Perhaps the first recognized case was that of Karen Carpenter in the early 8Os. An anorexic who relied on ipecac for vomiting, she died of heart failure. Years later, she was followed by Christina Renee Henrich, a world-class gymnast who died in Female Athlete Triad Syndrome is a dangerous illness that can cause women who are extreme in their sports to have lifelong health concerns. Their coaches, friends, and family need to pay attention and help prevent the athlete from developing Female Athlete Triad Syndrome.
Major life changes can be a trigger to those fighting an eating disorder. Beginning college is no exception. The young man or woman is leaving home, friends and family to venture off into the unknown. College can be challenging and difficult for all students, but more so for others.
This progression into adulthood is often a significant life altering event, and college can sadly trigger or lead to an eating disorder. Eating disorders are more commonly associated with Caucasian females who are well-educated and from the upper socio-economic class. Eating disorders are also viewed as a western world affliction and not commonly related to other ethnic groups. This is not an accurate assumption. Eating disorders are prevalent in many different cultures and have been for a long time.
This just continues to prove there are no barriers when it comes to disordered eating. Males, females, Caucasians, African Americans, Asian Americans, Mexican Americans and other ethnic minorities all can struggle with eating disorders. According to the National Eating Disorders Association, people who are lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender LGBT are at a higher risk of developing eating disorders including anorexia and bulimia. Gay and bisexual men who are single tend to feel more pressure to be thin and resort to restrictive EDs while those in a relationship turn to bulimia.
Women in the lesbian and bisexual community still struggle with eating disorders similar to most heterosexual women with eating disorders, but lesbian and bisexual women are more likely to have mood disorders. There is no such thing as the perfect dancer. Female ballet dancers work very hard at their craft but often find themselves in the throes of an eating disorder. Ballet dancers have long been known to develop eating disorders, and this can, to a degree, be understood because the dancer stands in front of a large mirror during practice and compares herself to all of her peers.
In addition, it does not help that the industry of ballet dancing is extremely obsessed with weight. Is vegetarianism contributing to disordered eating? Currently, just about five percent of Americans define themselves as a vegetarian a person who removes meat and animal products from their diet. Vegetarianism is much more prevalent for those who struggle with eating disorders. About half of the patients fighting an eating disorder practice some form of vegetarian diet. In addressing the many medical complications of an eating disorder, the more urgent concerns typically take priority, such as undernourishment or an unstable heartbeat.
Bone loss, or osteoporosis, is a silent but debilitating condition that commonly impacts women with EDs, such as Anorexia Nervosa. If you or a loved one is struggling with an eating disorder, read this article to learn more about ways you can prevent and treat bone density loss and eating disorders. With the mass amount of misguided information about eating disorders, it is common for these serious illnesses to be misunderstood, oversimplified, or greatly generalized.
The truth of the matter is that Eating Disorders are complex diseases caused by a multitude of factors. Men or women who struggle with disordered eating have a serious mental illness with potentially life-threatening consequences.
Understanding the implications of disordered eating can help increase awareness about ways to get help. Read this article to learn the myths vs. Understanding Food and Body Image Struggles.
If you have a positive body image, you have a clear, realistic perception of your body. You may have trouble accepting how your body looks and how much it affects your self-worth.
If you struggle with body image, you may feel deep shame, anxiety, and self-consciousness related to your physical appearance. Why can this be hard to manage? How to know if you struggle with body image issues that you manage through food? Take the self-evaluator. Are you a student? Find mental resources on your campus. Are you an educator? Bring mental health curriculum to your school. You're Not Alone. Although the term eating is in the name, eating disorders are about more than food.
In the United States alone, an estimated 20 million women and 10 million men have or have had an eating disorder at some point in their life 1. 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. In severe cases, eating disorders can cause serious health consequences and may even result in death if left untreated.
Those with eating disorders can have a variety of symptoms. However, most include the severe restriction of food, food binges, or purging behaviors like vomiting or over-exercising. Summary Eating disorders are mental health conditions marked by an obsession with food or body shape.
They can affect anyone but are most prevalent among young women. 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.
Personality traits are another cause. In particular, neuroticism, perfectionism , and impulsivity are three personality traits often linked to a higher risk of developing an eating disorder 3. Other potential causes include perceived pressures to be thin, cultural preferences for thinness, and exposure to media promoting such ideals 3. 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. More recently, experts have proposed that differences in brain structure and biology may also play a role in the development of eating disorders. In particular, levels of the brain messengers serotonin and dopamine may be factors 5 , 6. Summary Eating disorders may be caused by several factors.
These include genetics, brain biology, personality traits, and cultural ideals. Anorexia nervosa is likely the most well-known eating disorder. It generally develops during adolescence or young adulthood and tends to affect more women than men 7. They tend to constantly monitor their weight, avoid eating certain types of foods, and severely restrict their calories. Common symptoms of anorexia nervosa include 8 :. Obsessive-compulsive symptoms are also often present.
For instance, many people with anorexia are often preoccupied with constant thoughts about food, and some may obsessively collect recipes or hoard food. Such individuals may also have difficulty eating in public and exhibit a strong desire to control their environment, limiting their ability to be spontaneous. Anorexia is officially categorized into two subtypes — the restricting type and the binge eating and purging type 8. Individuals with the restricting type lose weight solely through dieting, fasting, or excessive exercise.
Individuals with the binge eating and purging type may binge on large amounts of food or eat very little. Eating disorders have many causes.
An eating disorder may develop in association with another psychiatric illness such as a depressive disorder, obsessive-compulsive disorder, or substance abuse.
Current research indicates some people are more genetically predisposed to developing an eating disorder than others. The eating disorders anorexia nervosa and bulimia nervosa, respectively, affect 0.
The most common age of onset is between Although much more common in females, 10 percent of cases detected are in males. Both anorexia nervosa and bulimia are characterized by an overvalued drive for thinness and a disturbance in eating behavior. The main difference between diagnoses is that anorexia nervosa is a syndrome of self-starvation involving significant weight loss of 15 percent or more of ideal body weight, whereas patients with bulimia nervosa are, by definition, at normal weight or above.
Bulimia is characterized by a cycle of dieting, binge-eating and compensatory purging behavior to prevent weight gain. Purging behavior includes vomiting, diuretic or laxative abuse.
Excessive exercise aimed at weight loss or at preventing weight gain is common in both anorexia nervosa and in bulimia. Eating disorders are believed to result from a combination of biological vulnerability, environmental, and social factors. A useful way of thinking about what causes an eating disorder is to distinguish predisposing, precipitating and perpetuating factors that contribute to its onset and maintenance. Individuals who develop eating disorders, especially those with the restricting subtype of anorexia nervosa are often perfectionistic, eager to please others, sensitive to criticism, and self-doubting.
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