Summary: Cheat eating is when people eat meals apart from their regular meals. A new study shows that cheat eating is fairly common in Western countries. Most young adults report one or more cheat meals a week. Sadly, doctors often don’t ask about cheat meals. So they miss part of what causes obesity or metabolic disorders in young adults.
Obesity is rising around the world, but more so in rich nations like the US, where most people are obese. Data shows that more than 70% of US adults are obese or overweight. Poor food choices and bad eating patterns are the main cause of obesity and metabolic disorders. What is worrying is that obesity is rising in children, teens and young adults. It also means eating disorders are rising in young adults. That is because they are not just choosing the wrong foods. They are also eating when they should not.
Cheat eating is common in Western countries. Most young adults report one or more cheat meals a week. Sadly, this unhealthy habit can lead to obesity and metabolic disorders. One study looked at how common cheat eating is in Canada. Most cheat meals added 1000 to 1500 calories of high-calorie, unhealthy food. This can lead to serious health problems, including some that call for pancreatitis pain management. It is vital to tackle cheat eating to prevent obesity and related health problems.
One study looked at how common “cheat eating” is in Canada. The results were published in the Journal of Eating Disorders. The study looked at data on 2,700 teens and young adults from the Canadian Study of Adolescent Health Behaviors. The data covered eating habits people reported in 2021-22.
The study had many interesting findings. First, it found that “cheat eating” is relatively common among young adults. It found that most young adults engaged in cheat eating at least once a week or more. However, what was worrisome was the number of calories in each such cheat meal. Researchers found that when cheat eating, people generally choose high-calorie food. Thus, on average, a cheat meal adds 1000 to 1500 calories.
The study found that “cheat eating” was a bit more common in men (about 60%) than in women (about 54%) and transgender people (53%). But men were more likely to eat healthy food and exercise. So men’s cheat meals were rich in protein. Women’s cheat meals were more likely to be rich in carbs and fats. The reason is simple. Men ate cheat meals to meet the higher nutrition needs of exercise.
People who eat cheat meals are more likely to have other eating disorders, like binge eating, compulsive eating and so on. Some also found it harder to control the urge to eat more. These findings matter in many ways. Many doctors don’t know about cheat meals. So when they treat people with metabolic disorders, they focus on regular eating habits. They often leave cheat meals out of the picture.
Many obese or metabolically unhealthy adults may report regular eating habits that sound more or less fine. But “cheat eating” is a very common problem. So to beat obesity and the pandemic of metabolic disorders, we need to cut cheat eating and the eating disorders that go with it.
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Yes. A Canadian study of 2,700 teens and young adults was published in the Journal of Eating Disorders. People who ate cheat meals were more likely to also have other eating disorders, such as binge eating and compulsive eating. Some also found it harder to control the urge to eat more.
A cheat meal is usually made of high-calorie, unhealthy food. In the Canadian data, one cheat meal added 1,000 to 1,500 calories on average. Week after week, that extra load feeds obesity and metabolic disorders. It can lead to serious problems, including pancreatitis.
Often. Most young adults in the study reported at least one cheat meal a week. Cheat eating was a bit more common in men (about 60%) than in women (about 54%) and transgender people (53%). The numbers come from the Canadian Study of Adolescent Health Behaviors, which used eating habits reported in 2021-22.
A cheat meal is food eaten apart from a person’s regular meals, and it is usually high in calories. What went on the plate differed by sex. Men’s cheat meals were more often rich in protein, tied to the nutrition needs of exercise. Women’s cheat meals were more likely to be rich in carbs and fats.
Many doctors are not aware of them. When they treat obesity or a metabolic disorder, they focus on the patient’s regular eating habits, which may sound more or less fine. The cheat meals sit outside that picture, so the doctor misses part of the cause. Asking about them belongs in every metabolic visit.
Medical Disclaimer: Keep in mind that the content provided is not direct medical advice for patient care, but is provided for thoughtful discussion.
Summary: Pain clinics often ask patients to rate their pain scores from “zero to 10”. But some experts warn that these pain scores, though useful, do little to guide chronic pain treatment. Patients describe pain in different ways, and their life experience varies. Studies also show that pain does not always match how serious the disease is. And where it hurts does not always point to the cause. For example, many people with chronic low back pain are helped by antidepressants, anti-inflammatory drugs or painkillers.
