Eating Disorders Are An Abnormal Approach Towards Food

Eating Disorders we think about are, Anorexia Nervosa, and Bulimia Nervosa. Binge Eating Disorder is lesser known however all three can affect males and females (Gray & Zide, 2013). A definition of an eating disorder is an illness that is characterized by irregular eating habits and an obsession with body weight and shape. This leads the person to develop habits surrounding inadequate or excessive food intake. Eating disorders may develop at any age, but typically develops during teen and early adult years. Eating disorders frequently coexist with other disorders such as, anxiety disorders, substance abuse and depression.

An eating disorder is described as an illness characterized by irregular eating habits and severe distress or concern about body weight or shape. The most common forms of eating disorders include Anorexia, Bulimia, and Binge Eating Disorder (About An Eating Disorder: Symptoms, Signs, Causes, & Articles For Treatment Help, 2017, p. 5).

It has been found that eating disorders are most common in the western and industrialized culture where food is abundant. This is because these individuals attach a lot of importance to their physical appearance and are willing to do anything to get the dream figure. An eating disorder is not just watching what one eats and exercising on a daily basis but is rather an illness that causes serious disturbances in eating behaviour, such as great and harmful cutback of the consumption of food as well as feelings of serious anxiety about their body shape or mass. They would start to stop themselves to go out anywhere just so that they could work out and burn all of the calories of a meal or snack that they had scoffed earlier. Two of the most common eating disorders are anorexia nervosa and bulimia nervosa. The regular description of a patient with either disease would be a youthful white female, with an upper social standing in a predictably socially competitive environment.

With Anorexia Nervosa, there is a strong fear of weight gain and a preoccupation with body image. Those diagnosed may show a resistance in maintaining body weight or denial of their illness. Additionally, anorexics may deny their hunger, have eating rituals such as excessive chewing and arranging food on a plate, and seek privacy when they are eating. For women, they go through immediate body changes from abnormal to no menstruation periods and develop lanugo all over their bodies. Characteristics of an anorexic individual also consist of extreme exercise patterns, loosely worn clothing, and maintain very private lives. Socially, to avoid criticism or concern from others, they may distant themselves from friends and activities they once enjoyed. Instead, their primary concerns revolve around weight loss, calorie intake, and dieting. In regards to health, many will have an abnormal slow heart rate and low blood pressure, some can develop osteoporosis, severe dehydration which can result in kidney failure, and overall feel weak (Robbins, 27-29). It has been reported that Anorexia Nervosa has one of the highest death rates in any mental health condition in America (www.NationalEatingDisorders.org).

Anorexia is an eating disorder and a mental health condition which can be life-threatening. Anorexia is an irrational fear of gaining weight, it typically involves excessive weight loss and usually occurs more in females than in males.

Eating Disorders are defined as deviations of eating behavior that can lead to extreme weight loss (cachexia) or obesity, among other physical problems and disabilities. The main types of eating disorders are Anorexia Nervosa and Bulimia Nervosa. These two diseases are closely related because they represented some symptoms in common: a prevalent idea involving

Anorexia Nervosa (AN) is defined an eating disorder that is consists of abnormally low body weight. A person suffering from this disease typically has a body mass index (BMI) that is less than 85% of what is considered normal. Anorexics have a fear of being overweight and often

Anorexia nervosa is an eating disorder that involves extreme weight loss, restricted food intake, and an intense fear of becoming fat. The American Psychiatric Association outlines four diagnostic criteria for anorexia. The first is refusal to maintain body weight. The second is intense fear of gaining weight or becoming fat, even though underweight. The third is denial of the seriousness of low body weight. The

Anorexia Nervosa is a serious psychological disease where people develop a constant desire to lose weight and limit their daily energy intake. Anorexia results in declining body fat, unrealistic perceptions and exaggerations of your body image and usually involves an incline in exercise. People with Anorexia can either be restrictive with their food, count kilojoules and skip meals or binge eat and purge. Anorexia Nervosa is the most dangerous and harmful mental illness in Australia. 1 in 10 young adults

An eating disorder is an illness that involves an unhealthy feeling about the food we eat. “Eating disorders affect 5-10 millions Americans and 70 million individuals worldwide” (www.eatingdisorderinfo.org 1). They also affect many people from women, men, children, from all ages and different races. People who have eating disorders usually see themselves as being fat when they really aren’t. This usually deals with women or teenage girls mostly. They watch television, movies, read articles in magazines, and see pictures of the celebrities whom they want to be like because they have the “ideal body” that everyone wants and craves for. The media makes us all think we need those types of bodies to be happy with ourselves, be more successful

Anorexia Nervosa, a mental illness in which a person has an intense fear of gaining weight and a distorted perception of their weight and body shape. People with this illness believe themselves to be fat even when their weight is so low

An eating disorder is an illness that causes serious disturbances to your everyday diet, such as eating extremely small amounts of food or severely overeating. A person with an eating disorder may have started out just eating smaller or larger amount of food, but as some point, the urge to eat less or more has gotten out of control. Severe distress or concern about body weight or shape may also signal an eating disorder. Common eating disorders include anorexia nervosa, bulimia nervosa, and a binge-eating disorder. Eating disorders do not discriminate on whom it may affect. Everyone is susceptible to the life altering disease. Men and women, straight or gay, old or young, black or white, all are able to be a victim. Media is more commonly known to push for the practices of an eating disorder. We live in a society that reinforces the idea to be happy and successful we must be thin. Today, you cannot read a magazine or newspaper, turn on the television, listen to the radio, or shop at the mall without being blatantly or subconsciously given the message that fat is bad. Eating disordered behavior can be seen as a defense mechanism, in many cases a way to express something that the individual has not found another way to express. Much like how alcoholics depend on alcohol, individuals with eating disorders like bulimia or compulsive overeating syndrome us binging or purging as a way of coping with emotions and feelings that they cannot control.

The Diagnostic and Statistical Manuel of Mental Disorders 5th edition defines anorexia nervosa as an eating disorder characterized by self-starvation and excessive weight loss; it is a serious and potentially life-threatening disorder. According to the DSM 5, the typical diagnostic symptoms of anorexia nervosa are: dramatic weight loss leading to significant low body weight for the individuals age, sex, and health; preoccupation with weight; restriction of food, calories and fat; constant dieting; feeling “fat” or overweight despite weight loss and fear about gaining weight or being “fat.” Many individuals with anorexia nervosa deny feeling hungry and often avoid eating meals with others, resulting in withdrawal from usual friends and activities

Anorexia nervosa and its associated syndrome, bulimia is an extremely dangerous problem that is becoming more widespread. The chief symptoms are self-induced starvation and/or binge eating

"An eating disorder is an illness that causes serious disturbances to ones everyday diet, such as eating extremely small amounts