Pleasure and Pain Food brings extreme happiness to some and significant torture to others. Healthy people live without life changing effects from their food choices. Unfortunately a large amount of United States citizens suffer from the harmful side of eating related disorders. While readers should understand the causes, health concerns,and preventatives of eating disorders, one way to better comprehend involves descriptions and case studies. Three major types of eating disorders affect peoples' lives. Victims of eating disorders suffer from an illness. The sickness results from peer influences and emotional problems (Eating). Anorexia nervosa, bulimia nervosa, and binge eating take a toll on lives through eating or lack of eating. Anorexia nervosa, one of the eating disorders, has proven to potentially threaten lives. Extreme weight loss and self-starvation transpire from anorexia (National). Signs and symptoms of the specific disorder vary. Some of the common symptoms include declining food, ignoring hunger, excessive fear of weight gain, obscured self-image, and loss of emotion (“Eating Disorders-Bing”). Anorexia nervosa results in premature mortality. Research proves that the disorder has the highest early death rate out of all psychiatric disorders. Most of the deaths occur as a result of physiological complications (National). Bulimia nervosa may lead to death like anorexia, but the characteristics remain different. Bulimics go through a binging cycle. Actions such as forced vomiting compensate for the weight gain during binge eating (National). Common signs and symptoms involve eating until the victim feels discomfort, binging of unhealthy foods, forced vomiting, use of laxatives, and unusual bowel functioning (... ... middle of paper ... ...bulimiahelp.org/book/bulimia-overview/bulimia-statistics>. Drohan, Michele Ingber. Weight-loss Programs: Weighing the Risks and Realities. New York: Rosen Pub. Group, 1998. Print. Eating Disorders | Anorexia | Bulimia | Binge Eating Disorder | Compulsive Overeating | The Something Fishy Website on Eating Disorders. Web. 24 Feb. 2011. . "Eating Disorders - Bing Health." Bing. Web. 24 Feb. 2011. . National Eating Disorders Association. Web. 24 Feb. 2011. . "NIMH · Eating Disorders." NIMH · Home. Web. 24 Feb. 2011. . O'Brien, Eileen. Starving to Win: Athletes and Eating Disorders. New York: Rosen Pub. Group, 1998. Print.
The National Institute of Mental Health: Eating Disorders: Facts About Eating Disorders and the Search for Solutions. Pub No. 01-4901. Accessed Feb. 2002.
Each year millions of people in the United States develop serious and often fatal eating disorders. More than ninety percent of those are adolescent and young women. The consequences of eating disorders are often severe--one in ten end in death from either starvation, cardiac arrest, or suicide. Due to the recent awareness of this topic, much time and money has been attributed to eating disorders. Many measures have been taken to discover leading causes and eventual treatment for those suffering from anorexia. (http://www.kidsource.com/kidsource ...er.html#Causes of Eating Disorders) )
Shapiro, C. M. (2012). Eating disorders: Causes, diagnosis, and treatments [Ebrary version]. Retrieved from http://libproxy.utdallas.edu/login?url=http://site.ebrary.com/lib/utdallas/Doc?id=10683384&ppg=3
As defined by the National Eating Disorders Association, “Anorexia Nervosa is a serious, potentially life-threatening eating disorder characterized by self-starvation and excessive weight loss.” (NEDA). The term “Anorexia Nervosa” literally means “neurotic loss of appetite”, and could be more generally defined as the result of a prolonged self-starvation and an unhealthy relationship regarding food and self-image. It is characterized by “resistance to maintaining body weight at or above a minimally normal weight for age and height”, “intense fear of weight gain or being “fat”, even though underweight”, “disturbance in the experience of body weight or shape, undue influence of weight or shape on self-evaluation, or denial of the seriousness of low body weight”, and “loss of menstrual periods in girls and women post-puberty.”(NEDA) Among women on a range of 15 to 24 years old, AN has been proved to have 12 times the annual mortality rate of all death causes, and from premature deaths of anorexic patients, 1 in every 5 is caused by suicide, which gives a rise of 20% for suicide probability. (EDV)
Anorexia Nervosa (AN) is an eating disorder with the highest mortality rate of any other mental disorder. The National Association of Anorexia Nervosa and Associated Disorders characterizes the disorder as “a relentless pursuit of thinness and unwillingness to maintain a normal or healthy body weight”. (2014) Individuals also experience a “distortion of body image, intense fear of gaining weight and extremely disturbed eating behavior.” (National Association of Anorexia Nervosa and Related Disorders, 2014) As a result, they experience complications physically, mentally and socially. About 80% of individuals with eating disorders suffer from cardiac complications with death due to arrhythmias being the most common cause. This paper will focus on the connection between AN and cardiovascular rhythm disturbances. Individuals with this disorder have an increased chance of sudden death due to cardiovascular abnormalities like bradycardia, myocardial modification including atrophy and refeeding syndrome. (Casiero & Frishman, 2006)
Anorexia is a serious and life threatening condition. It can result in death due to starvation, heart failure, or electrolyte imbalance. The first step in helping someone suffering with anorexia is to diagnose the physical characteristics attributed with the disease...
