Women more Likely to Binge Eat than Men: Study

According to a latest study published online in the International Journal of Eating Disorders, female rats are more likely to binge eat than male rats. The study suggests that biology plays a crucial role in eating disorders.

The study, conducted by scientists at the Michigan State University, is the first of its kind that establishes sex differences in the rate of binge eating in animals, and a possible link in humans.

Several women suffer with various eating disorders, of which binge eating forms the core symptom of eating disorders. When compared to males, females are 4-10 times more likely to suffer from eating disorders. The finding was based on an experiment conducted on rats, where scientists observed that the female rats were more likely to overeat when compared to their male counterparts.

People suffering with eating disorders often eat large quantities of food and lack control during their binges.

"Most theories of why eating disorders are so much more prevalent in females than males focus on the increased cultural and psychological pressure that girls and women face," Kelly Klump, lead author and professor of psychology, said. "But this study suggests that biological factors likely contribute as well, since female rats do not experience the psychosocial pressures that humans do, such as pressures to be thin."

In order to prove their findings, the study scientists conducted a feeding experiment on 30 male and 30 female rats for a period of two weeks, in which they replaced the rodent's food pellets at regular intervals with vanilla frosting.

On doing so, the scientists noticed that the rate of binge eating "proneness" i.e., the tendency to consume the highest amount of frosting across all feeding tests, was six times higher in female rats when compared to their male counterparts.

Scientists link the tendency of binge eating to the brain's natural reward system. The team is currently testing the rats to check if the female brain is more sensitive and responsive to rewards compared to males. They also plan to check for the chemicals that give rise to reward behavior.

The study suggests that there must a biological difference existing between males and females that needs to be discovered in order to understand more clearly the risk factors and mechanism behind eating disorders.