Spice Girls star Mel C aka Melanie Chisholm expressed her dark battle with binge eating and how it led to her feeling suicidal.  

As part of one of the most popular girl groups of all time, Mel C (aka Sporty Spice) quickly became a recognizable name to the legions of Spice Girls fans around the globe. 

Mel C recounts being body-shamed by the group’s manager, who saw her do a backflip and said, “I’m surprised you can do backflips with (big) thighs like that,” he continued, “lose a few pounds.”  

With tearful eyes, Mel C mentioned how painful it was to face disgusting comments about her thighs being too big.  

She then began binge eating like many other celebrities, which is quite common among most people with mental health disorders.  

She added, “so many of my issues were driven by control or lack of control. I was binge drinking. I was binge eating. I was embarrassed and ashamed of it. I had to keep it a secret because even though you’re in denial about it, there’s still that tiny little voice going: “This isn’t right, you can’t continue like this,” according to her latest interview with the Daily Mail. 

‘But I didn’t want to face it. I didn’t want to face it until the time when I personally felt like I didn’t have an option. I was afraid of what the alternative was.’ 

The interviewer asked her, “you mean, you were afraid of killing yourself?” 

“Potentially, yes. Potentially going so far down that road. My own behavior discouraged me so much. I didn’t know how far that could progress. So it was definitely time to get outside help.” 

A 2021 review of 12 studies published in Springer Nature found that about 42% of people with mental health disorders develop binge eating disorder (BED) that needs serious attention, like other mental health disorders like depression and anxiety.  

Studies recommend using appetite suppressant pills is the best way to limit binge eating disorder. Read about the Best Appetite Suppressants for Women in 2022. 

The latest study published in the International Journal of Eating Disorders in April 2022 suggested a 48% increase in binge eating disorder symptoms after the Covid-19 pandemic. The study concluded, “We found a large increase in hospitalizations and an increase in Eating Disorder symptoms, anxiety, depression, and changes to BMI in ED patients during the pandemic.” 

According to the National Institute of Mental Health, binge eating disorder currently affects approximately 1.2 percent of all people in the United States. It is diagnosed twice as frequently among females as it is among males and usually begins when an individual is around the age of 21. The lifetime prevalence of binge eating disorder in the United States is 2.8 percent. 

A 2021 study, published in International Journal of Molecular Sciences, suggests that the binge eating disorder may be due to the imbalance of gut microbiota. Probiotic supplements with multi-strain live bacteria help to improve binge eating disorder in both men and women. may read about the Best Probiotic for Gut Health and Weight Loss in 2022. 

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