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Eating Disorders

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54 views

Eating Disorders

Uploaded by

ramdallygrace77
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as TXT, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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Eating disorders are behavioral conditions characterized by severe and persistent

disturbance in eating behaviors and associated distressing thoughts and emotions.


They can be very serious conditions affecting physical, psychological and social
function.
Eating disorders are often associated with preoccupations with food, weight or
shape or with anxiety about eating or the consequences of eating certain foods.
Behaviors associated with eating disorders including restrictive eating or
avoidance of certain foods, binge eating, purging by vomiting or laxative misuse or
compulsive exercise.

Eating disorders affect several million people at any given time, most often women
between the ages of 12 and 35. There are several types of eating disorders. The
most common are anorexia nervosa, bulimia nervosa, binge eating disorder, avoidant
restrictive food intake disorder (ARFID) and other specified feeding and eating
disorder (OSFED).

Treatment should address psychological, behavioral, nutritional and other medical


complications. The latter can include consequences of malnutrition or of purging
behaviors including, heart and gastrointestinal problems as well as other
potentially fatal conditions.

With proper medical care, however, those with eating disorders can resume healthy
eating habits, and recover their emotional and psychological health.

Types of Eating Disorders

• Anorexia Nervosa
Anorexia nervosa is characterized by self-starvation and weight loss resulting in
low weight for height and age. Anorexia has the highest mortality of any
psychiatric diagnosis other than opioid use disorder and can be a very serious
condition. Body mass index or BMI, a measure of weight for height, is typically
under 18.5 in an adult individual with anorexia nervosa

Dieting behavior in anorexia nervosa is driven by an intense fear of gaining weight


or becoming fat. Although some individuals with anorexia will say they want and are
trying to gain weight, their behavior is not consistent with this intent. For
example, they may only eat small amounts of low-calorie foods and exercise
excessively. Some persons with anorexia nervosa also intermittently binge eat and
or purge by vomiting or laxative misuse.

There are two subtypes of anorexia nervosa:

1. Restricting type, in which individuals lose weight primarily by dieting,


fasting or excessively exercising.

2. Binge-eating/purging type in which persons also engage in intermittent binge


eating and/or purging behaviors

Symptoms that may develop related to starvation or purging behaviors:

▪ Menstrual periods cease


▪ Dizziness or fainting from dehydration
▪ Brittle hair/nails
▪ Cold intolerance
▪ muscle weakness and wasting
▪ Heartburn and reflux (in those who vomit)
▪ Severe constipation, bloating and fullness after meals
▪ Stress fractures from compulsive exercise as well as bone loss resulting in
osteopenia or osteoporosis (thinning of the bones)
▪ Depression, irritability, anxiety, poor concentration and fatigue

Serious medical complications can be life threatening and include heart rhythm
abnormalities especially in those patients who vomit or use laxatives, kidney
problems or seizures.

Treatment for anorexia nervosa involves helping those affected normalize their
eating and weight control behaviors and restore their weight. Medical evaluation
and treatment of any co-occurring psychiatric or medical conditions is an important
component of the treatment plan.

• Bulimia Nervosa

Individuals with bulimia nervosa typically alternate dieting, or eating only low
calorie “safe foods” with binge eating on “forbidden” high calorie foods. Binge
eating is defined as eating a large amount of food in a short period of time
associated with a sense of loss of control over what, or how much one is eating.
Binge behavior is usually secretive and associated with feelings of shame or
embarrassment. Binges may be very large and food is often consumed rapidly, beyond
fullness to the point of nausea and discomfort.

Binges occur at least weekly and are typically followed by what are called
"compensatory behaviors" to prevent weight gain. These can include fasting,
vomiting, laxative misuse or compulsive exercise. As in anorexia nervosa, persons
with bulimia nervosa are excessively preoccupied with thoughts of food, weight or
shape which negatively affect, and disproportionately impact, their self-worth.

Individuals with bulimia nervosa can be slightly underweight, normal weight,


overweight or even obese. If they are significantly underweight however, they are
considered to have anorexia nervosa binge-eating/purging type not bulimia nervosa.

Possible signs that someone may have bulimia nervosa include:

▪ Frequent trips to the bathroom right after meals

▪ Large amounts of food disappearing or unexplained empty wrappers and food


containers

▪ Chronic sore throat

▪ Swelling of the salivary glands in the cheeks

▪ Dental decay resulting from erosion of tooth enamel by stomach acid

▪ Heartburn and gastroesophageal reflux

▪ Laxative or diet pill misuse

▪ Recurrent unexplained diarrhea

▪ Misuse of diuretics (water pills)

▪ Feeling dizzy or fainting from excessive purging behaviors resulting in


dehydration

Bulimia can lead to rare but potentially fatal complications including esophageal
tears, gastric rupture, and dangerous cardiac arrhythmias. Medical monitoring in
cases of severe bulimia nervosa is important to identify and treat any possible
complications.
• Binge Eating Disorder

As with bulimia nervosa, people with binge eating disorder have episodes of binge
eating in which they consume large quantities of food in a brief period, experience
a sense of loss of control over their eating and are distressed by the binge
behavior. Unlike people with bulimia nervosa however, they do not regularly use
compensatory behaviors to get rid of the food by inducing vomiting, fasting,
exercising or laxative misuse. Binge eating disorder can lead to serious health
complications, including obesity, diabetes, hypertension and cardiovascular
diseases.

The diagnosis of binge eating disorder requires frequent binges (at least once a
week for three months), associated with a sense of lack of control and with three
or more of the following features:

▪ Eating more rapidly than normal.

▪ Eating until uncomfortably full.

▪ Eating large amounts of food when not feeling hungry.

▪ Eating alone because of feeling embarrassed by how much one is eating.

▪ Feeling disgusted with oneself, depressed or very guilty after a binge.

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