Eating Disorders
By Jeimi Perez
What are eating disorders?
Eating disorders is any range of psychological disorders
characterized by abnormal or disturbed eating habits.
Many medical professionals believe that eating disorders can be
caused by:
Biochemical disorders in the brain
Genetics
Psychological
Environmental influences
Statistics
At least 30 million people of all ages and gender suffer from an
eating disorder in the U.S.
Eating disorders have the highest mortality rate of any mental
illness.
Over one-half of teenage girls and one-third of teenage boys use
unhealthy weight control behaviors such as skipping meals,
smoking, fasting, vomiting, or taking laxatives.
Americans spend over $4 billion on dieting and diet related
products each year.
Types of Eating Disorders
Anorexia Nervosa
Suffer from an extremely low body weight relative to their height and body type.
Self-starvation
Fear of gaining weight or looking “fat”
Abnormal eating patterns
Denial of hunger
Excessive exercise to burn off calories
Symptoms
Rapid loss weight
Obsession with calories and fat contents of food
Engaging in ritual eating patterns, such as cutting food into tiny pieces, eating
alone, and/or hiding food
Loss or thinning hair
Consequences of Anorexia Nervosa
Muscle loss and weakness
Fainting, fatigue, and overall weakness
Dry hair and skin, hair loss
Abnormal slow heart rate and low blood pressure
Osteoporosis
Bulimia Nervosa
Bulimia Nervosa is another psychological life threatening eating disorder. It is
described as ingesting large amounts of food in a short period of time,
followed by the attempt to avoid gaining weight by purging the food that was
consumed.
Methods of purging include: forced vomiting, taking laxatives, and or extreme
prolonged periods of exercising. A person with this disorder may experience a
loss of control and engage in frantic efforts to undo those feelings.
Symptoms of Bulimia Nervosa
Eating large amounts of food uncontrollably (binge)
Forced vomiting, excessive intake of laxatives, or using other methods to
eliminate food (purging)
Obsessive concern over body weight
Depression or frequent changes in mood
Irregular menstrual periods
Unusual dental problems, swollen cheeks or glands, heartburn, and/or
bloating
Consequences of Bulimia Nervosa
Tooth decay and staining from stomach acids released during frequent
vomiting
Electrolyte imbalance, which can result in cardiac arrhythmia, cardiac
arrest, or ultimately death
Chronic Dehydration
Inflammation of esophagus
Infertility
Chronic gastric reflux after eating or peptic ulcers
Treatments
Anorexia Nervosa
Highest priority is addressing any serious health issues
that may have resulted from the eating disordered
behaviors, such as malnutrition, electrolyte imbalance,
amenorrhea and an unstable heartbeat.
Supervision of a tailored meal plan and education about
normal eating patterns.
Therapy
Achieving long-term remission and rehabilitation.
Bulimia Nervosa
Discontinuing the binge-purge cycle and restoring
normal eating behaviors.
Improving negative thoughts. Concentrating on
recognizing and changing irrational beliefs about weight,
body shape, and dieting.
Resolving emotional issues. Treatment may address
interpersonal relationships and can include cognitive
behavior therapy, dialectic behavior therapy, and other
related therapies.
Other kinds of Treatment
Medical treatment
Drugs may be used with other forms of therapy such as
antidepressants
Individual Therapy
Nutritional Counseling
Family Therapy
Group Therapy
Prognosis for Improvement
Anorexia
50% have good outcomes
30% have intermediate outcomes
20% have poor outcomes
Bulimia
45% have good outcomes
18% have intermediate outcomes
21% have poor outcomes
How to get help or information
The National Eating Disorders Association (NEDA) offers a hotline 1-800-
931-2237
NEDA has a database of treatment providers all across the country
NEDA offers a screening test letting you know if you have a eating
disorder, which one, and what steps to take.
Closest clinic in Chicago is the Insight Behavioral Health Centers and their
number is (312) 999-0368
Sources
• https://www.eatingdisorderhope.com/information/bulimia
#What-is-Bulimia
• https://www.eatingdisorderhope.com/information/anorex
ia
• https://www.nationaleatingdisorders.org/types-treatment
