With a great deal of focus on staying slim bombarding us from all forms of media, many young girls, teens and women are and have become obsessed with their weight. Boys and men feel the pressure, too. An eating disorder is classified by extremes. Behavior, eating patterns and feelings all come into play. Eating disorders are treatable, and the sooner a person gets help, the better and quicker the recovery.
Anorexia Nervosa is the unyielding pursuit of thinness. A person with anorexia nervosa will have a distorted body image and an overwhelming fear of gaining weight. Some may engage in excessive exercise, self induced vomiting and abuse laxatives. Health complication often occur and can be life threatening.
Bulimia Nervosa
Bulimia Nervosa is a condition where a person will consume extraordinarily large amounts of food and feel no control over the eating. Purging, vomiting, excessive use of diuretics, laxative abuse and/or excessive exercise follows an eating binge. Health complications can arise.
Binge-Eating Disorder
Binge Eating Disorder differs from bulima in that excessive eating episodes are not followed by purging. Those who suffer with this aliment are often overweight or obese and may also have other psychological disorders.
Treatments
Many eating disorders are treated with a combination of behavior therapy, counseling and certain medications. Studies are underway to determine if chemical imbalances or genes are involved and better treat these disorders.
Consequences
Those who battle an eating disorder may suffer severe health consequences both physical and emotional. Some even die from complications.
Fact
The number of people with eating disorders has increased over the past 30 to 40 years. It is estimated that .05 to 1.0 percent of young girls or women have anorexia nervosa and 1.0 to 2.0 percent suffer with bumimia nervosa. As many as 10 percent of women report symptoms of eating disorders.
Tags: eating disorders, Anorexia Nervosa, anorexia nervosa, Bulimia Nervosa, eating disorder, excessive exercise