The Four Types Of Eating Disorders

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).

Anorexia nervosa is an eating disorder that involves extreme weight loss, restricted food intake, and an intense fear of becoming fat. The American Psychiatric Association outlines four diagnostic criteria for anorexia. The first is refusal to maintain body weight. The second is intense fear of gaining weight or becoming fat, even though underweight. The third is denial of the seriousness of low body weight. The

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.

According to the National Eating Disorders Association (NEDA), as many as 60 percent of children between ages 6 and 12 worry about weight gain, and half American teens think they’re overweight. (Turner, 2014) Girls want to lose huge amounts of weight because they think they will feel prettier when all there doing is damaging the inside of their body. Among adolescent girls, 1% to 3% have bulimia and 1% have anorexia. Only 5% to 15% of all people with anorexia or bulimia are male. (Harris, 2004) Most young females and males go through some type of eating disorder. A study in the Archives of General Psychiatry found that more than half a million teens have an eating disorder. (Turner, 2014)

Anorexia nervosa is an eating disorder characterized by self-starvation and excessive weight loss (Anorexia Nervosa). Women and men who suffer with anorexia nervosa exemplify a fixation with a thin figure and abnormal eating patterns. There are two types of Anorexia, including Binge and Purge type,

Eating disorders are mental illnesses that affect more than 7 million American women and usually develop in girls ages 12-25. The most common age for a girl to begin having an eating disorder is 17 years old (Discovery Health?). The National Eating Disorders Association states that eating disorders are conditions that arise from factors including physical, psychological, interpersonal, and social issues. Media images help define cultural definitions of beauty and attractiveness and are often acknowledged as one of the factors that contribute to the rise of eating disorders (NEDA). It is evident that the media influences teenage girls to develop eating disorders based on these reasons: the

A. Anorexia nervosa is characterized by refusal to maintain a healthy body weight and an obsessive fear of gaining weight.

Eating disorders refer to conditions where individuals have an unhealthy relationship with food, which turn negatively various aspects of their lives. Individuals suffering from eating disorders eat either excessively large amounts of food or little food that cannot sustain their normal body functions. Such persons can equally be obsessed with thoughts of food and exercises, an aspect that may result in them having distorted bodies. Millions of American citizens suffer from eating disorders such as anorexia nervosa, bulimia nervosa and binge eating, as well as eating disorders that are not otherwise specified (EDNOS). The most worrying concern nonetheless, is the fact that close to 90% of those suffering from eating disorders are adolescents and young women, the former who are routinely regarded as one of the most active segments of the population (Dancyger et al., 2014). The high incidence within adolescents and young women should note be taken to denote that young men and adults do not suffer from eating disorders. The failure to adequately attend to those suffering from eating disorders predisposes them to serious mental and physical health issues, thereby routinely interfering with their personal, professional and social lives (Mehler et al., 2015). In as much as eating disorders may coexist with different mental conditions, the eating disorders tend to go undiagnosed, implying that only a small number of sufferers obtain treatment for eating disorders. This

Female adolescents can develop eating disorders because of the way the media portrays models. Adolescent girls’ attitude of the thin ideal leads to body dissatisfaction, which in return puts them at risk for serious eating disorders like bulimia and anorexia nervosa. Bulimia is an emotional disorder involving distortion of body image and an obsessive desire to lose weight, in which bouts of extreme overeating are followed by depression and self-induced vomiting, purging, or fasting. Anorexia nervosa is an emotional disorder characterized by an obsessive desire to lose weight by refusing to eat. Kara L. Kerr who is currently studying psychology, sociology, and women’s and gender studies at the University of Tulsa claims that “Approximately 40 percent of anorexia nervosa cases occur in females ages fifteen to nineteen” (1). Females’ that are the ages of fifteen to nineteen should not be worrying about the presentation of their

Dieting is another major ramification of eating disorders to girls of all ages in America. Many girls have a negative mentality that makes them believe they are not skinny enough because of the photos posted on media today. This negative mentality results in unhealthy weight management and feeble relationships with food; these girls are excessively dieting and exercising in fear of gaining weight (“Teen Health and Wellness”). The ideal beauty image today is to be emaciated. Anorexia Nervosa is an eating disorder distinguished by an obsessive eagerness of losing weight by refusing to eat, the dangers of anorexia, and every other eating disorder are extremely high. Anorexia has the highest death rate of all mental illnesses: fifteen to twenty percent of anorexics die within the first ten years, while eighteen to twenty percent die within the first twenty years of being anorexic (“Mirasol Eating Disorder Recovery Centers”). The death rate correlated with eating disorders is twelve times higher than any other causes of death of females aged fifteen to twenty four (“Mirasol Eating Disorder Recovery Centers

Anorexia nervosa is psychiatric condition that is part of a group of eating disorders. It is associated with abnormally low body weight, extreme fear of gaining weight and a distorted perception of body image. Those with the disorder place a high value on controlling their weight to produce certain image. However, those suffering from the disorder more than likely use extreme efforts that tends to significantly interfere with their health and even normal activities or occupations in their lives. There is two forms of Anorexia, Anorexia Nervosa Binge is the type where an individual will purge when he or she eats. Restrictive Anorexia Nervosa is the form of anorexia nervosa where the individual will aggressively limit the quantity of food

Anorexia Nervosa is a type of eating disorder defined as a pathological fear of gaining weight. In its simple term, is self-starvation.

There are three different categories of eating disorders that are mentioned in Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders IV, DSM IV, and they are anorexia nervosa, bulimia nervosa, and eating disorder not other specified. There have been limited case studies done for all the eating disorders but anorexia nervosa received the second lowest number of case studies with only 15. So, medical professionals have limited amount of successful results to reference when treating other people with the same disorders. Bulimia nervosa is defined as excessive amounts of food consumed then purging, excessive use of laxatives, or exercising too much. There have been more case studies done on bulimia nervosa than any other eating disorder. The treatment

     One of the most prevalent disorders amongst the youth of this era is eating disorders. While some overlook it and don’t think it is a problem eating disorders should be given serious consideration. This is because the psychological ramification of eating disorders tends to have lasting effects over the course of the adolescents’ life.

Anorexia typically occurs within teens who struggle with distress, fear of becoming overweight, and low self esteem. Adding to that, doctors suspect that anorexia is typically caused by a combination of biological, behavioral and social factors. According to the authors, Anne M Morris and Debra K Katzman, in one study, 44% of adolescent girls believed they were overweight and 60% were currently trying to lose weight although the majority of these girls were within normal weight