What is an Eating Disorder?
An eating disorder is a serious illness with potentially dangerous consequences if left untreated. There is nothing new about eating disorders as they were first recorded in the 17th century. However, the incidence and reporting of eating disorders have increased due to modern living and media pressure, but research is discovering that they have a genetic component, affect personality types and are affected by life events and peer pressure.
Eating disorders can, and often do, swing from one end of the spectrum to the other. For example, an overweight yopungster who gets teased and bullied at school tips into anorexia. The other way is less common.
Summary of Eating Disorders
Anorexia Nervosa
This often starts during the teens and may develop as a result of emotional problems, low self-esteem and/or physical or emotional abuse. Sufferers develop a fear of gaining weight that goes far beyond that of most dieters and leads to them starving themselves. The need to control their weight dominates all other emotions and food becomes the central issue in their life.
Binge eating is less likely, but the obsessions with weight and shape, exercising and the use of vomiting and laxatives to reduce weight are often major elements. People with anorexia have a very low body weight, which can cause poor circulation, brittle bones, infertility, fainting, dizziness, dehydration and kidney damage.
Bulimia Nervosa
This develops from an obsessive desire to be thin. However, instead of not eating, the person alternates between frantic bingeing and drastic purging (self-induced vomiting and the abuse of laxatives and diuretics) or periods of excessive fasting and exercise. In the long term this can cause irregular heartbeat, damaged kidneys and eroded tooth enamel.
Compulsive Overeating
This constant disorder differs from bulimia in that, after binge eating, the suferrers don't get rid of what they've eaten. They are powerless to control their desire to keep eating. They may develop health problems as a result of carrying too much weight.
Binge Eating
This is similar to Compulsive Overeating, with the only difference being that Binge Eating goes is cyclical.