Anorexia is a mental illness that can be identified by its victims starving themselves in order to drop weight to dangerous levels. Most often, anorexics will restrict their food or exercise excessively in order to decrease their body weight. Anorexia has the highest mortality rate of any mental illness. This is mainly due to suicide and the complications that occur consequently from starvation. These complications include heart and kidney failure as well as osteoporosis and muscle atrophy. Females may also stop menstruating. The gastrointestinal, cardiovascular, and endocrine systems may also be affected. Thus, Anorexia has detrimental effects on a person’s physical and mental health.
Eating disorders have been a part of the world’s culture ever since people began recording history. These disorders were first recorded in Egypt, where the Egyptians would partake in a monthly purge that would last anywhere from an hour to as long as two weeks. The Egyptians thought the purge showed their gods how faithful they were to them, and would often purge weekly if they had thought they had done something to displease the gods (Epstein 33). Though there are many individual specialized eating disorder conditions, three main disorders affect the majority of society today. These three disorders are anorexia n...
Eating disorders are described as an illness involving eating habits that are irregular and an extreme concern with body image or weight. Eating disorders tend to appear during teenage years, but can develop at any age. Although more common in women, eating disorders can affect any age, gender or race. In the United States, over 20 million women and 10 million men are personally affected by eating disorders. There are many different causes of eating disorders such as low self esteem, societal pressures, sexual abuse and the victims perception of food. Eating disorders are unique to the sufferer and often, their perception of themselves is so skewed, they may not be aware they have an eating disorder. Media, for quite some time now, has played a significant part in eating disorders. Magazines with headlines ‘Summer Body’, or ‘Drop LB’s Fast!’ attract the attention of girls who may be insecure with themselves. Television productions such as the Victoria’s Secret Fashion Show or American’s Next Top Model, show airbrushed and photoshopped women who have body types that may be unachievable. Those who are suffering from eating disorders can suffer dangerous consequences, and it is important to seek help.
"Causes of Eating Disorders." Mental Help. N.p., 2 Feb 2007. Web. 20 Feb 2014. .
An eating disorder is a serious health condition involving extremely unhealthy dietary habits. There are a number of accepted eating disorder treatments that depend on the symptoms and severity of the illness. The most effective treatments involve both psychological as well as physical issues with the ultimate goal being a healthy dietary lifestyle. The team approach to treatment involves professionals with experience in eating disorders that usually includes a medical provider, mental health workers, registered dieticians and case managers. These individuals work together in hopes of avoiding a life threatening situation.
With children as early as age 7 showing dissatisfaction with their body, and as young as 9 starting dieting, eating disorders are a serious issue in our society. Taking a look at perceptions, behaviors, and medical issues associated with the disorders of anorexia and bulimia, scholars have tried to categorize and find answers to the problems which certain adolescents suffer. In this paper I focused on the two major eating disorders of anorexia and bulimia.
The "Anorexia Nervosa" BMJ: British Medical Journal 334.7599 (2007): 894-98. Print. The. Hay, Phillipa J., and Josue Bacaltchuk. The "Bulimia Nervosa" BMJ: British Medical Journal, 323 (2001). Print.
In modern culture, women and men are becoming less satisfied with their body shape. According to a report that was done by the Federal Trade Commission, seventy percent of Americans are either trying not to maintain their weight or are trying to lose weight (Kittleson 75). To compensate for being over weight, an individual will develop an eating disorder. According to Mark Kittleson, eating disorders are when an individual eats way too much or way too little (1). There are three different types of eating disorders, anorexia, bulimia, and binge eating. According to Jessica Bennett, twenty-five million people in the United States suffer from binge eating disorder and ten million women and one million men suffer from either anorexia or bulimia. Studies have proven that bulimia, anorexia, and binge eating are set off by social, psychological, relationship or genetic factors; social factors, however, have the greatest impact on men and women.
Anorexia is a deadly disease if you don’t catch it early. Physically and psychologically anorexia will destroy your body and your mind. You get so consumed on limiting your calorie intake and ignoring your health by depriving your body from nutrients and malnutrition. Mentally by starving yourself you think you are in control but the disease ends up controlling you. Anorexia starts at a young age affecting teen but it can also affect adult hood. Anorexia does not only affect females but also affects males.