🍽️ Da Mos Common Eating Disorder in da U.S. Is Also da Least Undastood 🚫😔

Binge eating disorder wen enta da diagnostic manual foa mental health conditions 10 years ago. But it still stay getting ova looked. 😕

At 2 o 3 a.m., David Tedrow wen hide da empty cardboard cereal box, shovin um inside da bottom of da trash can or da back of da cupboard, wea his wife no can see um. Mr. Tedrow wen stay in his 60s an retired, an he often wen sleep till da afternoon so he can stay up late, afta everybody else wen go sleep. 😴🌙

During times wen he stay all frantic an late at night, he wen eat da whole box of cereal — Oatmeal Squares, Frosted Mini-Wheats, whateva wen dea — an den wen throw away da evidence. He wen eat compulsively his whole life, he say, but afta months of going tru one box of cereal every night, he wen decide foa try get some help. 🥣🚫🛑

In 2016, he wen leave his home in North Carolina foa look foa treatment foa what he tink stay food addiction at one hospital in Wisconsin wea dey specialize in eating issues. He wen get diagnosed wit binge eating disorder. 😔😔😢

“I neva had da slightest clue dat dis even stay exist,” he say. But da diagnosis wen give him one sense of relief. “Had one explanation foa dis.” 🙏🌟

Binge eating disorder stay da most common eating disorder in da United States. Exact numbas stay different, but according to da National Institute of Mental Health, almost 3 percent of da U.S. population wen have binge eating disorder at some point in dea lives, mo den double da reported numbas foa bulimia nervosa and anorexia. Yet, dis disorder stay no talked about an no recognized by da general public an by people in da medical field, partly cuz plenny people no know bout da diagnosis or how serious um can be. 😔📉❌

Plenny times, people go show symptoms foa decades befoa dey finally get diagnosed, say Cynthia Bulik, da founding director of da University of North Carolina’s Center of Excellence foa Eating Disorders. “For so long, dey been told tings like ‘Oh, dis jus emotional eating’ or ‘You stay out of control’ or ‘You no get no willpower’ or ‘Gluttony stay one sin,’ or whateva odda kine tings dey use foa explain um away, an no realize dey get one condition dat can get treat,” she say. 🗣️🚫🤷‍♀️🔎

Wassup wit binge eating disorder? 🤔

Binge eating disorder stay one fairly new kine disorder wen dey wen add um to da Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, wea clinicians an researchers use um foa classify mental health conditions, 10 years ago dis month. At da time, dis diagnosis stay kinda controversial, say Dr. B. Timothy Walsh, wea wen lead one group dat wen recommend changes to da existing criteria foa eating disorders an wen propose foa add new ones to dat edition of da D.S.M. Some people tink dat dis was “pathologizing normality,” he say, an no undastand how dis stay different from da ordinary overeating. 📚🆕🤔

But da behaviors of binge eating disorder stay different, he say. One person wit dis condition, on average, go get at least one binge episode per week foa three months o longer, during wea da person go eat one objectively large amount of food in one short period of time — like eating three o mo main courses in one sitting, foa example — an, da important part, feel like dey no can control emself. 🍽️😣🚫🛑

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NOW IN ENGLISH

🍽️ The Most Common Eating Disorder in the U.S. Is Also the Least Understood 🚫😔

Binge eating disorder entered the diagnostic manual for mental health conditions 10 years ago. But it still remains overlooked. 😕

At 2 or 3 a.m., David Tedrow would hide the empty cardboard cereal box, shoving it inside the bottom of the trash can or the back of the cupboard, where his wife couldn’t see it. Mr. Tedrow was in his 60s and retired, and he often slept until the afternoon so he could stay up late after everybody else had gone to sleep. 😴🌙

During times when he felt frantic and late at night, he would eat the whole box of cereal—Oatmeal Squares, Frosted Mini-Wheats, whatever was there—and then throw away the evidence. He had been eating compulsively his whole life, he said, but after months of going through one box of cereal every night, he decided to try to get some help. 🥣🚫🛑

In 2016, he left his home in North Carolina to look for treatment for what he believed was a food addiction at a hospital in Wisconsin that specialized in eating issues. He was diagnosed with binge eating disorder. 😔😔😢

“I never had the slightest clue that this even existed,” he said. But the diagnosis gave him a sense of relief. “I had an explanation for this.” 🙏🌟

Binge eating disorder is the most common eating disorder in the United States. Exact numbers vary, but according to the National Institute of Mental Health, almost 3 percent of the U.S. population has had binge eating disorder at some point in their lives, more than double the reported numbers for bulimia nervosa and anorexia. Yet, this disorder is not talked about and not recognized by the general public and by people in the medical field, partly because many people are unaware of the diagnosis or how serious it can be. 😔📉❌

Many times, people show symptoms for decades before they finally get diagnosed, says Cynthia Bulik, the founding director of the University of North Carolina’s Center of Excellence for Eating Disorders. “For so long, they have been told things like ‘Oh, this is just emotional eating’ or ‘You’re out of control’ or ‘You lack willpower’ or ‘Gluttony is a sin,’ or other explanations that dismiss the fact that they have a condition that can be treated,” she says. 🗣️🚫🤷‍♀️🔎

What’s up with binge eating disorder? 🤔

Binge eating disorder is a fairly new kind of disorder that was added to the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, where clinicians and researchers use it to classify mental health conditions, 10 years ago this month. At the time, this diagnosis was somewhat controversial, says Dr. B. Timothy Walsh, who led a group that recommended changes to the existing criteria for eating disorders and proposed adding new ones to that edition of the DSM. Some people thought that this was “pathologizing normality,” he says, and didn’t understand how this was different from ordinary overeating. 📚🆕🤔

But the behaviors of binge eating disorder are different, he says. A person with this condition, on average, will have at least one binge episode per week for three months or longer, during which the person will consume an objectively large amount of food in a short period of time—like eating three or more main courses in one sitting, for example—and, the important part, feel like they cannot control themselves. 🍽️😣🚫🛑