Pain doctors need to know how bad their patients’ pain is. So they often ask patients to rate their pain on a “zero to 10” scale. But some health experts warn that this approach may not be perfect. In many cases it may even mislead doctors. For example, the pain a patient reports does not always match how serious the cause is. Worse, pain can spread, so the root cause may lie somewhere else. Researchers are not saying to stop using pain scores. They are saying to use them with care and not lean on them too much. A pain score should never be the only reason for choosing a treatment.
Some doctors also warn that this kind of pain rating, though helpful, often does little. For one, people describe pain in different ways. One person may handle pain better than another. And life experience varies. One person may have had few painful problems. Another may have had many health problems, injuries and bouts of severe pain. So the pain score a patient reports does little to decide which treatment to choose. Experts put it this way. If you take a flat tire to a mechanic, they won’t ask how loud it was when the tire blew. The mechanic knows that does not matter, so they focus on fixing the problem.
Of course, the comparison is not fair. A broken-down car and human pain are very different things. Still, the point stands. How bad the pain feels tells you little about its cause. It also says little about how serious the underlying problem is. In fact, a scoring system might distract doctors and lead to the wrong diagnosis. So the focus must be on finding and treating the root cause of chronic pain. Here is a well-known example. A study looked at 3110 people aged 20 to 80 years old who had no symptoms. On their scans, doctors found that 37% of 20-year-olds had disk wear (degeneration). That rose to a whopping 96% in 80-year-olds. Yet none of them had symptoms. This imaging study showed that scan findings, like those on an MRI, do not always match the pain.
Radiologists often cite this study because it raises many questions. For example, when someone comes in with back pain, doctors assume a low back or disk problem, and the MRI seems to confirm it. But many of these patients get no help from anti-inflammatory drugs or even opioids. So experts warn: if so many people without symptoms have disk wear, an MRI cannot prove that disk changes are the cause of a patient’s low back pain. There may be other causes.
So doctors must remember that the human body is complex. Where pain sits, and even what imaging tests show, must be read with care. Even exact, sensitive tests like imaging cannot prove what causes chronic pain. In fact, many patients report relief from antidepressants or anti-anxiety drugs. So focusing too much on pain scores and pain location may mislead doctors. For example, people with chronic, hard-to-treat low back pain often live with depression or anxiety. And people with long-lasting muscle and joint pain in other places often have depression or other chronic illnesses.
So experts advise that when treating chronic pain, doctors must avoid the simple habit of rating pain from “zero to 10” and then handing out painkillers. Instead, they must work harder to find the root cause of chronic pain.
Padda Institute of Pain Management in the St. Louis area treats chronic pain and related conditions, including pancreatitis pain management, migraine headache treatment and diabetic neuropathy treatments. As a well-known complex regional pain syndrome specialist, Padda Institute offers treatment matched to your needs.
Pain specialists need a sense of how intense your pain is, and a zero-to-10 rating is a quick way to get it. The number has a place, but its practical value in chronic pain treatment is limited. It should never be the only reason for choosing a treatment. The real job is finding the root cause of the pain and treating that.
Only as a rough guide. People describe pain in different ways. Some handle pain better than others. And someone who has lived through many injuries and painful illnesses will rate the same pain differently from someone who has not. That is why a pain score alone says little about which treatment will work.
Not always. The pain a patient reports does not always match how serious the cause is. Pain can also spread, so the place that hurts may not be where the problem starts. A high number is a reason to look hard for the cause. It is not a measure of how much damage there is.
Not reliably. A study looked at 3,110 people aged 20 to 80 who had no symptoms at all. On imaging, 37% of 20-year-olds and 96% of 80-year-olds already had disk wear. So disk changes on an MRI do not prove they cause your low back pain. Other causes have to be checked.
Because chronic pain and mood are often tangled together. People with chronic, hard-to-treat low back pain often live with depression or anxiety. Many report relief from antidepressants or anti-anxiety drugs. It is one more sign that where the pain sits, and even what the imaging shows, does not tell the whole story about its cause.
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