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).

Eating disorders affect millions of men and women every day. Bulimia nervosa, anorexia nervosa, and binge eating disorder are three main types of eating disorders that can have detrimental consequences on the human body. These eating disorders not only deteriorate one’s body, but also eradicate the mind. “Inherent to anorexia nervosa and bulimia nervosa are a plethora of medical complications which correlate with the severity of weight loss or the frequency and mode of purging” (Mehler, 2015).

According to the Mayo Clinic (2016), eating disorders are “conditions related to persistent eating behaviors that negatively impact your health, your emotions, and your ability to function in important areas of life.” One such eating disorder is anorexia nervosa. Not to be confused with anorexia, which is simply a general loss of appetite that can be attributed to many medical ailments, anorexia nervosa is a serious eating disorder and mental illness (Nordqvist, 2015). Anorexia nervosa is estimated to affect about .9% of women and .3% of men in their lifetime (“Eating Disorder Statistics & Research,” n.d.). In general, the disorder is commonly characterized by a distorted body image or self-concept, critically low weight (with respect to the patient’s height and age), and an irrational fear of becoming fat or an intense desire to be thin. There are two subtypes to this eating disorder: restrictive and binge/purge. In the restrictive type, the individual limits caloric intake and may compulsively over-exercise. In the binge/purge type, the individual consumes a considerable amount of food in a short period of time (binging) and then deliberately vomits (purging), takes laxatives, or fasts intensely in order to compensate for the food eaten (“General Information: Anorexia Nervosa,” n.d.). In either case, anorexia nervosa is undoubtedly a dangerous and alarming illness.

“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.

An eating disorder is an obsessive collection of interrelated behaviors directed towards persistent eating behaviors that negatively impact one’s health, emotions, and ability to function in important areas of life. These compulsive practices and attitudes about food, weight and body shape, manifest into deep psychological fears and an incessant need for control. Some common features of eating disorders include an irrational fear of fat, dissatisfaction with one 's body often coupled with a distorted perception of body shape, unhealthy weight management and extreme food intake. This disordered eating behavior is usually an effort to solve a variety of emotional difficulties about which the individual feels out of control. Males and females of all social and economic classes, races and intelligence levels can develop an eating disorder (Perfect). There are currently three main types of eating disorder, anorexia nervosa, bulimia nervosa, and binge eating disorder. Each one as dangerous as the next, but yet heavily overlooked and/or misunderstood in society today (Perfect); A review of nearly fifty years of research confirms that anorexia nervosa has the highest mortality rate of any psychiatric disorder (Arcelus, Mitchell, Wales, & Nielsen, 2011).

Undereating or overeating can activate brain chemicals that produce feelings of peace and euphoria which temporarily dispels anxiety and depression (?ANRED?). In some individuals with eating disorders certain chemicals in the brain that control hunger, appetite, and digestion have been found to be imbalance, but the exact meaning of these imbalances is still under investigation (?NEDA?).

Binge Eating Disorder is a recent addition to the DSM-5. This disorder is characterized by regular episodes of binge eating. An individual experiencing this disorder will usually not Binge use compensatory behaviors, such as self-induced vomiting or over-exercising after they binge eat. Many people with Binge Eating Disorder are overweight or obese. (Butcher, Hooley, J. M., & Mineka, 2013).

Anorexia nervosa is an eating disorder that consists of self-regulated food restriction in which the person strives for thinness and also involves distortion of the way the person sees his or her own body. An anorexic person weighs less than 85% of their ideal body weight. The prevalence of eating disorders is between .5-1% of women aged 15-40 and about 1/20 of this number occurs in men. Anorexia affects all aspects of an affected person's life including emotional health, physical health, and relationships with others (Shekter-Wolfson et al 5-6). A study completed in 1996 showed that anorexics also tend to possess traits that are obsessive in nature and carry heavy emotional

