Eating Disorders Food cravings for binge eating are caused by hormones

Binge eating disorder: hormones could be responsible for the food cravings

More and more people are suffering from eating disorders. In addition to anorexia and bulimia, the so-called "binge eating disorder" (BES) is also very common. In this it comes to periodic food cravings. Those affected lose conscious control over their eating habits. This is obviously due to hormones, as researchers have now discovered.

Eating disorders increase

There has been a dramatic increase in eating disorders in recent years. Especially anorexia nervosa (anorexia nervosa) and bulimia nervosa (eating-refractive addiction) have greatly increased. But so-called "binge eating disorder" (BES) is on the rise. This results in periodic food cravings with loss of conscious control over eating behavior. In contrast to bulimia, no countermeasures are taken afterwards, so that in the longer term mostly obesity is the result. Blame for the cravings obviously have hormones, as researchers have now found out.

Researchers have found a reason for nocturnal food cravings: While the saturation hormones are lower in the evenings, the hunger hormones rise towards evening. (Image: JenkoAtaman / fotolia.com)

In the evening more appetite than in the morning

A study published in 2013 by scientists at Harvard University (USA) showed that our appetite is heavily dependent on the daily routine.

The researchers discovered then that, paradoxically, people are the least hungry in the morning, even though they are not eating all night.

This work helped explain why so many people skip breakfast, although eating most calories early in the day is optimal for weight management and a healthy metabolism.

Evening hunger "could have been an evolutionary adaptation that helped us get through the night," Dr. Satchidananda Panda from the Salk Institute for Biological Studies
in San Diego in a message from the newspaper Atlanta Journal-Constitution (AJC).

"For millions of years, the nocturnal period was a time when we had no access to food, and you could not fetch food when you woke in the morning," the expert said.

In modern times, with easy access to food at any time of the day or night, this evolutionary adaptation can backfire, leading to loss of control and nocturnal feeding attacks.

Reason for nocturnal food cravings

Based on the results of the evening's hunger sensation at the time, researchers led by Susan Carnell of the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine and Charlotte Grillot of Florida State University investigated the cause of nocturnal food cravings.

Their study, published in the journal "Journal of Obesity", suggests that the saturation hormones (peptide YY) are lower in the evening hours, while the hunger hormones (ghrelin) rise towards evening.

Obese people with a binge eating disorder are therefore particularly vulnerable to the influence of fluctuations in appetite-regulating hormones.

It also showed that stress increased hunger in all 32 overweight subjects.

"There are more ways to eat in the evening, but this study shows that hormonal reactions make them do it," Carnell said.

However, according to the scientist, it is not clear whether these hormonal patterns precede and cause the eating behavior of binge eating binge eating or are caused by the eating habits of an individual.

No blame

Kelly Costello Allison of the University of Pennsylvania said the recent study - which she was not involved in - is an important reminder that countless factors contribute to weight gain.

And that shame and finger-pointing are inappropriate for gaining weight.

"There are so many prejudices and judgments about people who are overweight, that it is their fault or they are lazy or just do not have enough willpower," Allison said.

But much depends simply on biological circumstances.

Food curfew

People who know that they tend to eat too much in the evening and at night should, according to Carnell, take time to eat properly during the day and set a "food ban", a certain amount of time in the evening they stop eating.

Allison agreed. "Determine a" kitchen is closed "time," advised the researcher. "Turn off the kitchen light, move away from the kitchen, brush your teeth, and if you want something more then take some water."

She and other experts found that hormone levels respond to eating habits and may be outsmarted when people change their eating habits. (Ad)