Eating Disorders

“We turn skeletons into goddesses and look to them as if they might teach us how not to need.”― Marya Hornbacher
What are Eating Disorders?
Eating disorders are the disorders in which a person experience irregular eating habits and distress about weight issues.
Two eating disorders that are widely recognized are bulimia nervosa and anorexia nervosa. These disorders are most common in women and the reason behind it is that they have a fear of gaining weight. However men also suffer from eating disorders and there are some eating disorders that are more prevalent among male population. Symptoms of eating disorders are a restriction or overeating of food, vomiting and over exercise to maintain yourself.
Types of Eating Disorders
Not all eating disorders are same and they may vary from person to person. One thing that is common in all types of eating disorders is that they all have something to do with a person’s food intake behavior, making it unhealthy and problematic for the person. Some of the major types of eating disorders are given below:
- Anorexia Nervosa
It is more common and well-known eating disorder. It is more common in women as compared to men. It is more common in adolescence and young adulthood. People those are suffering from this disorder view themselves overweight even they have a low weight. They consistently keep on checking their weight on knowing that they are not losing anymore weight they face serious stress. They avoid high calories food and in serious cases they skip eating completely.
They have low weight from the people of their same age and height, they have restricted diet plan, they become thinner to lose weight, they are stressed all the time, and they do excessive exercise to lose their weight. Sometimes if they eat something then they do vomit in fear of gaining weight.
In severe cases, this disorder causes brain damage, heart damage and multi organs failure and then results in death.
- Bulimia Nervosa
It is an eating disorder that is very prevalent now a days and percentage of men who suffer from it is larger as compared to the number of women. It is likely to affect younger people more as compared to older ones. People who suffer from Bulimia Nervosa are likely to eat more than required amount of food and as a result of this excessive eating they are overweight. They eat a large amount of food and can’t stop themselves no matter how hard they try. This eating behavior at the end causes significant distress and they face severe guilt and fear of gaining too much weight.
The common symptoms that such people usually face are surprisingly relative to anorexia nervosa. They feel extreme guilt to overcome that feeling they try to control their weight through fasting, use of laxatives and doing excessive exercise. You will see them eating a lot as if they have no control on their eating behavior. As a result of this they gain too much weight which then becomes a cause of stress and guilt.
Such eating patterns can be major cause of electrolytes imbalance in the body. Proper balance of electrolytes is crucial for healthy body functioning. Excessive weight gain can be a cause of heart attack too.
- Binge Eating Disorder
This is also one of the most prevalent and recognized eating disorders across the globe. Like the above-mentioned disorder, it is also more common in adult people as compared to the older ones and its symptoms are usually appear later in life.
Common symptoms are eating a binge of food at a time and then it causes distress. The main feature which makes it different from Bulimia Nervosa is that they do not try using any measures that can help in reducing their weight. They eat in large quantities but still never feel satisfied. People who suffer from Binge Eating Disorder are at a larger risk of developing heart diseases, stroke and diabetes type 2.
- Rumination disorder
It is a recently realized dietary issue in which disgorges nourishment they have recently bitten and gulped, re-bites it, and afterward either re-swallows it or lets it out. This issue can develop in people of any age but is rare among the old population and is most common among children. It causes weight reduction and unhealthiness that can be lethal. Other less severe effects include bad breath, tooth decay, stomach problems, and dry lips.
- Pica
A person suffering from this eating disorder may have a strong desire to eat ice, soap, paper, cloth, etc. The person attempts to eat inappropriate objects for eating a feast. This disorder is common in people of life stages ranging from childhood to adulthood.
Symptoms include eating things that are not considered for eating inappropriate things. If this disorder is severe it causes poisoning, gut injuries, infections, etc. It can cause severe health issues depending upon the thing that is ingested.