Eating disorders are conditions where people have too little or too much food in order to manage feelings. People with eating disorders are usually obsessed with food, body weight and body shape. This is more likely to happen to teenagers, but it can affect people of all ages.
As National Institute of Mental Health (NIH) hints, eating disorders are not a lifestyle choice; They are biologically-influenced medical illnesses.
What causes eating disorders?
Many different factors are associated - psychological, biological and social. A common factor is low self-esteem, while other factors also play an important role, such as depression, anxiety and genetic inheritance.
Common types of eating disorders
- Anorexia nervosa
- Bulimia nervosa
Anorexia nervosa
People with anorexia nervosa try to keep their weight as low as possible by avoiding or severely restricting food. They may also see themselves as overweight, even when they are seriously underweight.
Major symptoms:
- Fear of gaining weight
- Missing meals or eating very little food
- Taking medicines to reduce appetite or hunger
- Seeing a lot of weight loss as a positive thing
Bulimia nervosa
It is a condition where people eat a lot of food in a short period of time (binge eating) and then try to stop gaining weight by taking medicines or doing excessive exercise.
Major symptoms:
- Fear of gaining weight
- Purging: making yourself vomit or doing excessive exercise after a binge
- Spending a lot of time worrying body weight and shape
- Severe dehydration due to purging
Treatments
Eating disorders can be treated, but it takes time. Treatment depends on different types of eating disorders, and it varies between individual patients.
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