Eating disorders - Symptoms and causes

 Eating disorders are serious conditions related to persistent eating behaviors that negatively affect your health, your emotions, and your ability to function in important areas of life. The most common eating disorders are anorexia nervosa, bulimia nervosa, and binge eating disorder.

Most eating disorders involve focusing too much on your weight, body shape, and food, leading to dangerous eating behaviors. These behaviors can significantly affect your body's ability to obtain proper nutrition. Eating disorders can damage the heart, digestive system, bones, teeth, and mouth, and lead to other illnesses.

Eating disorders often develop in adolescence and young adulthood, although they can develop at other ages. With treatment, you can return to healthier eating habits and sometimes reverse the serious complications caused by the eating disorder.

Symptoms

Symptoms vary, depending on the type of eating disorder. Anorexia nervosa, bulimia nervosa, and binge eating disorder are the most common eating disorders. Other eating disorders include rumination disorder and avoidance/restriction of food intake disorder.

Anorexia nervosa

Anorexia nervosa, often simply called anorexia, is a life-threatening eating disorder characterized by abnormally low body weight, intense fear of gaining weight, and a distorted perception of weight or shape. People with anorexia go to extreme lengths to control their weight and shape, which often significantly interferes with their health and activities in life.

When you have anorexia, you excessively limit calories or use other methods to lose weight, such as excessive exercise, the use of laxatives or diet aids, or vomiting after eating. Efforts to reduce your weight, even when underweight, can cause serious health problems, sometimes to the point of starvation.

Bulimia nervosa

Bulimia nervosa, commonly called bulimia, is a serious and life-threatening eating disorder. When you have bulimia, you have bouts of bingeing and purging that involve feeling a lack of control over your eating. Many people with bulimia also restrict their eating during the day, which often leads to more bingeing and purging.

During these episodes, you typically eat a large amount of food in a short time and then try to shed the extra calories in an unhealthy way. Out of guilt, shame, and an intense fear of gaining weight from overeating, you may force yourself to vomit or exercise too much or use other methods, such as laxatives, to shed calories.

If you have bulimia, you are probably concerned about your weight and body shape and can be judged harshly and harshly for your self-perceived flaws. You may be of normal weight or even slightly overweight.

Binge eating disorder

When you have a binge eating disorder, you eat too much food (binge) and feel a lack of control over your eating. You can eat quickly or eat more food than expected, even when you are not hungry, and you can continue to eat long after feeling uncomfortably full.

After a binge, you may feel guilty, disgusted, or embarrassed about your behavior and the amount of food you ate. But you don't try to compensate for this behavior with excessive exercise or purging, as a person with bulimia or anorexia would. Embarrassment can lead to eating just to hide your bingeing.

A new round of bingeing usually happens at least once a week. You may be normal weight, overweight, or obese.

Rumination disorder

Rumination disorder is the repeated and persistent regurgitation of food after eating, but it is not due to a medical condition or other eating disorder such as anorexia, bulimia, or binge eating disorder. Food returns to the mouth without gagging or retching, and spitting up may be unintentional. Sometimes regurgitated food is chewed again and swallowed or spit out again.

The disorder can result in malnutrition if food is spat out or the person eats too much to prevent the behavior. The onset of rumination disorder may be more common in childhood or in people who have an intellectual disability.

Avoidant / Restricted Food Intake Disorder

This disorder is characterized by not meeting the minimum daily nutrition requirements because you have no interest in eating; avoid foods with certain sensory characteristics, such as color, texture, smell, or taste; or are concerned about the consequences of eating, such as fear of choking. Food is not avoided for fear of gaining weight.

The disorder can result in significant weight loss or inability to gain weight in childhood, as well as nutritional deficiencies that can cause health problems.

When to see a doctor

An eating disorder can be difficult to manage or overcome on its own. Eating disorders can practically take over your life. If you have any of these problems, or if you think you may have an eating disorder, seek medical help.

Urge a loved one to seek treatment

Unfortunately, many people with eating disorders may think they don't need treatment. If he is concerned about a loved one, encourage him to speak with a doctor. Even if your loved one is not ready to acknowledge that they have a food problem, you can open the door by expressing concern and a willingness to listen.

Be alert to eating patterns and beliefs that can indicate unhealthy behavior, as well as peer pressure that can trigger eating disorders. Warning signs that may indicate an eating disorder include:

• Skipping meals or making excuses not to eat
• Adopting an overly restrictive vegetarian diet
• Excessive focus on healthy eating.
• Make your own meals instead of eating what the family eats
• Withdrawing from normal social activities
• Persistent worry or complaining about being fat and talking about losing weight
• Frequent mirror checking for perceived defects
• Repeatedly eating large amounts of sweets or high-fat foods.
• Using dietary supplements, laxatives, or herbal products to lose weight.
• Excessive exercise
• Calluses on the knuckles from inducing vomiting
• Problems with loss of tooth enamel can be a sign of repeated vomiting.
• Going out during meals to go to the bathroom
• Eating much more food at a meal or snack than is considered normal
• Expressing depression, disgust, shame, or guilt about eating habits.
• Eating in secret

If you are concerned that your child may have an eating disorder, please contact your doctor to discuss your concerns. If necessary, you can get a referral to a qualified mental health professional with experience in eating disorders, or if your insurance allows it, contact an expert directly.

Causes

The exact cause of eating disorders is unknown. As with other mental illnesses, there can be many causes, such as:

Genetics and biology. Some people may have genes that increase their risk of developing eating disorders. Biological factors, such as changes in brain chemicals, can play a role in eating disorders.

Psychological and emotional health. People with eating disorders can have psychological and emotional problems that contribute to the disorder. They may have low self-esteem, perfectionism, impulsive behavior, and troubled relationships.

Risk factor's

Teenage girls and young women are more likely than teens and young men to have anorexia or bulimia, but men can also have eating disorders. Although eating disorders can occur in a wide age range, they often develop in the teens and early 20s.

Certain factors can increase your risk of developing an eating disorder, including:

• Family history. Eating disorders are much more likely to occur in people who have parents or siblings who have had an eating disorder.
• Other mental health disorders. People with an eating disorder often have a history of anxiety disorder, depression, or obsessive-compulsive disorder.
• Diet and hunger. Dieting is a risk factor for developing an eating disorder. Hunger affects the brain and influences mood swings, the rigidity of thought, anxiety, and reduced appetite. There is strong evidence that many of the symptoms of an eating disorder are actually symptoms of starvation. Starvation and weight loss can change the way the brain works in vulnerable people, which can perpetuate restrictive eating behaviors and make it difficult to return to normal eating habits.
• Stress. Whether it's going to college, moving, getting a new job, or a family or relationship problem, change can create stress, which can increase your risk of having an eating disorder.