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Psycho-social and other factors

It is important to screen for binge eating disorder, since treatment of this disorder may take precedence over treatment of the obesity. Studies show that individuals who are treated for binge eating disorder and abstain from the binge episodes are much more likely to benefit from a weight management program. Furthermore, other studies suggest that the obesity and binge eating disorder can be treated concurrently and successfully. Treatment of this disorder may include medications, usually a selective serotonin re-uptake inhibitor type of antidepressant even when depression is not present. Other treatments include use of atypical anticonvulsants because of their effects on areas of the brain involved with binge eating (obviously, not being used for seizures). The addition of a type of therapy called cognitive behavioral therapy, performed by a licensed clinician, can also be very helpful.

Although you may have suffered with this disorder for years and you may feel alone, you are not. Treatment is generally very helpful in reducing or eliminating the binge eating episodes and can easily be incorporated into your lifestyle.

If you would like professional assistance for this condition, please contact my office for an appointment by clicking here. If you periodically travel to Southern California, we can usually arrange treatment that will work with your schedule.

Smoking and obesity

When people stop smoking, they commonly gain weight. Most people think that they are substituting food for cigarettes. This is partially correct. Smoking is a different form of oral gratification that obviously does not involve the consumption of calories. However, smoking does have another effect — it actually increases caloric requirements by increasing resting metabolic rate. People who smoke require approximately 10% more calories to maintain their body weights than when they are not smoking.

Therefore, if you stop smoking but maintain constant food intake and exercise, you would expect body weight to increase, usually between 5% and 10%.

An excellent way to help counter this decrease in metabolic rate is to increase lifestyle activity. As an example, instead of the multiple cigarette breaks, convert that time into "walking breaks." These short episodes of physical activity have a cumulative effect and will improve your mood and health while helping to minimize weight gain.

Another approach to minimizing weight gain is to record your food intake. If you write down everything you eat before you eat it, you will become much more aware of what you are consuming. This helps you make better food choices, thereby helping you maintain your weight.

It is much more important to stop smoking than to worry about weight gain. The deleterious effects of smoking far outweigh the effects of putting on the extra pounds. Some people think that when they stop smoking it is also a good time to go on a strict diet. This is not recommended because both are very stressful and it is extremely difficult to do both effectively. When both are attempted, results are sub-optimal, which results in a feeling of failure (a very unfortunate result). Deal with the smoking first, then the weight.

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