Facts About Eating Disorders

A serious, potentially life-threatening eating disorder characterized by self-starvation and excessive weight loss.Although the term eating is in the name, eating disorders are about more than food. They’re complex mental health conditions that often require the intervention of medical and psychological experts to alter their course.

What are eating disorders?

Eating disorders are a range of psychological conditions that cause unhealthy eating habits to develop. They might start with an obsession with food, body weight, or body shape.Treatment can be effective for many eating disorders.Treatment varies by disorder and may involve counselling, dietary advice, reducing excessive exercise and the reduction of efforts to eliminate food.Medications may be used to help with some of the associated symptoms. Hospitalization may be needed in more serious cases. About 70% of people with anorexia and 50% of people with bulimia recover within five years.Recovery from binge eating disorder is less clear and estimated at 20% to 60%. Both anorexia and bulimia increase the risk of death.In the developed world, anorexia affects about 0.4% and bulimia affects about 1.3% of young women in a given year.Binge eating disorder affects about 1.6% of women and 0.8% of men in a given year. Among women about 4% have anorexia, 2% have bulimia, and 2% have binge eating disorder at some time in their life. Rates of eating disorders appear to be lower in less developed countries. Anorexia and bulimia occur nearly ten times more often in females than males. Eating disorders typically begin in late childhood or early adulthood. Rates of other eating disorders are not clear.

Symptoms

Food restriction leading to significantly low body weight in the context of age, sex, development, and physical health.

Intense fear of weight gain or becoming fat.

Persistent behavior interfering with weight gain despite low weight, such as fasting or excessive exercise.

Disturbed experience of one’s body weight or shape, influenced by self-evaluation or persistent lack of recognizing the seriousness of current low body weight.

Restricting behavior or binge eating and purging behaviors.

What causes them?

Experts believe that eating disorders may be caused by a variety of factors.One of these is genetics. Twin and adoption studies involving twins who were separated at birth and adopted by different families provide some evidence that eating disorders may be hereditary.This type of research has generally shown that if one twin develops an eating disorder, the other has a 50% likelihood of developing one too, on average.

That said, culturally accepted ideals of thinness are very present in many areas of the world. Yet, in some countries, few individuals end up developing an eating disorder. Thus, they are likely caused by a mix of factors.Eating disorders may be caused by several factors. These include genetics, brain biology, personality traits, and cultural ideals.More recently, experts have proposed that differences in brain structure and biology may also play a role in the development of eating disorders.

 Binge eating disorder

Binge eating disorder is believed to be one of the most common eating

disorders.Binge eating disorder (BED) is a type of feeding and eating disorder that’s now recognized as an official diagnosis. It affects almost 2% of people worldwide and can cause additional health issues linked to diet, such as high cholesterol levels and diabetes.Feeding and eating disorders are not about food alone, which is why they’re recognized as psychiatric disorders. People typically develop them as a way of dealing with a deeper issue or another psychological condition, such as anxiety or depression.It typically begins during adolescence and early adulthood, although it can develop later on.Individuals with this disorder have symptoms similar to those of bulimia or the binge eating subtype of anorexia.For instance, they typically eat unusually large amounts of food in relatively short periods of time and feel a lack of control during binges.People with binge eating disorder do not restrict calories or use purging behaviors, such as vomiting or excessive exercise, to compensate for their binges.

Rumination disorder

Rumination disorder is an eating disorder in which a person -- usually an infant or young child brings back up and re-chews partially digested food that has already been swallowed. In most cases, the re-chewed food is then swallowed again, but occasionally, the child will spit it out.This rumination typically occurs within the first 30 minutes after a meal. Unlike medical conditions like reflux, it’s voluntary.

This disorder can develop during infancy, childhood, or adulthood. In infants, it 

tends to develop between 3–12 months of age and often disappears on its own. 

Children and adults with the condition usually require therapy to resolve it.

If not resolved in infants, rumination disorder can result in weight loss and severe

 malnutrition that can be fatal.

Rumination disorder can affect people at all stages of life. People with the 

condition generally regurgitate the food they've recently swallowed. Then, they 

chew it again and either swallow it or spit it out.

The categories above are meant to provide a better understanding of the most common eating disorders and dispel myths about them.

Eating disorders are mental health conditions that usually require treatment. They can also be damaging to the body if left untreated.