Eating Disorders
Eating disorders are serious and sometimes fatal illness that individuals go through when their eating habits becomes disturb and take on an unhealthy fashion. Preliminary behavioral history with food, body weight or shape could play roles in how eating disorders are developed. The associated eating disorders include anorexia nervosa, bulimia nervosa and binge-eating disorder.
Anorexia nervosa: Individuals with this eating disorder perceive themselves as being overweight, often they are underweight avoiding eating certain food essential to the body. They also use calorie restriction which could affect the body in it not getting enough nutrients to sustain a healthy weight. Anorexia could be characterized into two categories restriction and purging types. According to Healthline, “Anorexia can be very damaging to the body…Over time, individuals living with it may experience thinning of their bones, infertility, brittle hair and nails, and the growth of a layer of fine hair all over their body” (Healthline, 2019). It could also affect major organs within the body as well. This eating disorder can develop from adolescence to young adulthood.
Bulimia nervosa: Individuals with this eating disorder eats abnormally large amounts of food in such a window of time, sometimes eating until they’re stomach aches. They then purge their food to account for the amounts of calories that they consumed during their initial binge. Individuals with Bulimia nervosa are at risk for loss of major electrolytes such as sodium, potassium and calcium which cause strokes or heart attacks.
Binge-Eating Disorder: This is the most common eating disorder especially within the United States. Individuals with this eating disorder may have similar experiences as those with anorexia nervosa or bulimia except for they experience lack of control impulses with their large volume of food intact. They can eat unusual large amounts of food with experiencing the purging or restricting their diets. Binge-eating disorder can typically be discovered during adolescence through adulthood and can also develop later on in life as well.
Signs and Symptoms:
Anorexia nervosa:
· Very restricted eating patterns
· Being considered underweight or persistent behaviors that consist of avoiding foods that may cause weigh gain
· Intense fear of gaining weight
· Relentless pursuit of happiness and unwillingness to maintain a healthy weight
· Distorted body image, including denial of being seriously underweight
Bulimia nervosa:
· Recurrent episodes of binge eating with a feeling of lack of control
· Recurrent episodes of inappropriate purging behaviors to prevent weight gain
· A fear of gaining weight, despite having a normal weight
· Inflamed or sore throat
· Swollen salivary glands
· Worn tooth enamel
Binge-Eating Disorder:
· Eating large amounts of food rapidly, in secret and until uncomfortably full, despite not feeling hungry
· Feeling a lack of control during episodes of binge eating
· Feelings of distress, such as shame, disgust, or guilt, when thinking about the binge eating behavior
· No use of purging behaviors, such as calorie restriction, vomiting, excessive exercise, or laxative or diuretic use, to compensate for the binging.
Treatment for Eating disorders:
Treatments for eating disorders is an assortment of treatment plans such as seeking help from a licensed professional or treatments centers your area. There are medication treatments that individuals can take alongside therapy with a professional they trust. Medications typically vary on the situation that the individual is in and the type of eating disorder that they are experiencing. Other options can include nutrition education that can individuals with their meal planning and safe calorie intake, hospital treatment programs for severe cases of eating disorders, residential treatment facilities for individuals who live within the facility and many more.
Population:
Anorexia Nervosa:
According to statistics and research on eating disorders, “0.3%-0.4% of young women and 0.1% of young men will suffer from anorexia nervosa” (NEDA, 2018). The article also mentions, “Males represent 25% of individuals with anorexia nervosa, and they are at a higher risk of dying, in part because they are often diagnosed later since many people assume males don’t have eating disorders” (NEDA, 2018). This was interesting to learn about because the results for men and women and eating disorders was never really known to me, so it was interesting learning about it.
Bulimia Nervosa:
According to NEDA, “At any given point in time, 1.0% of young men and 0.1% of young men will meet diagnostic criteria for bulimia nervosa” (NEDA, 2018). This was really interesting to learn about because I never knew how many men and women suffered from Bulimia in the united states.
Binge-eating disorder:
According to NEDA, “A 2007 study asked 9,282 English-speaking Americans about a variety of mental health conditions, including eating disorders… The results, published in Biological Psychiatry, found that 3.5% of women and 2.0% of men have binge eating disorder during their life” (NEDA, 2018). This was interesting to learn about because It was interesting that they grabbed that information from just one study done in the sample.
References:
· Eating Disorders. (n.d.). Retrieved October 19, 2020, from https://www.nimh.nih.gov/health/topics/eating-disorders/index.shtml
· Eating disorder treatment: Know your options. (2017, July 14). Retrieved October 19, 2020, from https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/eating-disorders/in- depth/eating-disorder-treatment/art-20046234
· (n.d.). Retrieved October 19, 2020, from https://www.citationmachine.net/bibliographies/149b0b8e-ce87-4a35-b570- 5c841cce427b
· Petre, A. (2019, October 30). Learn about 6 common types of eating disorders and their symptoms. Retrieved October 19, 2020, from https://www.healthline.com/nutrition/common-eating-disorders
