Jazz Jennings Opens Up About ‘Substantial’ Weight Gain and Eating Disorder

John Lamparski/Getty Jazz Jennings     

Jazz Jennings is opening up about her struggle with binge-eating disorder (BED) after gaining a “substantial amount of weight.”

The transgender activist, 20, posted some before and after photos on Friday, sharing she gained “almost 100 lbs. in a little less than 2 years” as she holds herself accountable to change. “As many of you have noticed, over the past few years, I have gained a substantial amount of weight,” she started in the Instagram caption.

“I suffer from binge-eating disorder, a disease in which I’m not only addicted to food, but I eat it in large quantities,” Jennings continued. “My binging, along with an increased appetite I experience from some of the meds I’m on, has caused me to gain almost 100 lbs. in a little less than 2 years. I’m posting this photo because it’s time for me to address my weight gain and hold myself accountable.”

RELATED: Jazz Jennings Shows Off Her Figure in a Bikini After Third Gender Confirmation Procedure

BED is a “severe, life-threatening, and treatable eating disorder” and the most common eating disorder in the United States, according to the National Eating Disorder Association.

“I’m ready to change my ways; I’ve been saying I’m ready to turn over a new leaf, but I’m running out of trees now,” Jennings wrote. “I’m ready to take the initiative and create positive changes when it comes to my health and body. I have a fabulous team supporting me, both professionals and family/friends, but at the end of the day, I have to be the one committed toward bettering myself. I know I have the power in me to lose the weight, and I intend on sharing my progress with all of you. Love you all, and thanks for understanding the battle I’m fighting to win.”

“Sending you love and support Jazz. We are cheering you on!” Katie Couric responded to Jennings’ post. “Love and support you,” wrote Jazz’s brother Griffen in a comment. “You are so resilient and can do anything you put your mind too [sic],” wrote her other brother Sander. “I believe in you and will be by your side every step of the way.”

“Thank you all for the positivity and love,” Jazz later wrote to her 1.1 million Instagram followers on her Instagram Story. “I’m so touched by all of the support!”

Jazz Jennings Instagram

Jazz Jennings Instagram

Jazz Jennings Instagram

Jazz posted some more before and after photos to her story, writing “beautiful every shape and size” with a recent photo of herself in a tie-dye dress. “Loving you is easy cuz you’re beautiful,” she wrote with another selfie.

The reality TV star has opened up about her struggles with binge-eating in the past. “I’m trying to get in the best shape of my life. I’m done caring about image,” she said last February on I Am Jazz. “I’m beautiful no matter what size I am, but in terms of health, I’m not always very healthy.”

RELATED VIDEO: I am Jazz Clip: Jazz Jennings Talks Binge-Eating

“I really had to just retrain my mind,” Jazz said to PEOPLE in 2019 after she had to lose 30 lbs. in order to undergo gender confirmation surgery. “I had to look at food as something different than what I was looking at it as. Because I used food as a comfort for my emotional struggles. I was a binge-eater. It was really bad.”

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