• by Tanya Gazdik , February 4, 2015

Shire pharmaceutical company is enlisting tennis star Monica Seles for a campaign to raise awareness about Binge Eating Disorder in adults.

The effort corresponds with the U.S. Food and Drug Administration approving Shire-manufactured Vyvanse (lisdexamfetamine dimesylate) as the first and currently only medication for the treatment of moderate to severe binge eating disorder.

The campaign website, BingeEatingDisorder.com, features information about the disorder and how to recognize the symptoms, its potential causes, experiences of others with BED., including a series of videos and tips for how to raise the topic with health care providers and loved ones.

Seles, who suffers from BED, is featured in the videos. There is a misconception that adults with BED fit a certain profile, she says.

“I felt ashamed about my binge eating for so long, and my hope is that hearing the stories of people like me, and having information about the disorder more publicly available, may help inspire other adults to get the support they need,” says Seles in a release.

The sports star also wrote about her experience in her book, “Getting a Grip: On My Body, My Mind, My Self.”

BED is the most common eating disorder in U.S. adults. It is a more common eating disorder than anorexia and bulimia combined, affecting an estimated 2.8 million U.S. adults, according to a national survey.

The national campaign aims to motivate adults who may struggle with symptoms to learn more and talk to their health care provider about the condition, which is recognized by the American Psychiatric Association.

BED is characterized by regularly eating far more food than most people would eat in a similar time period, with binges taking place on at least a weekly basis for three months. Adults with BED feel that their eating is out of control during a binge and find binges very upsetting, among other symptoms. BED is more than overeating and, unlike other eating disorders, people with BED don’t routinely try to “undo” their excessive eating with extreme actions like purging or over-exercising. BED occurs in both men and women.

While the disorder often starts in early adulthood, only 3% of US adults in an online survey who met BED criteria in the past 12 months reported having been diagnosed with the condition by a health care provider. Additionally, fewer than 50% of adults with BED are obese, based on a national survey of U.S. adults.

Vyvanse is shown to significantly reduce the mean number of binge days per week. Vyvanse is not indicated or recommended for weight loss or the treatment of obesity, according to Shire.

"The management of BED is continuously being studied, and though advancements have been made to increase awareness and understanding of this real disorder, rates of diagnosis remain low," says Dr. Susan L. McElroy, professor of psychiatry and behavioral neuroscience, University of Cincinnati College of Medicine and principal investigator of the BED clinical trials.