Eating Disorders are an Unhealthy Obsession

Many people are unaware of the background of eating disorders. Women are more likely than men to develop an eating disorder and they usually develop in childhood before the age of 20 (Ross-Flanigan 1). Women as well as men can develop an eating disorder; it is just more likely for a woman to develop one. Eating disorders are usually developed in adolescent or childhood years when a person is influenced the most. Also “Eating disorders are psychological conditions that involve overeating, voluntary starvation, or both. Anorexia nervosa, anorexic bulimia, and binge eating are the most well-known types of eating disorders” (Ross-Flanigan 1). Many people assume that an eating disorder is when a person staves themselves; they do not realize that it can involve overeating as well. Some eating disorders also involve purging, but not all. People with an eating disorder fear gaining weight even when they are severely underweight. They do not lack an appetite (Ross-Flanigan 1). These people are

Eating disorders have the highest mortality rate of any mental illness. Three of the most discussed are anorexia, bulimia, and what researchers call EDNOS (eating disorder not otherwise specified). Each of the eating disorders can be fatal in their own way. What are the signs, what do they do to you and your body, and what can be done to treat the problem? Researchers have studied long and hard into these three disorders so that those questions could be answered to the best of their ability. In this paper, the outcomes of the research that was done and the thesis

Around 10-15% of all Americans suffer from an eating disorder. “More than 7 million women suffer from an eating disorder whereas only one million men suffer from an eating disorder” (Mirasol). In modern society, we are surrounded by media and images. Both men and women struggle to meet the expectations set forth in magazines, websites, and on television. The pressure to imitate the ideal body can lead many down unhealthy paths. Teens today face a lot more challenges which leads them to illnesses like Anorexia, Bulimia, and Binge eating. Although there are a lot of similarities in this disease, the differences can also affect people differently, which means different treatments are required.

Thesis Statement: It is important to understand eating disorders and the types of eating disorders to overcome them and seek the proper treatment.

Eating disorders are sweeping this country and are rampant on junior high, high school, and college campuses. These disorders are often referred to as the Deadly Diet, but are often known by their more popular names: anorexia or bulimia. They affect more than 20% of females between the age of thirteen and forty. It is very rare for a young female not to know of someone with an eating disorder. Statistics show that at least one in five young women have a serious problem with eating and weight (Bruch, 25).

Many children and adolescents not only express dissatisfaction with their figure, shape and weight, but also exhibit disordered eating behavior, such as binge eating (eating a large amount of food with a sense of lack of control), food restriction, laxative abuse and vomiting. For children and adolescents, eating disorders can overlap in many instances. As an example, some children alternate between periods of anorexia and bulimia. Eating disorders typically develop during adolescence or early adulthood. However, research has shown that they can start in childhood, too. Females are much more vulnerable. Only an estimated 5% to 15% of people with anorexia or bulimia are male. With binge eating, the number rises to 35%

Bingeing. Purging. Calorie counting. Excessive exercising. These are actions that are most commonly associated with eating disorders, which are psychological conditions affecting an individual’s eating habits. Though these conditions can appear in any age or gender group, they tend to be most prevalent in adolescent women. A large population of these young women happen to be college students dealing with problems such as body image issues, food insecurity, and other mental health disorders. Unfortunately, the number of college students with eating disorders is steadily rising in the United States, which is why it is important for colleges and universities to find solutions for it.

The two most common eating disorders are bulimia nervosa and anorexia nervosa. Both disorders, primarily affect young women, therefore the majority of the research on eating disorders has been done with women subjects. The onset of bulimia is between adolescence and early adulthood while the onset of anorexia is between early and late adolescence. Not only is the onset different but the disorders are unique. Bulimia nervosa is characterized by loss of control over eating which leads to food binges. These episodes are interspersed with episodes of purging, such as vomiting or laxative abuse, to keep weight down. The goal of anorexia is also to keep weight down , but to a

Eating disorders affect millions of men and women every day. Bulimia nervosa, anorexia nervosa, and binge eating disorder are three main types of eating disorders that can have detrimental consequences on the human body. These eating disorders not only deteriorate one’s body, but also eradicate the mind. “Inherent to anorexia nervosa and bulimia nervosa are a plethora of medical complications which correlate with the severity of weight loss or the frequency and mode of purging” (Mehler, 2015).

