Eating Disorders

Eating disorders are complex, chronic illnesses largely misunderstood and misdiagnosed. The most common eating disorders - anorexia nervosa and bulimia nervosa - are on the rise in the United States and worldwide. No one knows exactly what causes eating disorders. However, all socioeconomic, ethnic and cultural groups are at risk.

More than ninety percent of those with eating disorders are women. Further, the number of American women affected by these illnesses has doubled to at least five million in the past three decades.

Eating disorders are one of the key health issues facing young women. Currently, 1-4% of all young women in the United States are affected by eating disorders. Anorexia nervosa, for example, ranks as the third most common chronic illness among adolescent females in the United States.

Eating disorders have numerous physical, psychological and social ramifications, from significant weight preoccupation, inappropriate eating behavior, and body image distortion.

Anorexia Nervosa

Anorexia nervosa is a dangerous condition in which people can literally starve themselves to death. People with this disorder eat very little even though they are already thin. They have an intense and overpowering fear of body fat and weight gain, repeated dieting attempts, and excessive weight loss. This particular eating disorder affects from 0.5% to 1% of the female adolescent population with an average age of onset between 14 and 18 years.

Anorexia is identified in part by refusal to eat, an intense desire to be thin, repeated dieting attempts, and excessive weight loss. To maintain an abnormally low weight, people with anorexia may diet, fast, or over exercise. They often engage in behaviors such as self-induced vomiting or the misuse of laxatives, diuretics, or enemas. People with anorexia believe that they are overweight even when they are extremely thin.

A Person with Anorexia may…

Eat only 'safe' foods, usually those low in calories and fat
Have odd rituals, such as cutting food into small pieces
Spend more time playing with food than eating it
Cook meals for others without eating · Engage in compulsive exercising
Dress in layers to hide weight loss
Spend less time with family and friends, become more isolated, withdrawn, and secretive
Bulimia Nervosa

Individuals suffering from Bulimia Nervosa follow a routine of secretive, uncontrolled or binge eating (ingesting an abnormally large amount of food within a set period of time) followed by behaviors to rid the body of food consumed. This includes self - induced vomiting and/or the misuse of laxatives, diet pills, diuretics (water pills), excessive exercise or fasting. Bulimia afflicts approximately 1% - 3% of adolescents in the US with the illness usually beginning in late adolescence or early adult life.

As with anorexia nervosa, those with bulimia are overly concerned with food, body weight, and shape. Because many individuals with bulimia 'binge and purge' in secret and maintain normal or above normal body weight, they can often hide the disorder from others for years. Binges can range from once or twice a week to several times a day and can be triggered by a variety of emotions such as depression, boredom, or anger. The illness may be constant or occasional, with periods of remission alternating with recurrences of binge eating.

A person with Bulimia may…

Become very secretive about food, spend a lot of time thinking about and planning the next binge
Take repeated trips to the bathroom, particularly after eating
Steal food or hoard it in strange places
Engage in compulsive exercising.