The Eating Disorders include Anorexia Nervosa, Bulimia Nervosa and Compulsive Overeating. They are characterized by pronounced disturbances in eating behavior and body image. Individuals suffering from these conditions perceive themselves to be overweight no matter what the objective facts might be. Often, they feel that limiting their food intake or purging provides a source of control in a chaotic life.
Eating disorders occur predominantly (ninety percent) among women, but the occurrence of these disorders is rising among men. Typically, people with eating disorders have very low self-esteem and losing weight becomes something at which they can be successful. Among men with eating disorders, 25 to 30 are gay, according to some studies. Also, it is not uncommon for people with eating disorders to suffer from other psychological disorders as well.
Anorexia Nervosa
Anorexia Nervosa is a syndrome featuring the inability to maintain even a minimal body weight, excessive fear of weight gain and significant disturbance in body image. Individuals suffering from Anorexia perceive themselves to be overweight even when severely underweight.
Anorexia Nervosa, which loosely means "a nervous loss of appetite", does not actually include a physical loss of appetite. Rather, it is a psychological desire for control and perfection. It is a reaction to stressful and unpleasant surroundings and emotions, and an attempt to cope with them.
Typically, this disorder occurs in females in late adolescence and early adulthood, most often among upper-class families, in areas where there is an abundance of food and pressure to look good.
According to DSM-IV, diagnostic criteria for anorexia nervosa include:
Refusal to maintain body weight at or above a minimally normal weight for age and height (e.g., weight loss leading to maintenance of body weight less than 85 percent of that expected; or failure to make expected weight gain during period of growth, leading to body weight less than 85 percent of that expected)
Intense fear of gaining weight or becoming fat, even though underweight
Disturbance in the way in which one's body weight or shape is experienced, undue influence of body weight or shape on self-evaluation, or denial of the seriousness of the current low body weight
In postmenarcheal females, amenorrhea, i.e., the absence of at least three consecutive menstrual cycles. (A woman is considered to have amenorrhea if her periods occur only following hormone, e.g., estrogen, administration.)
Other symptoms include obsession with food or exercise, low self-esteem, lying about food intake, mood swings and guilt.
An estimated 10 to 20% of those with anorexia will eventually die from complications related to it. It is important to seek help!
Treatment options include hospitalization, psychotherapy and pharmacotherapy. Please consult your physician or a therapist if you or someone you know is exhibiting the symptoms of an eating disorder, or call the Eating Disorders Awareness and Prevention (EDAP) hotline for answers to your questions, information, and nationwide referrals at 1-800-931-2237.
Bulimia Nervosa
Bulimia Nervosa is a condition characterized by binge eating followed by extreme measures to undo the binge. Self induced vomiting (purging), excessive use of laxatives and inappropriate use of diuretics are common undoing behaviors of the Bulimic.
Unlike anorexics, bulimics are aware that they have an eating disorder. They binge (consume a large amount of food in a short period of time) and purge (rid themselves of the food by taking laxatives or vomiting) to punish themselves or to avoid or express feelings of anxiety, depression, and anger.
Bulimia occurs typically in late adolescent or young adult, middle-class, Caucasian females who have attempted various diets without much success. Occasional symptoms of bulimia nervosa, such as isolated episodes of binge eating and purging, have been reported in up to 40 percent of college women.
Families of bulimia patients tend to have more outward conflicts, and patients describe their parents as neglectful and rejecting.
According to DSM-IV, the diagnostic criteria for bulimia nervosa include:
Recurrent episodes of binge eating. An episode of binge eating is characterized by both of the following:
eating, in a discrete period of time (e.g., within any two hour peiord), an amount of food that is definitely larger than most people would eat during a similar period of time and under similar circumstances
a sense of lack of control over eating durng the episode (e.g., a felling that one cannot stop eating or control what or how much one is eating)
Recurrent inappropriate compensatory behavior in order to prevent weight gain, such as self-induced vomiting; misuse of laxatives, diuretics, enemas, or other medications; fasting; or excessive exercise
The binge eating and inappropriate compensatory behaviors both occur, on average, at least twice a week for three months
Self-evaluation is unduly influenced by body shape and weight
The disturbance does not occur exclusively during episodes of anorexia nervosa
Treatment options include psychotherapy and pharmacotherapy. Please consult your physician or a therapist if you or someone you know is exhibiting the symptoms of an eating disorder, or call the Eating Disorders Awareness and Prevention (EDAP) hotline for answers to your questions, information, and nationwide referrals at 1-800-931-2237.
