The symptoms of binge eating usually include a person eating in private and feelings such as having no control and guilt or disgust after binge eating.
People who binge eat consume very large quantities of food over a short period of time and they often eat even when they are not hungry. Binges are often planned and can involve the person buying “special binge foods”.
Binge eating can also have a number of physical effects on the body as a result of fluctuating blood sugar levels. These include:
- sugar cravings
- headache
- sweating and tremor
Complications of binge eating
Weight gain is the main complication of binge eating. Many people with the disorder are already overweight.
If you are carrying too much weight you are vulnerable to other health problems that are associated with obesity. These include:
- high cholesterol – high levels of cholesterol in your blood increases your risk of heart disease and stroke
- high blood pressure (hypertension) – this also increases your risk of cardiovascular conditions such as stroke or heart disease
- diabetes – a chronic (long-term) condition caused by too much glucose (sugar) in the blood
- asthma – where the lung airways become inflamed
- osteoarthritis – a condition that causes pain and swelling in the joints
- chronic back pain
- heart disease – where the heart’s blood supply is blocked by a build-up of fatty substances in the coronary arteries (the main blood vessels of the heart)
Read more information about obesity.
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