Eating disorder is a term used to describe several psychological disorders characterized by abnormal eating habits. Some of the most common eating disorders include anorexia nervosa, bulimia nervosa, and binge eating disorder. Anorexia nervosa is probably the most well-known of these. A person suffering from anorexia nervosa will obsess over weight gain and show unusual anxiety related to weight gain. Depending upon the type (binge-eating/purging type or restricting type) a person will either consume food and then attempt to “purge”, a term used to describe a method of forced removal of food from the body such as self-induced vomiting, or they will restrict the amount of food consumed. In most cases the person will be under healthy weight and often see themselves as average weight or even overweight. In bulimia nervosa and binge eating disorders the affected person will eat excessive amounts of food. People suffering from these diseases report feeling out of control during their binge eating episodes. In bulimia nervosa binge eating episodes are followed by some method of purging whereas in binge eating disorder they are not, although the person normally expresses feelings of guilt or embarrassment afterwards. People suffering from bulimia nervosa are usually average weight which can make detection difficult. Those with binge eating disorder are normally

According to the Mayo Clinic (2016), eating disorders are “conditions related to persistent eating behaviors that negatively impact your health, your emotions, and your ability to function in important areas of life.” One such eating disorder is anorexia nervosa. Not to be confused with anorexia, which is simply a general loss of appetite that can be attributed to many medical ailments, anorexia nervosa is a serious eating disorder and mental illness (Nordqvist, 2015). Anorexia nervosa is estimated to affect about .9% of women and .3% of men in their lifetime (“Eating Disorder Statistics & Research,” n.d.). In general, the disorder is commonly characterized by a distorted body image or self-concept, critically low weight (with respect to the patient’s height and age), and an irrational fear of becoming fat or an intense desire to be thin. There are two subtypes to this eating disorder: restrictive and binge/purge. In the restrictive type, the individual limits caloric intake and may compulsively over-exercise. In the binge/purge type, the individual consumes a considerable amount of food in a short period of time (binging) and then deliberately vomits (purging), takes laxatives, or fasts intensely in order to compensate for the food eaten (“General Information: Anorexia Nervosa,” n.d.). In either case, anorexia nervosa is undoubtedly a dangerous and alarming illness.

While the most important dissimilarities differentiating anorexia nervosa from avoidant / restrictive disorder, an overwhelming and severe fear of gaining weight and a disturbance in how an individual experiences their body shape and weight, are apparent, distinguishing bulimia nervosa from anorexia nervosa has proved to be the most challenging diagnostic difficulty. Bulimia nervosa is defined by “recurrent episodes of binge eating, recurrent compensatory behaviors to prevent weight gain and self-evaluation that is unduly influenced by body shape and weight” and, therefore, the subtype of binge-eating / purging anorexia nervosa falls in the middle of the spectrum between the two disorders. (American Psychiatric Association, 2013). Adolescents afflicted with anorexia nervosa and/or bulimia nervosa, often share similar characteristics of family conflict, excessive conformance and regimentation of behavior, and interpersonal insecurity (Herzog et al, 1991; Strober, 1980; Strober et al., 1985). However, adolescents with restrictive anorexia, often maintain a lower body weight while the bulimic and binging anorexic patients tend to be more prone to higher levels of depression, family conflict, self destructive behavior and are usually more sexually active than restrictive anorexic patients (Fisher e al,

Eating disorders can be defined as a definite disturbance of eating habits or weight-control behavior. Eating disorders are one of the significant cause of physical and psychosocial morbidity in both men and women, especially in teen age girls or young women, while much less for men. Eating disorders can be put into three diagnostic classes: anorexia nervosa, bulimia nervosa, and atypical eating disorders. These three types of eating disorders are closely related to each other, and patients can often move between them. There is also binge eating disorder, which is of a different nature to the other three types and will be discussed separately. The causes of eating disorder is rather complicated and very poorly understood. They involve social, psychological, and biological aspects and are difficult to treat. Researches on treatments for eating disorders is mainly focused on bulimia and a form of cognitive behaviour therapy is found to be the most effective treatment.

The elementary definition of an eating disorder surrounds the characterization of such disorders, and a general overview of the symptoms. Most commonly recognized are three specific types of disorders: anorexia nervosa, bulimia nervosa and binge-eating disorder. Anorexia nervosa is the restrictive form, where the intake of food is limited severely. In bulimia nervosa, the patient binges on food and then tries to minimize the effects by forcibly vomiting, fasting, and catharsis or over exercising (Staff, Parenting Today). Binge-eating disorder is characterized by a loss of control over a patient’s eating. Contrasting to bulimia nervosa, periods of binge eating are not

Each year millions of people in the United States are affected by serious and sometimes life-threatening eating disorders. The vast majorities are adolescents and young adult women. Approximately one percent of adolescent girls develops anorexia nervosa, a dangerous condition in which they can literally starve themselves to death. Another two to three percent develop bulimia nervosa, a destructive pattern of excessive overeating followed by vomiting or other " purging " behaviors to control their weight. These eating disorders also occur in men and older women, but much less frequently. The consequences of eating disorders can be severe. For example, one in ten anorexia nervosa leads to death from starvation, cardiac arrest, or