Psychology Facts

▲ Eating Disorders ▲

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》Eating disorders are mental and physical illnesses categorized by unhealthy relationships with food and severe disruptions in ones eating behavior.

》Nearly 10 million females and 1 million males have a form of anorexia or bulimia in the United States.

》Disordered eating patterns can be caused by feelings of distress or concern about body shape or weight, and they harm normal body composition and function. A person with an eating disorder may have started out just eating smaller or larger amounts of food than usual, but at some point, the urge to eat less or more can spiral out of control, and the maladaptive patterns of eating take on a life of their own.

》Three of the most common eating disorders are:

Anorexia Nervosa
Anorexia nervosa is characterized by a persistent restriction on food intake, an intense fear of gaining weight or of becoming fat, and a distorted perception of body weight or shape. An individual with anorexia nervosa usually maintains a body weight that is below a minimally normal level for age, sex, and physical health.

Bulimia Nervosa
Bulimia nervosa is characterized by recurrent and frequent episodes of eating unusually large amounts of food (binge-eating) and feeling a lack of control over the eating. This is followed by some type of behavior that compensates for the binge, such as purging (vomiting, excessive use of laxatives or diuretics), fasting, and/or excessive exercise.

Binge-Eating Disorder
Binge-eating disorder is characterized by recurrent binge-eating episodes, during which a person feels a loss of control over his or her eating. An episode of binge-eating is defined as eating an amount of food that is significantly larger than most people would eat in a similar period of time under similar circumstances. Unlike bulimia, binge-eating episodes are not followed by purging, excessive exercise, or fasting. As a result, people with binge-eating disorder are often overweight or obese.

Avoidant/Restrictive Food Intake Disorder (ARFID)
Avoidant/restrictive food intake disorder (ARFID) is characterized by the avoidance or restriction of food intake. This diagnosis replaced the DSM-IV diagnosis of feeding disorder of infancy or early childhood, and broadened the diagnostic criteria to include adults. Individuals with ARFID have a lack of interest in eating or food, or avoid food based on a past negative experience with the food or the sensory characteristics of the food (appearance, smell, taste, texture, presentation). This form of "picky eating" typically develops in infancy or early childhood and may continue into adulthood.

Rumination Disorder
Rumination disorder is an eating disorder marked by the repeated regurgitation of food after eating. Individuals with rumination disorder bring up previously swallowed food into the mouth without displaying any signs of nausea, involuntary retching, or disgust. This food is typically then re-chewed and spit out or swallowed again. The regurgitating behavior is sometimes described as habitual or outside of the control of the individual.

Pica
Pica is characterized by the eating of one or more nonnutritive, nonfood substances on a persistent basis. Substances commonly eaten by people with pica include paper, soap, hair, gum, ice, paint, pebbles, soil, and chalk. People with pica do not typically have an aversion to food in general.
In order for pica to be diagnosed, the behavior of eating nonnutritive, nonfood substances must be present for at least one month.

》Eating disorders have the highest mortality rate of any mental illness. Every hour, at least one person dies in the US as a direct result from an eating disorder

》Binge eating disorder is thought to be the most common eating disorder in the United States, affecting approximately 3 percent of adults. It is more common among mildly obese people, affecting as many as 15 percent of this group.

》 While eating disorders can affect anyone, there are a diversity of biological, physcological, and sociocultural risk factors, including but not limited to body image dissatisfaction, weight stigma, personal trauma, and family history of mental illness.

》Multiple studies have shown the frequency of development of fresh cases of eating disorders has been increasing since 1950.

》The female-to-male ratio of anorexia and bulimia nervosa is 10 to 1.  The beginning of the disorder takes place in the end of childhood or the beginning of adulthood.

》Although eating disorders can be fortunately treated, only 1 in 10 people with an eating disorder ever receives treatment.

》Researchers have long been probing the underlying causes and nature of eating disorders. Eating disorders appear to run in families, and there is ongoing research on genetic contributions to the conditions. Other factors—psychological, interpersonal, and social—can play a role in eating disorders. Neurologically, an eating disorder likely involves abnormal activity distributed across multiple neural systems.
Among identified psychological factors are low self-esteem, feelings of inadequacy and lack of control in life, depression, anxiety, anger, and loneliness. Interpersonal factors include troubled family and personal relationships, difficulty expressing emotions and feelings, a history of being teased or ridiculed based on size and weight, or a history of physical or sexual abuse.

》Eating disorders can be treated, and a healthy weight can be restored. The sooner an eating disorder is diagnosed and treated, the better the outcome is likely to be. Because of their complexity, eating disorders require a comprehensive treatment plan involving medical care and monitoring, professional interventions, nutritional counseling, psychotherapy, and, when appropriate, medication management.