Eating Disorders : The Most Difficult Disorders

Many people are unaware of the background of eating disorders. Women are more likely than men to develop an eating disorder and they usually develop in childhood before the age of 20 (Ross-Flanigan 1). Women as well as men can develop an eating disorder; it is just more likely for a woman to develop one. Eating disorders are usually developed in adolescent or childhood years when a person is influenced the most. Also “Eating disorders are psychological conditions that involve overeating, voluntary starvation, or both. Anorexia nervosa, anorexic bulimia, and binge eating are the most well-known types of eating disorders” (Ross-Flanigan 1). Many people assume that an eating disorder is when a person staves themselves; they do not realize that it can involve overeating as well. Some eating disorders also involve purging, but not all. People with an eating disorder fear gaining weight even when they are severely underweight. They do not lack an appetite (Ross-Flanigan 1). These people are

Topic: What is causing young adults and teens to develop eating disorders and how can we help them?

My current view on food is that it creates a sense of comfort and fulfillment, yet this was not always the case. During my teenage years I struggled with an ongoing eating disorder. During that time I viewed food as a threat, or an enemy. As part of my recovery process, I was given a task to make friends with food. I first approached this task with a closed mind, finding a wrong with every meal I ate. My view changed completely when my friends took me out to a vegan diner for a burger and sweet potato fries meal.

Bulimia nervosa is a second eating disorder that needs attention drawn to it. Bulimia was pretty much unknown before the mid 1970’s (Dippel, N. & Becknal, K., 1987). Bulimia consists of binging and purging (eating as much as possible and then throwing it up). In a study that was conducted it was found that after bulimics had attempted several diets without success, they then became aware of vomiting or laxatives as a means to weight loss (Herzog, 1982). The symptoms of bulimia heave to do with preoccupations with food, weight, body image, and ridding themselves of ingested food (Dippel, N. & Becknal, K., 1987). Most people throw up because they feel guilty for consuming all the foods they know they shouldn’t have. They vomit not only to get rid of the food but to get rid of any unwanted feelings and emotions. Most patients begin purging approximately 1 year after the binge eating has started. As scary as the facts may sound, what is even scarier is the affects

Even if some girls were not classified as having an eating disorder 44% of adolescent girls believed they were heavy and 60% were exercising excessively trying to lose weight. (Katzman et al. Pg. 287). Anorexia and Bulimia nervosa are deemed as medical illnesses or used to describe a psychological disorder by of self-induced starvation in order to become thin. People that have either of these illnesses have an excessive fear of gaining weight although they differ in their causation. Anorexia is when the person starves themselves for days without eating and Bulimia is recurrent binge eating, followed by vomiting, purging, fasting, the use of laxatives, diuretics, and over exercising. Sadly they both cause great harm to the human body.

Forty-three published abstracts were retrieved from PubMed database and three were retrieved from CINAHL database, for a total of 46 articles for potential inclusion in the review. Three duplicates were then removed, yielding 43 articles for potential inclusion. Two articles were excluded because they are commentaries. Three articles were excluded because they are reviews. One article was excluded because it is a case study. 14 articles were excluded because they do not include a mindful eating intervention. Two articles were excluded because they do not focus on weight or weight-related co-morbidities. One article was excluded because it focuses on anorexia nervosa or bulimia. One article was

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).

The main group that will be focused on in this paper is adolescent girls. The inspiration behind this is the fact that teen girl behavior is so fascinating that it gets made into movies. There have been many movies in history and in recent years that focus and accurately portray the sometimes-catty behavior of adolescent girls. One movie in particular that comes to mind when looking at adolescent girls is ‘Mean Girls’. The movie ‘Mean Girls’ shows bullying, specifically relation aggression between girls.

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

Anorexia nervosa is starving oneself, sometimes even to death, because of a personal believe that one is unattractive or unlovable. People with anorexia have a six fold increase in mortality rates compared to people who aren’t. And many of the deaths are sudden due to irregular heartbeats or coma induced by low blood sugar. Bulimia nervosa is eating and then Vomiting soon afterward or using a laxative to get rid of food in order to avoid weight gain. About 1 to 3 percent of adolescents and college aged women have bulimia. Binge eating disorder involves binge eating but not purging afterwords. About 3.5 percent of all women have this disorder, and it is more common in obese people.

Eating disorders are extremely serious and often even fatal. They are tremendously trying on both the person with the disorder, and those who are close to them. I remember the time that my roommate and I were watching TV with a group of girls when one of the girls started commenting on how fat a certain actress had become, and how gross she looked. I saw the look on my roommate’s face when she heard this girl criticize this actress who still looked practically perfect. More than anything, the weight this actress had put on made her look healthier than she had before. I became quite concerned though when I noticed that my roommate ate nothing for the next three days, and the one meal she did eat I am certain she threw up soon after. My roommate, like many other girls, was trying to achieve an unattainable goal. Some girls will just never be so thin, and struggling to be is very dangerous.

In America today, eating disorders are highly recognized amongst the general public. From the numerous after school specials to the headlines on various gossip magazines accompanied by underweight starlets, the issues of eating disorders is a hard one to ignore. The documentary I chose to watch is one called Dying to Be Thin directed and produced by Larkin McPhee. This compelling picture focuses on eating disorders like anorexia and bulimia in relation to teenage girls and young women in the United States.

Brewerton, Timothy D. "Eating disorders, trauma, and comorbidity: Focus on PTSD." Eating disorders 15.4 (2007): 285-304.

It is evident that the number of teenagers suffering from an eating disorder will continue to increase as the future generations become more and more developed. The effects will most likely become even more worse then it already is. Eating disorders will increase due to the media, everywhere you are you always see commercials, advertisements etc and you see a skinny or really buff model. This makes females and males feel more insecure about themselves, just last week the Victorias Secret fashion show was on tv and this showed society how all models are supposed to look skinny and tall. Females today are more effected to suffer from an eating disorder than men. The most significant detail I have learned through my research was that eating disorders

Each year millions of people in the United States are affected by serious and sometimes life-threatening eating disorders. The vast majorities are adolescents and young adult women. Approximately one percent of adolescent girls develops anorexia nervosa, a dangerous condition in which they can literally starve themselves to death. Another two to three percent develop bulimia nervosa, a destructive pattern of excessive overeating followed by vomiting or other " purging " behaviors to control their weight. These eating disorders also occur in men and older women, but much less frequently. The consequences of eating disorders can be severe. For example, one in ten anorexia nervosa leads to death from starvation, cardiac arrest, or