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London: Former British deputy Prime Minister John Prescott has confessed to having suffered from the binge eating disorder bulimia for more than 20 years, the 69-year-old politician told the Sunday Times newspaper.
Prescott, who stood down as deputy prime minister in June after a 10-year stint, said stress brought on the disorder when he was a shadow cabinet member in the 1980s, with the condition degenerating after the Labour Party came to power in 1997.
"I've never confessed it before," Prescott said. "Out of shame, I suppose, or embarrassment or just because it's such a strange thing for someone like me to confess to.
"People normally associate it with anorexic girls, models trying to keep their weight down, or women in stressful situations, like Princess Diana."
"What I did was stuff my face with anything around, any old rubbish, burgers, chocolate, crisps, fish and chips, loads of it, till I felt sick - but at least I'd had the pleasure of stuffing my face and feeling really full," said Prescott. "Then there would be a weird kind of pleasure in vomiting and feeling relieved."
Britain's leading eating disorders charity BEAT estimates some 1.1 million people in Britain are affected by anorexia, bulimia or binge eating.
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