It's Your Health!

Compulsive eating is very serious and has an impact on both physical and mental health. Left untreated, binge eating can lead to severe medical problems including high cholesterol, diabetes, heart disease, and depression.

Compulsive eating can affect women or men, though it appears twice as often among women. People with compulsive eating disorder suffer from episodes of uncontrolled eating or bingeing followed by periods of guilt and depression. Binge eating is marked by the consumption of large amounts of food, sometimes accompanied by a pressured, "frenzied" feeling. Compulsive eating disorder may cause a person to continue to eat even after he or she becomes uncomfortably full.

Following is a list of the most common "symptoms" of the compulsive eater.

The Signs of a Compulsive Eater

• Think about food a lot.
• Eat to relieve worry or stress.
• Continue to eat even after feeling sick from eating too much.
• Become anxious while eating.
• Daydream or worry while eating.
• Overeat.
• Eat too fast.
• Eat everything on the plate.
• Feel guilty when you eat.
• Eat secretly.
• Cannot eat one cookie, or any treat that you really like.
• Binge after a diet.
• Hunger makes you feel fearful and uncomfortable.