Can You Control Your Eating? A Study on Binge Eating in Teenagers

We all eat too many of our favorite snacks from time to time, but when does that become harmful? Eating lots uncontrollably, which is called binge eating, may cause feelings of shame afterwards. Binge eating involves both eating a lot within a short time and not being able to stop eating although you want to. Binge eating may result in eating disorders, which often develop in adolescence. Are some symptoms of binge eating more common than others? Why do some teenagers develop them while others do not? We discovered that 12.6% of teenagers experienced binge eating symptoms, with loss-of-control eating being the most common symptom. We found that teenagers who reported binge eating symptoms were also more likely to have more emotional and behavioral problems, be more dissatisfied with their bodies, eat more in response to negative emotions, eat less because of their weight, and have a higher body weight.