Eating Disorders: Anorexia Nervosa

To be diagnosed with eating disorder, someone must meet certain criteria. The criterion for diagnosis slightly varies depending on if you are referring to people who (A) fear gaining weight, and have significant weight loss,(B) eating a huge amount of food , then use laxative to remove the binged food, (C) the use of excessive exercise and fasting in order to remove or to reduce the amount of calories consumed, and (D) distorted body image, no matter how thin they become, they still see themselves as fat, or not thin enough. The onset of of symptoms begins usually in early adolescence with the diagnostic of disturbed Body image.

Eating disorders are a very serious psychological condition that affects your mind so that you are more focused on your food and weight than you are on everything else. The most known and most commonly diagnosed eating disorders are anorexia, bulimia, and binge eating disorder; however, these are not the only eating disorders. Eating disorders cause psychical and psychological problems, which at their worst can even become life threating. Statistics show that more women are affected by eating disorders, but men none the less can still be affected. “Age (most common from teens to early twenties), Family history (hereditary), emotional disorders (people with anxiety disorders and obsessive-compulsive disorder are at a great chance), transitions (moving, heading to college, or anything that can bring emotional distress), and sports (ballerinas, gymnasts, runners, and wrestlers are at a higher risk) also can play a role in who is being affected by an eating disorder” (Eating Disorders).

Anorexia Nervosa is the condition when an individual abstains from food in order to lose weight or prevent more weight gain. In the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders IV(DSM-IV) there are four aspects of criteria to be diagnosed with anorexia: a refusal to maintain weight above what is minimally normal for one’s age and height, and extreme fear of weight gain, distorted body image, and (in females) having amenorrhea(missing three or more consecutive menstrual cycles.)(DSM-IV, 2000:589) Anorexia not only affects weight, but also alters bone growth, neurotransmitters and hormones in the brain, and electrolytes.

“Up to 30 million people of all ages and genders suffer from an eating disorder” (Wade, Keski- Rahkonen, & Hudson, 1995). There are many factors which contribute to the development of eating disorders including “biology, emotional health, and societal expectation, and other issues” (“Diseases and Conditions Bulimia nervosa”). One of the most prominent eating disorders in America and around the globe has been around since the Middle Ages: “Bulimia is first reliably described among the some of the wealthy in the Middle Ages who would vomit during meals so they could consume more” (“A History of Eating Disorders”). Today bulimia is more prevalent and is predicted to affect around “4% of women in the United States” (“Eating Disorder Statistics and Research”). In 1979, Gerald Russell published a description of bulimia nervosa. It was the first description of bulimia ever published. Only a year later in 1980 bulimia appeared for the first time in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders-III.

Even though eating disorders are less prevalent in society today than they have been in the past, they are still one of the most diagnosed mental illnesses today. These three illnesses have short term as well as long term effects that can leave a damaging toll on the patients’ lives and are very hard to overcome. This is shown through not only the characteristics of Anorexia nervosa, Bulimia Nervosa, Binge-eating Disease, but also through the psychological and physical harm these diseases leave on the body.

The development of anorexia nervosa arises from factors that are associated with cognitive functions. Thus, many research studies have distinguished two clinically effective treatments for anorexia: cognitive behavioral therapy and family-based therapy. Although the two treatments differ in their approach to treating anorexia, they share the common goal of weight restoration and empowering the patients, which would ultimately lead to an improved quality of life.

It is highly likely that you personally know or know of someone who has been affected by this disorder. The specific disorder that is being referred to in this paper, an eating disorder, is Anorexia Nervosa, the restricting type. An eating disorder “involve[s] disordered eating behaviors and maladaptive ways of controlling body weight” (Nevid, Rathus, & Greene, 2014, p. 335). Another well-known eating disorder is Bulimia Nervosa which is characterized by binging and purging (Nevid, Rathus, & Greene, 2014, p. 338). Bulimia is different than anorexia since victims of bulimia are often normal weight while anorexia victims are well below the average weight.

