One person may be able to eat two ounces of cheese, for example, and never give it another thought. Many people are surprised to learn that it's the fat, not the sugar, in these foods that seems to set off the problem. It's not entirely clear why given foods should trigger overeating. Some scientists suspect a biochemical cause. In this view, the survivor's overstressed system lacks some key chemical needed for normal functioning, and desperately seeks to restore balance by demanding large quantities of foods that contain similar substances or chemical building-blocks.
People often are most susceptible to their triggers after a period of strict dieting.
Too restrictive regimens frequently lead to feelings of deprivation, which ultimately end in bingeing. Kenler worked with a young anorectic woman who, during the process of being treated for her eating disorder, remembered that her father had sexually abused her as a child. As treatment progressed, she gradually became aware that the abuse was still going on. Wayne Callaway, M.D., an endocrinologist in private practice in Washington, DC, often treats survivors who use food to pad themselves as a defense against future assault. The typical characteristic of that person is that she diets and loses weight, but as the pounds begin to disappear, she becomes more and more anxious.