Binge Eating Disorder Recognized As Mental Illness

Binge Eating Disorder finally made it into the latest edition of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-V), a publication by the American Psychiatric Association that classifies mental disorders along with criteria. This debuted in May.

The New York Times' Well blog recently discussed the issues around the topic in its post, Fat and Thin Find Common Ground. Kelley Brownell of Duke University, a leading authority on eating disorders, points out 'Obesity was mainly dealt with in medical professions, and eating disorders were dealt with more in psychology professions.'

And this kind of makes sense because overweight and obesity are the new norm (about 2 out of 3 Americans are) and doctors (physicians) are focused on the physical health conditions, including cardiovascular disease, diabetes, etc. Again, this makes sense because doctors are only required one semester course in nutrition in all of their medical school studies and, while these physical conditions are important, doctors end up losing sight of the ever-powerful mind that operates and plays a significant role in the patient as well.

Nutrition and wellness are not characterized solely on outer appearances. While physical unwellness can cause complications, mental illness makes life a real drag. The two go hand-in-hand.

The important thing to remember in understanding eating disorders, though, is that it's not about the food. It is NOT about the food. IT IS NOT ABOUT THE F*CKING FOOD! However many times it takes for this to be said, it shall be repeated.

That said, eating disorders don't have a size limit either.



Blogger Ellin inaccurately states 'Unlike people with anorexia or bulimia, who tend to be excessively thin... ' No. That's not true. Bulimics actually tend to fall within 'normal' range, sometimes even slightly above. That's why cases of bulimia are sometimes harder to identify— because their outer appearances tends to better mask the disorder than that of a pure, highly-restrictive anorexic. A story for another day but just so you know.

Given the degrade in quality of our food, the mass production, the technology and 'innovation'— in terms of both our food supply and access, and sedentary life— along with the emphasis on body image, human innate tendencies (such as eating the amount we're served despite portion-size), the disconnect of hunger vs. fullness, and a whole bunch of other factors, yes, it seems to make sense we would gain more weight.

But a few things are important to remember:

1. It is NOT impossible to maintain a healthy weight and have a healthy relationship with food (that is, no relationship with food— you eat it and move on), even despite this modern-day ecosystem. So overweight and obesity do NOT have to be inevitable. Goals are attainable. Realistic hope, there is.


2. There are overweight and obese people out there who are suffering. That's not to say they all are but some of them are. Every day, for those who are, is a struggle and torture. They hate food, they hate their body, they have hateful thoughts, and they likely hate themselves. Can you imagine what life might be like to live under those conditions Every.Single.Day? No holidays, no weekends, 24/7/365? That's a day in the life of an eating disorder.




3. Eating disorders don't discriminate size, age, race, socio-economic status, or gender. They can affect anybody. (And it's not about the food.) They are complex monsters attributed to several factors, no two people alike, though commonalities appear. Eating disorders are personal and as unique as the individual him/herself.

Now that this great leap in recognition has been made, hopefully this will help push in the fight against overweight, obesity, and mental illness. How treatment should be strategized will be an interesting topic to follow.



What are your thoughts?

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Happy Healthy Juicy Physical and Mental Wellness!