Eating Disorder Phenomenon

What does it mean when we say an eating disorder? In the modern world, people are easily prone to eating disorders as compared to the previous ages. Media is playing its role vitally to ponder and cause the issue. 

Eating disorder definition explains that it is a severe mental illness that leads people to anxiety and cognitive Disorder due to eating, losing weight, and reshaping the body with unhealthy changes in lifestyle.

Eating disorders affect one’s life physically, psychologically, and socially which causes disturbance in behaviors and leads to distressing thoughts and emotions. 

Eating Disorder over the globe is the hottest issue to discuss today. Leading generations are more likely vulnerable to eating disorder symptoms.

Eating disorder statistics shows that people affected with an eating disorder also commonly involved with mood disorder and anxiety, which leads to alcohol and drug abuse problems.

There is no specific life span to address the Eating Disorder problems; however, it is highly recommended to redress the issue in early childhood or adulthood. Most often, eating disorder victims are women aging between 12 and 35.

Classifications and Symptoms of Eating Disorder

There are 6 types of classifications to Eating Disorders which are enlisted below with their symptoms.

1. Anorexia Nervosa
2. Bulimia Nervosa
3. Binge Eating Disorder
4. Pica
5. Rumination Disorder
6. Avoidant/Restrictive Food Intake Disorder

There are some additional worth discussing Eating Disorders, which include

(i) Purging Disorder

(ii) Night Eating Syndrome, and 

(iii) Other specified feeding or eating disorder (OSFED)

1. Anorexia Nervosa

Anorexia Nervosa is one the most depressing mental Disorder where men and women feel overweight and put restrictions on their diet and give more time to exercise, and fail to maintain a healthy body. People with Anorexia who are with low body mass index, BMI, a measure for weight and height, also consider themselves as overweight due to mental Disorder.

Restricting type Anorexia

People affected with restricted type Anorexia put restrictions on their diet, eat low calories per day, and become weak enough to invite related health problems. These types of Anorexia affected people who try to lose weight by dieting, fasting and exercising.

Purging Type

Intermittent binge eating causes purging behaviors to the affected people.

Over the life span time, severe problems may occur to the individuals because of starvation and purging. In addition, medical complications like heart rhythm abnormality, kidney problems and seizures are some of the life-threatening symptoms of eating disorder-affected people.

There may develop symptoms like menstrual period cease, cold intolerance, depression, severe constipation, dizziness, anxiety, fatigue, and muscle weakness due to over starvation and purging. 

Remedies to Anorexia Nervosa, Eating Disorders

As the Anorexia Nervosa eating disorders victims are women and children, especially adolescents, so it is essential to provide a balanced diet to adolescents for their growth. In addition, a well-organized nutrition plan may help the children to normalize their psychiatric condition. These nutrition plans should include a variety of different items that catch the attention of children. 

The addition of salad to the dining table is a healthy practice to maintain the calories in food. Parents training to guide them about meal plans for adolescent children is significant to control the compulsive approach of the kids towards their health. 

2. Bulimia Nervosa

Bulimia Nervosa is an eating disorder characterized by individuals of binge eating that leads them to excessive eating behavior at short intervals. People affected by Bulimia fear weight gain and feel unhappy with their body size and shape.

As in Anorexia Nervosa, victims of Bulimia Nervosa also suffer from fasting, vomiting, and compulsive exercises. Individuals affected by Bulimia Nervosa may be people of underweight, average weight, overweight, and even obese. 

Binge eating creates feelings of shame and guilt to the individuals who do not control the problem and make it possible to complete the cycle in secret.

Bulimia Nervosa Symptoms

; Bulimia Nervosa may show some signs to the individuals like a frequent visitor to the bathroom after meals, Chronic sore throat, Laxative or diet pill misuse, Recurrent unexplained diarrhea, Misuse of diuretics (water pills), and feelings of dizziness.

Remedies to Bulimia Nervosa, Eating Disorders

Victims of Bulimia Nervosa can be treated as an outpatient for behavioral therapy. This therapy helps Bulimia patients to normalize eating behavior and relaxing their thoughts and feelings.

3. Binge Eating Disorder

A Binge Eating Disorder victim is absolutely out of control for eating; the individual repeatedly eats at short intervals and feels helpless. Unlike Bulimia Nervosa victims, Binge victims do not try to control their food plan and either they do not have the psychiatric feeling to restrict their diet plan.

Symptoms; Binge Eating Disorder

Some of the symptoms in Binge eating disorders are eating more rapidly than usual, eating until uncomfortably full, eating without hunger, feeling embarrassed to eat in people, feeling depressed and guilty.