Eating disorders are “a mental health issue with devastating effects on one 's physical health and quality of life. Underlying the food and exercise behaviours are distorted and self-critical attitudes towards shape, size and self-worth” (Eating Disorders). Three major types of eating disorders are anorexia, bulimia, and binge eating. They are all disorders; however they differ by how harmful each one is to a person’s body. These eating disorders are monsters because they are potentially life-threatening. The first eating disorder is anorexia, which consists of self-starvation and excessive exercise for weight loss. People who suffer from anorexia think they are over-weight and the only solution to losing that weight is to not eat or exercise too much. The second eating disorder is Bulimia. This disorder is characterized by

Anorexia Nervosa is currently viewed by society as an extremely complicated disorder, misunderstood, over looked, and misjudged based on the stigmas of society. People who suffer from eating disorders like Anorexia do not always report the fact they are in living with the disorder because they are ashamed or scared of what might happen to them or what people will say. An individual may also feel that they do not met the exact criteria of Anorexia Nervosa in the DSM 5. An example of the DSM 5 criteria for Anorexia Nervosa is an individual purposely takes too little nourishment, has below average body weight, fearful of gaining weight, refusal to keep a normal weight, distorted body perception

An eating disorder is a disorder that specifically focuses on the person’s weight and these behaviors are so detrimental not only to their performance in their everyday life but to their physical health. According to Hoeksema (2014) eating disorders can be characterized in three ways which include anorexia nervosa, bulimia nervosa, and binge-eating disorder. Anorexia nervosa can be further broken down into two types which are anorexia nervosa restricting type, and anorexia nervosa binge/purge type. Eating disorders if approached early enough can be reversed with no damage or very minimal damage to the person.

“Eating disorders have the highest mortality rate of any psychiatric disorder,” according to the National Institute of Mental Health, “… anorexia nervosa has a higher mortality rate than any other cause of death among females between ages 15 and 24” (Zhao, Encinosa 1). An eating disorder is a psychological illness distinguished by a disturbance in eating habits. Along with having a physical and mental effect on an individual, some cases of eating disorders end fatally. The well-known eating disorders include anorexia nervosa- self-starvation to achieve thinness; bulimia nervosa- vomiting to prevent weight gain; and binge eating disorder- uncontrollable eating habits leading to weight gain. According to the National Institute of Mental Health,

Over the past years, the pervasiveness of eating disorders, Anorexia Nervosa and Bulimia Nervosa, has risen notably amongst women in the Western World. Eating disorders (EDs) are mental disorders “characterized by a persistent disturbance of eating or eating-related behavior that results in the altered consumption or absorption of food and that significantly impairs physical health or psychosocial functioning” (American Psychiatric Association (APA), 2013). The most well-known types of eating disorders are Anorexia and Bulimia. Anorexia is characterized by these three attributes: “persistent energy intake restriction; intense fear of gaining weight or of becoming fat, or persistent behavior that interferes with weight gain; and a disturbance in self-perceived weight or shape”( American Psychiatric Association (APA), 2013). Bulimia is distinguished by the following: “recurrent episodes of binge eating, recurrent inappropriate compensatory behaviors to prevent weight gain, and self-evaluation that is unduly influenced by body shape and weight” (American Psychiatric Association (APA), 2013). In the United States alone, approximately 0.5-3.7% and 1.1-4.2% of women respectively suffer from Anorexia and Bulimia in their life time. The alarming statistics brings this question to light, “what is the cause of an eating disorder?” Numerous academic research and studies by scholastic specialists have pointed that the etiology of eating disorders can be traced to not one, but several

Eating is one of the important elements in an individual’s daily routine in which no one in this world can avoid because one gains energy and nutrients from what the individual eats to stay alive. Everyone in the world is chasing over simple, special and delicious food. Although the choice of food made might be different, all individuals still do consume food. However there are certain people who are driven by the intense fear of becoming fat, have different behavior towards eating which eventually damage their health. These are classified as eating disorders. In such cases, they either eat too much, eat too little or use harmful ways to get rid of calories. The most commonly found eating disorders are anorexia and bulimia. Although anorexia