Compulsive Eating: causes, dangers, and treatment

Factual Questions
1

What causes compulsive eating in people? Is there a definition? Where do they draw the line between someone who just enjoys eating and someone who is out of control? I’m sure there’s no across the board answer, but is there a common root to this kind of behavior?

Other than weight gain, does it pose any other dangers? Could someone actually eat until they literally burst, either their stomach or other digestive organs?

What kinds of treatments are used for people who do this? Is it chalked up to willpower, or can medications actually help? If so, what is the mechanism behind the medication? Does it target hunger or the compulsion itself? How effective are treatments for compulsive eaters? Is it relatively “curable”, or will sufferers likely struggle their whole lives?

2

What causes compulsive eating in people?
Don’t think anyone knows, but not sure.
Is there a definition?
Don’t know.
Where do they draw the line between someone who just enjoys eating and someone who is out of control?
There are lines drawn regarding obesity and morbid obesity, I think based on BMI or maybe just percent over ideal weight. Don’t know about the line defining compulsive - think there are psychological tests for compulsion.
I’m sure there’s no across the board answer, but is there a common root to this kind of behavior?
I don’t think so but don’t know.

Other than weight gain, does it pose any other dangers?
Weight gain itself poses lots of dangers. I suppose being full makes you a bit more vulnerable in an automobile accident to “internal injuries” like extravisation.
Could someone actually eat until they literally burst, either their stomach or other digestive organs?
I think this is quite rare and isn’t really what folks worry about practically.

What kinds of treatments are used for people who do this?
I think there are surgical and psychopharmaceutical treatments. If hunger isn’t the issue, then hunger supressents probably don’t help.
Is it chalked up to willpower, or can medications actually help?
Yes to both. It is a disease, but it’s a disease you can get yelled at for having. Better to say, it depends on whom you ask. And clearly there is some of both kinds of influence at work. Medications can help.

If so, what is the mechanism behind the medication? Does it target hunger or the compulsion itself?
Prozac and related drugs target compulsion itself. They modify the way brain cells recycle seratonin, but I don’t understand why this breaks the compulsive cycle.

How effective are treatments for compulsive eaters?
Prozac can be very helpful, but can gradually get less effective. At first, it can completely shut down the compulsion.
Is it relatively “curable”, or will sufferers likely struggle their whole lives?
I think this is often a lifelong struggle. One strategy is to trade one compulsion for another, like being a health fanatic. I read somewhere that the reason diets are 80% ineffective long term is that 20% of people can easily give themselves a new obsession.

Good luck to anyone struggling with this.

3

When we adopted my daughter (6th child, 2nd adoption) she was bones-sticking-out thin. She would eat until she barfed, then eat some more. She’s doing better now, but still has trouble taking small bites and understanding that there will always be plenty of food. :frowning:

We have hopes of helping her recover. She was 20 months when we adopted her, now 3 years old…

If anyone has factual data that would give me hope for her long-term expectations, I’d be gratified to hear it. Please.

4

Check out this site:

Something Fishy

It has lots of great information on eating disorders in general.

5

Napier, I am not a physician, but I was a compulsive overeater for over fifty years. I am not anymore.

The difference for me has been a medication called Topamax. It was originally developed to control seizures. The patients who took it were also observed to lose many compulsive behaviors including overeating. It is also sometimes used used in treating depression.

It has completely changed the way I relate to food. I just don’t think about eating all the time the way that I used to. I have to remind myself to get enough to eat each day. My compulsive shopping has ended and it’s all I can do to smoke six or seven cigarettes a day. :wink:

The weight loss is slow – a couple of pounds a month. But that’s the way that I put it on.

It is not recommended for women of childbearing age, but there is an alternative if you are in that category. You would need to check with your physician.

The medication is expensive, but my insurance covers it. Even if it didn’t, it would be worth every penny to be out from under these blasted compulsions.

My understanding is that compulsive eating is an eating disorder just as bulemia and anorexia are. Just like other compulsive disorders, it is not a matter of will power.

For example, in my own case, ten years ago I was able to stay on a liquid diet of less than 500 calories for six months without problems – never once cheating. The longer I stayed on the liquids, the less I hungered. I was very willing to stay on this liquid diet for the remainder of my life in order to keep the weight off. It was the doctor in charge of the program that made me return to regular food in order to keep my electrolytes balanced.

As soon as I returned to regular food, my compulsion to eat returned and I had no control.

I think I established that I had will power. Something else was going on. It had to do with the same part of the brain that causes seizures.

Those who still think that it’s a matter of will power have not been doing their homework lately.