Hardly a day passes without us hearing something about the obesity crisis afflicting our nation.

Diet gurus offer ways to lose weight quickly and programmes such as You Are What You Eat use shock tactics to ram home the unhealthy eating message.

Fast food and processed products high in salt, fat and sugar have led to an obesity epidemic, with high blood pressure, raised cholesterol, Type 2 diabetes, heart disease and some cancers posing health risks.

But for some people over-eating and its consequences come not from greed, ignorance or laziness but a deep psychological need.

For these so-called ‘binge eaters’, over-consumption of food is as much an eating disorder as anorexia and bulimia.

They can consume 5,000 to 60,000 calories in a bingeing session, which means many, although not all, have serious weight issues. Conversely not all obese people are binge eaters.

A binge can be eating to the point where it is physically impossible to consume more food, can be done in several mini-sessions, or can be carried out over a longer period of time, eating more or less continuously but in smaller amounts.

The eating is not driven by hunger but by the act of consuming food providing a reward.
Compulsive overeating — which differs from bulimia in that there is no purging by vomiting or use of laxatives after a session — affects about 2% of adults.

Sufferers report a ‘high’ during a session due to a surge in blood sugar, but it cannot be directly equated with substance abuse addictions because it involves complex psychological and physiological elements rather than physical dependence on specific chemicals.

Craving sugary food is due to a rapid fall in blood sugar after this initial ‘rush’ as the body produces lots of insulin to regulate glucose levels, artificially telling the brain more food is required and starting the bingeing cycle.

Recent scientific evidence suggests binge eaters may have brains that produce less of the ‘feelgood’ neuro-transmitter serotonin that is found in everyone, supported by the fact that they often also suffer from depression.

But this could be a simple way of looking at it, as the condition often leads to a vicious circle — “I hate myself and I am depressed, therefore I will eat to make myself feel better, but now I feel worse and I hate myself even more” — and so on.

In other words, a feeling of low self-esteem is reinforced by bingeing.

Other studies suggest certain personality types might be more likely to binge, for example ‘pleasers’, ‘worriers’ or ‘high achievers’.

Relationships with food can be complicated, for example where food has been used in childhood as a reward or as comfort when a child is upset or ill.

As a result, a susceptible person is more likely to turn to food in times of stress or crisis and the situation can quickly spiral out of control.

One of the main characteristics of compulsive overeating is its secretive nature. Shame and guilt mean sufferers go to great lengths to conceal the condition, often being in denial themselves.

But for those who face and tackle it there is support via counselling and the self-help group Overeaters Anonymous (OA).

There are several groups in the News area and you can attend as many as you like. Meetings are free of charge but a £2 contribution is appreciated to help pay for the meeting rooms, which might be in village halls, doctors’ surgeries or other public buildings.

Debbie, 34, a Farnham resident and OA member, said: “I never thought I had an eating disorder. I just thought I was fat.

“I had a poor body image and I started dieting when I was very young. I followed so many diets and each time would think I’d cracked it, but then the weight would go back on as I would start bingeing again.

“My weight could fluctuate by as much as five stone so I was always either underweight or overweight.”

Like many failed dieters, Debbie felt that if she could be thin everything in her life would be perfect — rein-forced by advertising and TV.

But deep inside she knew it was a fantasy; eating was a distraction for what was going on in her life.

She said: “I couldn’t control my life but I thought I could control what went in my mouth. But then it would all flip out of control and I couldn’t understand it.

“It got so bad I would eat in secret and would even steal food from various places to eat later. I would go out at night to buy food or I would buy food from shops a long way away where they didn’t know me. I would even eat dinner before going out for a meal.

“I went through obsessions, such as constantly exercising, and then I would go through anorexic phases where I would eat hardly anything. I tried vomiting but couldn’t physically do it, so I took laxatives instead to get rid of the food. I felt I was constantly fighting with my body.

“The truth was I couldn’t control my eating or my weight. If I broke my diet then that would be it for the rest of the day and I would convince myself I’d start again seriously the next day.

