When there is a sense of loss of control, it really doesn't matter whether it involves food, sex, caffeine, alcohol, or something else. Losing the sense of being able to make decisions is scary. Often, the thing that seems to make the anxiety about having no control go away is to do the same behavior that made you feel out of control before.
Addictions always work this way. There is a cycle involved that makes the addiction deeper. Not everyone agrees that an eating disorder is an addiction, but eating disorders do have similar characteristics to many addictions.
