% of women and 7.5% of men struggle with binge eating. [1]

Unlike people struggling with anorexia and bulimia, of whom about 10% are male, BED effects both sexes almost equally. About 40% of the estimated 10 million Americans who binge eat are men, according to the Binge Eating Disorder Association.

The Risk of Binge Eating Disorder

Death risk to those with BED isn’t as imminent as those with other eating disorders like anorexia or bulimia; instead, the risk is prolonged and normally due to an individual being overweight or obese. Two out of three people with BED are obese, and many more are overweight.

Large Cheeseburger being measured.The additional weight caused by binge eating is what creates BED-related health risks. One in five deaths in the United States is associated with obesity, according to a groundbreaking study that found the negative effects of obesity are three times more dangerous than we once thought. [2]

According to the study, the younger you are, the greater influence obesity has on your mortality. In fact, about 25% of deaths in women and almost 20% in men were associated with a BMI (body mass index) of 25 or above.

“Evidence has already implicated high rates of obesity as a significant contributor to the United States’ relatively low life expectancy among high-income countries,” the authors wrote.

Cortisol and Binge Eating Disorder

Cortisol may be another factor in the development of BED and the additional weight it creates.

Cortisol is a hormone secreted by adrenal glands when we’re under prolonged stress; and this cortisol increases appetite and may also “ramp up motivation in general, including the motivation to eat, according to a Harvard Health report. [3]

Cortisol levels should go down when the stressful episode is over, but when the stress is long-term, or if a person’s stress response gets stuck, the hormones stay raised. Chronic overeating may result.

Man excited to be eating dessert in the middle of the night.Binge episodes often involve consumption of bread or pasta, followed in frequency by sweets, fatty foods, or salty snacks, according to a study on differences between fat and sugar bingeing. [4] Individuals with a preference for bingeing on sweet foods tend to binge more frequently.

Numerous studies, although many of them done on animals like rats, show emotional distress increases the intake of high-fat, high-sugar foods. Somewhat mysteriously, foods filled with fat and sugar, the Harvard Health report continues, inhibits activity in parts of the brain that process stress and related emotions.

“The foods really are ‘comfort’ foods in that they seem to counteract stress – and this may contribute to people’s stress-induced craving for those foods,” it says.

But these “comfort” foods, the high-sugar ones, are dangerous because some contain fructose, which is, in its simplest form, fruit sugar. Fructose can activate taste cells found on your pancreas, which can increase your body’s secretion of insulin and raise your risk of type 2 diabetes (Masters et. al., 2013).

Health Risks and Binge Eating Disorder

While health risks associated with binge-eating disorder may not immediately follow the binge-eating behavior, they are no less serious. The illness can lead to the following complications:

  • Type 2 diabetes
  • High blood pressure
  • High blood cholesterol
  • Gallbladder disease
  • Heart disease
  • Certain cancers
  • Osteoarthritis
  • Joint and muscle pain
  • Gastrointestinal problems
  • Depression
  • Anxiety
  • Sleep apnea
  • PCOS (polycystic ovary syndrome)

However, BED is far from a life sentence. The earlier intervention and help occurs, the more likely and, possibly, quickly recovery can occur.

Community Discussion – Share your thoughts here!

The long term effects of Binge Eating Disorder can be serious, what steps did you take within your recovery to focus on a new healthy lifestyle? Was meal planning helpful in your recovery? How has healthy exercise fit in?


Leigh BellAbout the Author: Leigh Bell holds a Bachelor of Arts in English with minors in Creative Writing and French from Loyola Marymount University in Los Angeles. She is a published author, journalist with 15 years of experience, and a recipient of the Rosalynn Carter Fellowship for Mental Health Journalism. Leigh is recovered from a near-fatal, decade-long battle with anorexia and the mother of three young, rambunctious children.


References:

[1]: Ross, C. (2012, October 2). Binge eating in men, Psychology Today. Retrieved January 12, 2016.[2]: The Impact of Obesity on US Mortality Levels: The Importance of Age and Cohort Factors in Population Estimates
[3]: Ryan K. Masters, Eric N. Reither, Daniel A. Powers, Y. Claire Yang, Andrew E. Burger, and Bruce G. Link
[4]: American Journal of Public Health 2013 103, 10, 1895-1901
[5]: Why stress causes people to overeat – Harvard Health. (2012, February 1). Retrieved January 12, 2016.
[6]: Avena, N.M., Rada, P., Hoebel, B,G,. (2009) Sugar and fat bingeing have notable differences in addictive-like behavior. The Journal of Nutrition, 139(3), 623-628.


The opinions and views of our guest contributors are shared to provide a broad perspective of eating disorders. These are not necessarily the views of Eating Disorder Hope, but an effort to offer discussion of various issues by different concerned individuals.

We at Eating Disorder Hope understand that eating disorders result from a combination of environmental and genetic factors. If you or a loved one are suffering from an eating disorder, please know that there is hope for you, and seek immediate professional help.

Last Updated & Reviewed By: Jacquelyn Ekern, MS, LPC on April 18, 2016
Published on EatingDisorderHope.com