Experts were speaking on tackling the binge and addictive behaviours at the session hosted as part of the ongoing health webinar series by The Hindu. (Image used for representational purpose only)
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A common way to deal with emotions is through food, says Lakshmi Venkatraman, consultant psychiatrist and assistant director of Psychosocial Rehabilitation Services at SCARF (Schizophrenia Research Foundation). Dieting and restrictions on food are also culprits. The vicious circle begins when people tend to eat more, end up feeling guilty at their act, reduce their self-esteem, because of which they binge eat and feel more guilty.
Simple measures such as eating regular meals with all foods, including favourites in moderation, helps. “When we realise emotions are pushing us (to eat), finding ways to tackle the emotions will help,” Dr. Lakshmi explains. “Be mindful while eating, focus on what we are eating, take it quite slow while eating which helps to prevent binge eating,” she points out.
R.M. Anjana, managing director of Dr. Mohan’s Diabetes Specialities Centre, cites the various studies done by the Foundation at various intervals of time, to explain the importance of regulating “what we put into our mouth”. When a person finds that they binge once a week and this persists for three months then it should trigger an alarm, she says. “Diet and physical activity alone can prevent 50% of diabetes,” she said and cited studies that state that binge eating contributes to about 15 to 20% of type 2 diabetes.
A bariatric surgeon aims to moderate the gut hormones, says P. Praveen Raj, consultant and head of the Department of Minimal Access Bariatric and Robotic Surgery in the Department of Surgical Gastroenterology, GEM Hospital and Research Centre, Coimbatore.
The first step is to take a thorough history of the person’s issues. There are various hormones in the gut that regulate satiety, trigger appetite and aid digestion. An imbalance in any one of them could be the cause for obesity. The aim is to treat the cause, he explains. “You rule out the psychological reasons, and the pathological abnormality. Once this is understood we can start to treat it (the condition),” he adds.
The specialists were panelists at a webinar on “The Binge: Learning to handle addictive behaviours,” organised on Sunday by The Hindu. The webinar can be viewed at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Cl4wxf7_HRI
(R. Sujatha is an independent journalist based in Chennai. sujatha.raghunath@gmail.com)
Published – December 07, 2025 07:14 pm IST