Eating Disorders : Anorexia Nervosa

Around 10-15% of all Americans suffer from an eating disorder. “More than 7 million women suffer from an eating disorder whereas only one million men suffer from an eating disorder” (Mirasol). In modern society, we are surrounded by media and images. Both men and women struggle to meet the expectations set forth in magazines, websites, and on television. The pressure to imitate the ideal body can lead many down unhealthy paths. Teens today face a lot more challenges which leads them to illnesses like Anorexia, Bulimia, and Binge eating. Although there are a lot of similarities in this disease, the differences can also affect people differently, which means different treatments are required.

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.

Anorexia is a very serious eating disorder that causes your mind and your body to be completely obsessive about staying thin; also there have been a few cases where patients have taken self-starvation so far that it becomes life threating. There are many signs and symptoms to anorexia, a few include but are not limited to, “the refusal to eat, the denial of hunger, social withdrawal, unhealthy thin appearance, and lack of emotions” (Eating Disorders). Bulimia eating disorder is

The two most common eating disorders are bulimia nervosa and anorexia nervosa. Both disorders, primarily affect young women, therefore the majority of the research on eating disorders has been done with women subjects. The onset of bulimia is between adolescence and early adulthood while the onset of anorexia is between early and late adolescence. Not only is the onset different but the disorders are unique. Bulimia nervosa is characterized by loss of control over eating which leads to food binges. These episodes are interspersed with episodes of purging, such as vomiting or laxative abuse, to keep weight down. The goal of anorexia is also to keep weight down , but to a

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.

The study conducted had a sample size of 90 Polish women with AN and the control group was 120 females without any signs of an eating disorder. These females were studied to identify any substantial differences in behavior. The result of the study was that females with AN exhibited less control over cognitive function and emotional behavior. The conclusion reached was that being able to identify the symptoms typical of an eating disorder in females could help in improving treatments and could also prevent any dangerous habits developed by those with

Binge-Eating Disorder is like the opposite disorder of Anorexia Nervosa. A person with Binge-Eating Disorder will binge on food, meaning to eat a lot in a small time frame, often secretly. They will sometimes feel shame about their eating habits and diet frequently, sometimes with little to no effect. When a person with this disorder binges, it’s usually to cope with an emotional issue occurring in their life lately. Some people joke that they “stress eat”, but those with Binge-Eating Disorder actually do. When something bad happens or they are feeling upset, they use food as a way to cope, regretting it later. This cycle of pain and food is pretty much the opposite of good for these people’s bodies. It can cause high blood pressure and blood

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).

For decades, both men and women have struggled under the pressure of looking a certain way, what is considered "attractive". The pressure of society 's view of perfection is all around us, whenever we watch a movie or pick up a magazine. This idea of perfection has driven thousands of adolescents to turn to eating disorders, including bulimia nervosa. During the time I was bulimic, I remember watching movies and fashion shows, then looking at myself in the mirror and thinking “I’m never going to be skinny enough”. I now realize how wrong I was for punishing myself like that and how much damage I was doing to my body. That’s why I think it’s important for everyone to read about bulimia, because this disorder may go unobserved for years and

Anorexia nervosa is an eating disorder in which the individual has a distorted body self-image and an intense fear of weight gain. The individual intentionally restricts daily food intake, which causes alarming weight loss and results in self-imposed starvation. Internal medicine physicians, Brown and Mehler (2015) from Denver Health Medical Center warned, “Starvation induces protein and fat catabolism that leads to loss of cellular volume and function, resulting in adverse effects on, and atrophy of, the heart, brain, liver, intestines, kidneys, and muscles” (p. 11). Medical complications resulting from starvation affect nearly every major organ system in the adolescent body, some more severely than others. While there are 11 major organ systems

“Anna is a twenty-one year old woman who has struggled with anorexia nervosa for several years. She blames herself for developing the eating disorder and not being able to control her eating and purging. Anna’s family and friends cannot understand how someone as smart and thoughtful as her could care so much about her physical appearance and what others think of her. They also feel frustrated that Anna cannot recognize that she is hurting herself and those around her. Such comments from others increases Anna’s deep sense of shame about her eating disorder, so she further conceals her struggles with food and weight. Anna isolates herself from others because she fears that they can’t understand her pain and suffering.

This article examines the prevalence and correlates of eating disorders in adolescents and the rates of role impairment, medical complications, co-morbidity, mortality and suicide.

Anorexia and bulimia are caused through psychological issues. Eating disorders are known by an unusual attitude towards food that causes someone to change their eating habits and behaviour and also their image. An individual with an eating disorder will

Self image seems to be a high factor in women and teenage girls. Appearances seem to be everything to some people, especially for women or teenage girls. By believing this, people do not even realize that for some girls go through great lengths to have those looks or self image. The measures women take to do so most likely results in making risky decisions. Anorexia is usually the result of low self-esteem, or self body image of the individual. Women do not seem to understand this leads to a mental disease. This disorder is called Anorexia, this affects mostly women, but in some cases men. Anorexia is a type of medical condition that causes an individual to obsess over the desire to lose weight

There are many forms of eating disorders in the world; however, the two most common disorders are Anorexia Nervosa and Bulimia Nervosa. Anorexia and Bulimia are found mostly in teens and young adult women (Amjad). Anorexia Nervosa is an eating disorder in which a person will starve them self in order to loose weight. (Amjad) Bulimia Nervosa is another common form of an eating disorder. In this case a person will go through periods of binge eating and then self-induce themselves to purge or vomit. (Amjad) Although we know many things about the physical aspects of these disorders, scientists still ponder on why people may develop one or both of these two eating disorders. Through much research, scientists may have found three possible