Remedies to Binge Eating Disorders

Cognitive-Behavioral Psychotherapy is highly recommended for Binge eating disorders. Moreover, interpersonal therapy is also considered adequate to cope up with Binge Eating Disorder.

4. Pica, Eating Disorder

Pica, Eating Disorder is a psychiatric state in which victims continue to eat foods containing no nutritional values. Such type of behavior persists over one month.

The digestion items depend on the availability and age of the victim; the ingested items may include paper, paint, chips, soap, cloth, hair, string, chalk, metal, pebbles, charcoal, coal, or even clay. 

The individuals with Pica eating Disorder are most probably affected in childhood and, if not appropriately treated, may continue the problem in adolescence and adulthood.

A person diagnosed with Pica; Eating Disorder can suffer from intestinal blockage problems due to consumed substances.

Remedies to Pica, Eating Disorders

The perfect remedy to Pica must be at home as it is mostly in people due to some nutritional deficiency. One of the best examples of Pica due to nutritional deficiency is the chewing of ice by a person who is low in iron.

To cope with the situation, it is necessary to provide the victim some foods that taste like the things that attract them. To bring the Pica victim to this stage, a proper treatment that diagnoses the food deficiencies may lead to the perfect remedy.

5.Rumination Disorder

Rumination eating disorder involves the repeated chewing process. The victim continues to chew the already swallowed food and bring it back to the mouth and repeat the cycle or spat out the food. Rumination disorder can occur in any stage of life, whether infancy, childhood, adolescence or adulthood. Rumination disorder can also happen in collaboration with any other type of eating disorder discussed above.

6. Avoidant/Restrictive Food Intake Disorder (ARFID)

Avoidant/restrictive food intake disorder (ARFID) is an eating disorder that involves a disturbance in eating, which fails nutritional needs and extreme picky eating. In ARFID, food is avoided or limited due to low appetite, lack of interest in eating, avoidance of food due to color, smell, or appearance. The problem may include anxiety or concern about consequences of eating, such as choking, nausea, vomiting, constipation, or an allergic reaction.

Symptoms For ARFID

Symptoms that may occur due to ARFID are weight loss, nutritional deficiency, dependence on dietary supplements, and social incompetency to eat together with other people.

 People with ARFID do not show concerns about their body weight or shapes like anorexia nervosa or bulimia nervosa disorders.

Apart from these 6 major types of Eating Disorder, some other types too affect one’s life equally as the major ones. These problems include;

(i) Purging Disorder

A person induces vomiting to lose weight and reshape body structure by using laxatives and medication.

(ii) Night Eating Syndrome

In this type of Disorder, individuals love to eat whenever they wake up at night. Night Eating Syndrome may be caused due to over restriction of food in the daytime; it may also because of a psychiatric condition that a person feels hungry whenever he/she wakes up. Night eating syndrome disorder is also due to boredom and loneliness.

(iii) Other specified feeding or eating disorder (OSFED)

OSFED is an eating Disorder with the best example of Atypical Anorexia. The victim has all the symptoms of Anorexia, but the weight is average.

So far, we have discussed Eating Disorders, their effects, symptoms, remedies, and treatments. Something interesting to know about the Eating disorder that it is directly connected to the psychological state of a person. Therefore, it is obvious to understand the factors that affect the psyche of a person.

Factors that cause Eating Disorder

Eating Disorder is a mental illness that is caused most probably due to environmental and social behaviors. Let’s discuss these behaviors separately;

Social Factors to Eating Disorders

Factors that lead to eating disorders like Anorexia Nervosa are mainly due to socio-cultural factors. A person suffering from the problem will wish to look perfectly smart and gorgeous in the community. Such factors will pressure the individuals due to their social interaction with people of an innovative community such as models. Girls wish to look like a model, but they forget to realize that their body structure cannot be adopted until it is natural. Anxiety and stress are mainly due to media that affect society more than any other factor.

Cultural and Environmental Reasons

Cultural and Environmental factors are among the leading factors that pressure an individual to feel psychologically unfit in society. The outcome of the anxiety and stress is that the individual becomes a psycho patient and victim of an eating disorder.

The social pressure starts on an individual from home, and it affects badly when it is from family members, especially parents. A healthy kid, a smart kid, a food lover or habitual of any Disorder may be criticized severely by the people around. Peer pressure is one of its kind that creates social pressure in individuals. The eating disorders memes cause anxiety to the affected individuals. 

To counter such socio-cultural environmental factors, parents’ training is an essential factor. Parents shall set examples to relax their kids to come out from the stressed stage. There is a link between food and the psyche, so parents need to know the mentality of their children and provide them the food that interests them most. Space should be provided to children by arranging a variety of foods.