“Then once I started bingeing I would eat until I felt sick, eating pastries, cakes, chocolate and biscuits. I would wait until that feeling passed before starting all over again and I could do this for a whole day or night. I really thought there was something wrong with me and that I had no will-power.”

After every binge Debbie was overcome with shame and guilt and, as is the case with many compulsive overeaters, she became increasingly isolated socially as her lack of confidence and low self-esteem prevented her from going out.

Her unhappiness grew into depression and at that point she decided she had to get help if she was to have any kind of life in the future.

Once she joined her local OA group it was as if she had experienced a revelation.

She said: “I had never talked about this stuff and I had never heard anyone else talk about it either. To hear others say how they had been in the past and how they were then gave me real hope. It’s like a fellowship of people who understand what everyone else is going through.”

Debbie has conquered her compulsive over-eating with the help of OA but still attends meetings, partly to let her use her experiences to help others.

She said one of the first hurdles to overcome was realising you had a problem and accepting you had to do something about it.

Debbie added: “Because it isn’t a well-known disorder many people don’t know they have it, and it can vary in severity.

“There is a general belief that if you get out of control when you eat then it’s your own fault. But that just isn’t true.

“Bulimia and anorexia are well documented as eating disorders and there is structured help out there for them, while compulsive overeating has only recently been recognised.

“Having said that, OA meetings are open to anorexics and bulimics too, because these conditions are all related.”

To help members conquer what is effectively their ‘addiction’, the groups use a 12-point programme developed for Alcoholics Anonymous in the 1930s.

At first sight the steps seem pretty impenetrable with their archaic language and religious overtones, such as step two, which states “Came to believe that a Power greater than our-selves could restore us to sanity”, or step five, “Admitted to God, to ourselves and to another human being the exact nature of our wrongs”.

Debbie added: “The 12 steps look pretty strange but they are not religious, despite the fact they refer to God, and it is left up to the individual to make up their own mind as to any spiritual aspect.

“The steps are hard to follow and understand without actually doing them and receiving support, but as you work through them they become clear — and you can do so at your own pace.

“There is no pressure on anyone and there is no right or wrong way to do the steps. It’s about individual choices and how each person wants to deal with their food issues.

“At a meeting a new mem
ber doesn’t have to speak — they don’t even have to introduce themselves if they don’t want to.
“Usually a new member will have a sponsor who has already been through the 12 steps. I find sponsoring very rewarding and it is essential to ongoing recovery as the whole programme wouldn’t exist without it.”

Meetings can be emotional as group members are encouraged to share their experiences, both positive and negative. New members may decide it is not for them or that they are not ready to do the 12 steps.

But as Debbie said, even one attendance will give them something to think about and they can always return at a later date.

She added: “We are all at the meetings for the same reason. Binge eating affects both men and women and OA meetings are open to all.

“Sometimes older people find it difficult to change because they have been bingeing for so long.

“But really a lot of it is to do with how you feel about yourself rather than what you look like, and you can change your feelings about yourself at any time.

“Everything that is said at the meetings is completely confidential, and because of the anonymous nature you know it is totally safe.”

While providing support is a major contribution to getting a compulsive over-eater on the road to recovery, it may not be the whole story.

Where there are underlying issues such as past abuse or serious relationship problems, specialised counselling could be the most important step to take in the first instance.

Debbie said: “None of us at OA is a qualified counsellor, and there are other places where people can get help with other issues.

“OA is really just about food and how it affects body image and relationships, but it can be hard because you have to take a long, hard look at yourself.

“Bingeing is really a symptom not a cause and you have to understand the reasons behind your behaviour.

“These could be deep within you and it’s important to accept you might need professional help.

“I am a completely different person. My attitudes to my body and to food have completely changed through going to OA.

“Rather than trying to be like a catwalk model, I have learned to accept my body at a healthy weight that I am happy with, and with that my self-confidence and self-esteem has increased enormously in all areas of my life.”

To find out about the OA groups in the News area visit www.oagb.org.uk.