A study applied to students of the University of Guadalajara (UdeG) found that 26.92 percent women and 29.63 percent in men who are overweight or obese have an eating disorder called binge eating.
The researcher Karina Franco Paredes said that this disorder is defined as “the ingestion of very large quantities of food over a short period of time.”
The study, she explained, is a survey-based evaluation, which involved 174 students (93 women and 81 men). The results revealed that “young people surveyed had fallen into disordered eating behaviors in the last six months.”
She explained that those involved were measured and weighed in order to classify them according to their body mass index (BMI).
Franco Paredes said that this eating disorder is caused by emotional distress such as anxiety, depression, among others, conditions that are important triggers of health problems such as overweight.
A second evaluation in the past year included 352 college students from Jalisco and Nayarit (124 men and 228 women), 18 to 26 years of age. This study revealed that 21.8 percent of women and 17.5 percent of men presented binge eating disorder.
The researcher said that most students invited to interviews recognized that they were not able to control their diet.
She said that most studies show risk eating behaviors that eating disorders occur more frequently in women. While binge eating disorder is slightly more common in women than men, the numbers of men and women affected are more similar than in other eating disorders.
She said that in the case of binge eating, similar results were obtained among genders in both studies, suggesting that this condition occurs in similar proportions in both genders.
Karina Franco Paredes stressed the need of not to stigmatizing obesity, as negative comments on their condition only result in a negative effect. “In addition, those in this situation must rely on experts to provide them with appropriate strategies to solve their problem”.
Source: Notimex
