One third of women who have non insulin-dependent diabetes are binge eaters, according to University of Queensland researcher Dr Justin Kenardy.
Dr Kenardy's study of 200 women at the Diabetic Education Centre in Newcastle found that one third had no eating disorder, one third regularly overate and the other third had binge eating disorder associated with their diagnosis of diabetes.
Binge eating typically involves episodes of gorging large amounts of food as well as experiencing a loss of control of eating during those episodes. Binge eaters do not use vomiting or other behaviours to compensate for their binges.
'This study shows that binge eating disorders may contribute to the onset of diabetes,' Dr Kenardy said.
Dr Kenardy received a Federal Department of Health grant to study eating behaviours in Type 2 diabetic women when he joined the University's Psychology Department two years ago.
People with Type 2 diabetes are non insulin-dependent and usually over 40 years of age who require careful diet control to treat the disease.
'These women are of an age that isn't usually associated with an eating disorder. However, those with binge eating disorder are typically older and heavier than those with bulimia nervosa,' he said.
'The women with binge eating disorder generally have experienced repeated failure with diets, which in fact may lead to bingeing to cope with the distress of not losing weight.
'These women don't respond well to restrictive dietary programs designed for diabetics and the diet may make their bingeing worse.'
However weight and diet control were major factors in managing diabetes, he said.
'Typically people who don't binge respond relatively well to dietitians and prescribed diets but binge eaters don't,' Dr Kenardy said.
'With binge-eating diabetics it's important to take the focus off weight loss and treat the psychological problem. If you don't treat the binge eating first, you won't be able to treat the diabetes.'
He said the causes of diabetes in those who did not have eating disorders could relate to a number of factors such as lack of exercise as well as poor diet.
Dr Kenardy said the increase in Type 2 diabetes of the Australian population reflected a general increase in risk factors such as overweight across the population.
Dr Kenardy, a clinical psychologist, is working with endocrinologist Dr Kerry Bowen and dietitian Melba Mensch both of Royal Newcastle Hospital to undertake a controlled trial of group cognitive behaviour therapy with the binge eating diabetics interviewed for the study.
For more information, contact Dr Kenardy (telephone 07 3365 6398).
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