《英语流行话题阅读:语境识词3500》Unit76:何为强迫型过度饮食?

　　Unit 76
What Is Compulsive Overeating?
Compulsive overeating is a health problem, which can affect women or men, though it appears twice as often among women. In this serious eating disorder¹, a person eats a lot of food in a short amount of time. This is called bingeing. Compulsive overeaters often binge. This can lead to serious medical problems, including obesity². Obesity is related to serious medical problems, such as heart disease, high blood pressure, diabetes³, trouble breathing and sleep problems.
No one knows the exact cause of compulsive overeating. Many compulsive overeaters use food for comfort. Others binge to deal with stress. Eating makes tem feel better, but only for a short time. Usually compulsive overeaters feel guilty for eating so much, which makes them feel bad about themselves. This leads to more stress, which leads to more overeating, and so on. It becomes a pattern that is hard to stop. Overeaters often feel their eating is out of control. Compulsive overeaters also feel they are not in control of their emotions. They have trouble dealing⁵ with feelings like anger, sadness, loneliness, guilt⁴, and shame.
There are many warning signs which indicate that someone may be suffering from compulsive overeating disorder. They include: eating large amounts of food when not physically⁶ hungry; eating much more rapidly than normal; eating until the point of feeling uncomfortably full; often eating alone because of shame or embarrassment⁷; suffering feelings of depression, disgust, or guilt after eating; with a history of marked weight fluctuations⁸.
Compulsive overeating generally has a gradual beginning, often starting in early childhood when eating patterns are formed. It usually starts very subtly, when a child turns to food whenever they were upset. Over time, you learn that food in fact will soothe⁹ the upset feelings. The destructive pattern continues as you do not learn to trust that feelings pass and that you are capable of self-soothing without food.
Like someone with bulimia, when you compulsively overeat, you usually try every way you can to stop. Often the attempt at control takes the form of strict dieting or living by inflexible¹⁰ standards of eating. While strict dieting may help with the weight gain, in the long run it doesn't do anything to handle the emotional reasons for the compulsive overeating. Moreover, restrictive dieting is so depriving that it creates a situation of compounded desperation to eat. Therefore, dieting often backfires and just promotes the compulsive overeating.
If you feel that you or someone you know may be suffering from compulsive overeating disorder, it is important to seek professional help as quickly as possible. If untreated, compulsive overeating will become part of a destructive cycle which can continue for years and cause significant health problems. Talking to a compulsive overeating treatment professional is the first step toward successful recovery.

1 disorder   

n.紊乱，混乱；骚动，骚乱；疾病，失调

参考例句：

• When returning back,he discovered the room to be in disorder.回家后，他发现屋子里乱七八糟。
• It contained a vast number of letters in great disorder.里面七零八落地装着许多信件。

2 obesity   

n.肥胖，肥大

参考例句：

• One effect of overeating may be obesity.吃得过多能导致肥胖。
• Sugar and fat can more easily lead to obesity than some other foods.糖和脂肪比其他食物更容易导致肥胖。

3 diabetes   

n.糖尿病

参考例句：

• In case of diabetes, physicians advise against the use of sugar.对于糖尿病患者，医生告诫他们不要吃糖。
• Diabetes is caused by a fault in the insulin production of the body.糖尿病是由体內胰岛素分泌失调引起的。

4 guilt   

n.犯罪；内疚；过失，罪责

参考例句：

• She tried to cover up her guilt by lying.她企图用谎言掩饰自己的罪行。
• Don't lay a guilt trip on your child about schoolwork.别因为功课责备孩子而使他觉得很内疚。

5 dealing   

n.经商方法，待人态度

参考例句：

• This store has an excellent reputation for fair dealing.该商店因买卖公道而享有极高的声誉。
• His fair dealing earned our confidence.他的诚实的行为获得我们的信任。

6 physically   

adj.物质上，体格上，身体上，按自然规律

参考例句：

• He was out of sorts physically,as well as disordered mentally.他浑身不舒服，心绪也很乱。
• Every time I think about it I feel physically sick.一想起那件事我就感到极恶心。

7 embarrassment   

n.尴尬；使人为难的人(事物)；障碍；窘迫

参考例句：

• She could have died away with embarrassment.她窘迫得要死。
• Coughing at a concert can be a real embarrassment.在音乐会上咳嗽真会使人难堪。

8 fluctuations   

波动，涨落，起伏( fluctuation的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• He showed the price fluctuations in a statistical table. 他用统计表显示价格的波动。
• There were so many unpredictable fluctuations on the Stock Exchange. 股票市场瞬息万变。

9 soothe   

v.安慰；使平静；使减轻；缓和；奉承

参考例句：

• I've managed to soothe him down a bit.我想方设法使他平静了一点。
• This medicine should soothe your sore throat.这种药会减轻你的喉痛。

10 inflexible   

adj.不可改变的，不受影响的，不屈服的

参考例句：

• Charles was a man of settled habits and inflexible routine.查尔斯是一个恪守习惯、生活规律不容打乱的人。
• The new plastic is completely inflexible.这种新塑料是完全不可弯曲的。