Is Your Eating Out of Control?

If you think it is, take heart, you are not alone. According to a recently conducted survey at Harvard, binge eating is more common than any other eating problem. 2.8% of American adults (that's 1 in 35) consider themselves to be binge eaters. That compares to 0.6% that have anorexia, and 1% with bulimia.

Researchers have found that bingeing is more common among those with weight issues. Binge eating often begins as a response to some very stressful event, such as a loved one dying, losing a job or even being dumped by a boyfriend.

Out-of-control overeating can actually reduce anxiety (for the short term, anyway) and because it makes you feel better, it can quickly become addictive.

Its a never ending cycle, though.

Here's what happens. Anxiety or other negative, uncomfortable feelings initiate a binge, the binge acts as a sedative, calming you down and helping you to feel better. The problem is that this calm feeling can often be followed by intense guilt feelings, because you feel badly about how much you just ate. This in turn creates more anxiety and the cycle repeats.