The Causes of Eating Disorders Essay

Anorexia is an eating disorder that struggles with the fear of gaining weight and refuses to be healthy. Another eating disorder is Bulimia, which is when you overeat followed by forced vomiting and excessive exercise. Binge Eating is one of the most common eating disorders along with Anorexia and Bulimia, Binge eating is when you lose control over one’s eating. All of these common eating disorders all suffer from guilt or depression. “Individuals with bulimia and binge eating eat large amounts of food to reduce stress” (CEDC). They also could have risky behaviors, such as dealing with drugs or alcohol or even death. People with Anorexia or Bulimia are very concerned with being overweight or in other words fat.

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

We know that eating disorders involve serious disturbances in eating behavior and extreme concern about body size or weight. We also know that eating disorders can be life-threatening if treatment is not provided or is not effective. But we do not completely understand what causes eating disorders. Generally, scientists believe they arise from a complex interaction of genetic, psychological, and sociocultural factors (Smolin and Mary Grosvenor, 42).

Development of Anorexia and Bulimia Anorexia and Bulimia are two very complex conditions that have been around for quite a while, however both anorexia and bulimia amongst other eating disorders are becoming more and more prevalent in today’s society. There has been extensive press and media coverage on conditions related to eating disorders. Anorexia and bulimia are two of the most common eating disorders or two of the most prevalent eating disorders around. Conditions relating to eating disorders more than fifty or so years ago were virtually unheard of, this could be due to a number of reasons.

It appears that most people with eating disorders have some level of underlying pathology. This pathology looks like either anxiety or depression. This is good news to a clinician. We are able to effectively treat anxiety and depression very well. If eating disorders are caused by some underlying anxiety or depression then logic would dictate that it is a symptom of anxiety or depression, rather than a unique

Both Anorexia and Bulimia can be influenced and linked to binge eating disorders. Binge eating is associated with eating large amounts of food excessively during a short period of time and will experience loss of control. However, when binge eating people may be eating when they are not actually hungry to an extent when they feel distressed. Most commonly, the illness is a result of stress, anger and

(Cauwels 3) Bulimic can grow to a point where it takes complete control of life. Bulimia is frequently associated with a typical depression. (CQ Researcher 869) In example, a typical depression can be concluded from the environments a person lives, works, or attends school at. Bulimic behavior ranges from occasional overeating at parties to consuming fifty thousand calories and vomiting twenty times a day. (Cauwels 3) Warning signs for bulimia nervosa include the following: evidence of binge eating, evidence of purging behaviors, excessive exercise, unusual swelling of the cheeks and jaw area, stained teeth, and withdrawal of friends or activities. (National Eating Disorders

There is an estimated eight million Americans that have an eating disorder, seven million of them are women and one million are men (MDH). There are three common types of eating disorders anorexia, bulimia, and binge eating. Anorexia nervous which is mostly called anorexia, is an eating disorder generalized by extremely low body weight, fear of gaining weight, and a distorted self-image of their body’s (WebMD). With anorexia nervosa people will limit the amount of food they consume, and try to control their food intake by vomiting after they eat, using laxatives, or enemas, and by exercising an excessive amount. With bulimia when the person will eat enormous amount of food then try to emesis the food up or try to exercise to get rid of the calories they just consumed.

There is a broad spectrum of eating disorders. Bulimia nervosa (BN), anorexia nervosa (AN) (two basic types, restrictive (ANR) and binge-purge (ANBP)), and binge eating disorder (BED). People with eating disorders often have a morphed perception of their body. Often they feel the need to be perfect, and when they do not look perfect to themselves they feel great shame. Which in effect causes suicide ideation, because they feel they do not deserve to live. It appears that eating disorders may carry the highest suicide risk of any psychiatric disorder.

On average, women are more likely to experience an eating disorder. Although, men are not eliminated from eating disorders. Eating disorders pertain to a patient who is unsatisfied with one’s current body image. Anorexia nervosa and bulimia nervosa are the most common eating disorders. These two eating disorders are similar in ways that are characterized by low self esteem, body dysmorphia, and signs of depression. However, anorexia, anorexia nervosa, and bulimia nervosa should not be confused. Anorexia is the

1-4.2% of the population suffer from anorexia and 4% population suffer from bulimia.When you have one of these disorders are your worst enemy.These eating disorders mainly affect young girls and women, but they can also affect young boys and men. There are 3 factors that contribute to someone having a disorder,psychology,social,and biological.I believe that these two eating disorders are treatable and that you can recover from them.The answer is still not clear of why people become anorexic or bulimic but studies show that psychology,social issues, and heredity are all a big part of someone having one of these disorders.

Studies have shown that three percent of males and eight percent of females who were in high school said that they have either purged or took laxatives to lose weight (3). The symptoms of bulimia are tooth erosion, swallowing problems, esophagus problems, and acute stomach distress (“Eating Disorders”). However, binge eating disorder is completely opposite from anorexia and bulimia. Binge eating is when a person over eats in a short period of time. According to Susan Frissell and Paula Harney, two percent of the population suffers from binge eating disorder (27). Studies show that depression, anxiety, high blood pressure, and stomach pain is found in many people who suffer from binge eating disorder (Elkins 45; Kittleson 4). Many people will develop binge eating disorder because they want to distract themselves from a painful event that has happened in their life (Frissell and Harney 27).

The correlation between eating disorders and other psychological disorders is very important for our understanding of the causes and possible treatments for eating disorders. It is known that many people with eating disorders also fit the criteria for several DSM-IV psychological disorders. If researchers can find patterns of comorbidity between these two types of disorders they may be able to better diagnose and treat patients with both of these disorders. The question that I pose it what is the relationship between eating disorders and personality disorders(axis 11 disorders in DSM-IV)? It is important to look for comorbidity between the two disorders to determine the impact they have on each

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

Eating disorders stem from a combination of psychological, biological, and social factors. Feelings of depression and anxiety along with daily stressors can contribute to