Binging is the most prevalent U.S. eating disorder.

Binge eating is the most common eating disorder in the United States. This is according to the results of a Harvard University Medical School study that were published on Thursday.

The study defined binge eating as "bouts of uncontrolled eating, well past the point of being full, that occur at least twice a week."

Binge eating is normally accompanied by a variety of emotional symptoms. Is is well known that depression is a major factor in causing binge eating, and that binge eating immediately results in feelings of shame, guilt and self-loathing. It is an awful, vicious cycle these people are trapped in.

I think there's another culprit we can place some blame on for this trend. I'm talking about fad diets: Liquid only diets, no carb diets, supplemented fasts, and other crash diets are rampant, and they are killing people. Most of these diets recommend such low calorie intake that the body must cannibalize its own healthy tissue just to sustain proper organ function. It is this breakdown of healthy tissue that causes most dieters to ultimately wind up fatter (and more depressed) then ever in the long run.

In addition, these ultra low calorie diets can result in frequent states of low blood sugar. This of course causes intense cravings which can clearly lead to just the type of eating binges described here.

One of my clients once told me that he "did best on 1200 calories". This is the daily intake that Jenny Craig had him on. This was a 5' 10", 185 pound man! (If you can't understand my shock and disgust upon hearing this, then you really need to read up on healthy nutrition.) I quickly reminded him that he had ended up fatter not too long after stopping Jenny Craig's "diet".

Too many people in this country are not learning the simple truth about how to eat for healthy fat loss, and if they are, too many of them are choosing to follow the false promises of the diet profiteers. We have to do more as fitness professionals to educate our fellow man.