Imagine that Addie, a teenager, has become very self-conscious of her body and felt like she needed to be thin. She would do all she can to get thin. She would look in the mirror and see herself as being fat and ugly. So she chooses not to eat or she binge eat and then purge. Now Addie has what is called an eating disorder. An eating disorder is can be described as abnormal eating to alter the body image due to psychological reasons. According to Janet Belsky, it can also be classified as a pathological obsession with getting and staying thin. (Belsky 252) They are associated with a wide range of adverse psychological, physical, and social consequences. People become obsessed with checking their weight so they are constantly looking

Using the cases of two eating disorders (anorexia nervosa and bulimia nervosa), or obesity, one can determine that health and illnesses are just as much of a societal and cultural issue, as they are a medical issue. Eating disorders anorexia nervosa and bulimia are both mental illnesses. Anorexia nervosa involves starving oneself to avoid gaining weight, while bulimia involves binge eating followed by purging to avoid weight gain (Gerber and Macionis 2012). Both of these disorders stem from a fear of weight gain, and can result in health problems and sometimes death. Meanwhile, obesity is the condition of an individual who is greatly overweight. This condition can also result in medical issues. Societal and cultural factors such as

The eating disorder anorexia nervosa is one of complex nature that is caused and sustained by many interconnected factors of life. Characterized by strict dieting, an unrealistic perception of body image, excessive exercise, depression, and OCD, this disorder has the ability to boycott the lives of many individuals (Pinel, 2014). In order to understand the effects that this disorder has, it is essential to look at the socio-cultural, psychological, and physiological factors this disorder can entail. In addition, gender discrepancy is evident in relation to anorexia nervosa, with females presenting anorexia nervosa more often than males due to the differing “ideal” body types of both sexes.

Many people, both women and men of all ages, suffer from the psychological disorder, eating. Up to thirty million people in the world suffer from some kind of an eating disorder. There a two types of eating disorders, anorexia and bulimia, and have several methods of treatment.

Anorexia Nervosa is one of several subtypes descending from feeding and eating disorders. It is a crippling life-threatening condition marked by a patient placing restriction on energy intake relative to needed energy requirements, resulting in a relentless pursuit of low body weight in the context of age, sex, development and physical health. According to American Psychiatric Publishing of diagnostic and statistical manual of mental disorders (DSM-5) “Anorexia Nervosa, often times have an early-onset which primarily affects adolescent girls and young women, is characterized by distorted body image and excessive dieting that leads to severe weight loss with a pathological fear of becoming fat” (APA). Anorexia is a condition more common amongst younger patients that causes a disruption in the normal growth process, because they fail to achieve ideal weight and height expectancy. Psychologist are able to determine if an individual meets anorexia weight cutoff requirement by measuring how thin their patients are by calculating body mass index (BMI)

Eating disorders are related to important physical complications and increased mortality. The eating disorders anorexia nervosa and bulimia nervosa are the two famous and serious disorders in eating performance and weight instruction. They are associated with a wide range of adverse psychological, physical, and social significances. A person who has the eating disorder may start out just eating smaller or larger amounts of food, but at some point, their desire to eat less or more and will out of control. Also suffering or concerning about body weight or shape, or risky weight management and controlling food intake, may cause an eating disorder. Eating disorders are real illnesses. They frequently bring other illnesses such as depression, substance

An eating disorder is characterized as an illness that causes serious interferences to your everyday diet, which includes eating extremely small portions of food or severely overeating (National Institute of Health , 2014). An individual with an eating disorder majority of the time begin eating smaller or larger amounts of food, but the urge to eat less or more can spiral out of control. Severe distress or concerns about weight and body image can also be characterize as an eating disorder (National Institute of Health , 2014). Eating disorders usually appear during teen years or young adulthood, but can also develop during childhood or later in life. Common eating disorders include anorexia nervosa and bulimia nervosa.

Eating disorders such as Anorexia Nervosa and Bulimia Nervosa has a major impact on the