Biochemical Correlates of Anorexia and Bulimia
Millions of people in the United States suffer from anorexia nervosa and bulimia nervosa. Anorexia nervosa is a dangerous eating disorder characterized by distorted body image, obsession with food and weight, drastic reduction in food intake often to the point of starvation, and extreme weight loss (1). Bulimia nervosa is a somewhat similar eating disorder more specifically characterized by recurring episodes of uncontrollable binge eating followed by self-induced vomiting or abuse of laxatives or diuretics (2).
The vast majority - more than 90 percent - of those afflicted with eating disorders are adolescent and young adult women (1). This has led to the popular belief that eating disorders can be attributed to social factors, specifically the heavy emphasis which is placed on thinness as a measure of physical attractiveness and feminine beauty in our culture. It is thought that women, especially young women, develop eating disorders in an attempt to conform to this ideal (1). While it is likely that such social factors do play an important role in the development of eating disorders, research has shown that several other psychological and biological factors are also involved. This paper will focus specifically on the biochemical factors, including abnormal activity of brain neurotransmitters, hormones and other brain chemicals, which have been implicated in these disorders.
Disturbances of the serotonergic pathways within the brain have been linked to the onset, persistence, and recurrence of eating disorders. In particular, it seems that increased serotonin activity in the brain may be responsible for anorexic behavior, while decreased serotonin activity may be responsib...
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The first political parties in America began to form at the end of the 18th century. "The conflict that took shape in the 1790s between the Federalists and the Antifederalists exercised a profound impact on American history." The two primary influences, Thomas Jefferson a...
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) )
Political parties have been around since almost the beginning of this great country. Although George Washington strongly opposed political parties, and also warned the nation to stay away from forming political parties, the first political parties were formed right under his own nose. In George Washington’s cabinet was where the first parties started. The cause of these parties was simply differences in views. The thought of leaders of these two completely different parties was Thomas Jefferson and Alexander Hamilton. Jefferson started what then was known of as Republican or the Anti-Federalist. On the other hand Hamilton started what was known of as the Federalist Party. Both of these parties formed in the seventeen hundreds. These two parties have evolved into today being known as the Democratic, and the Republican parties. On the contrary one of the largest third party groups, the tea party was formed just recently in the year two thousand and nine. All three of these political parties effect our government today.
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
Considering the growing preoccupation of teenage girls with their weight and their bodies, eating disorders have become even more of a concern. In light of the fact that mortality in anorexia nervosa is among the highest of all psychiatric disorders, it is increasingly important to understand what causes eating disorders and how best to treat them (Herzog et al., 1996). A meaningful area of research to consider when trying to understand eating disorders is comorbidity. Such psychiatric disorders such as anxiety disorders, affective disorders, personality disorders, and substance abuse have been found to coexist, at least to some degree, with the eating disorders anorexia nervosa and bulimia nervosa. This paper will examine how anxiety disorders have been found to interact with both anorexia nervosa and bulimia nervosa.
Moreover, some families choose to Homeschool in order to screen their child’s curriculum to remove secularist views found in modern day public school curriculum (2002). Others have children with special needs or learning disabilities, so they choose to homeschool (Maaja, 1997). Ultimately, families are looking for what they believe is best for their children. And these families want to be actively involved in the education of their children. Homeschooling parents do not want strangers raising their children. They want to raise their children with freedom from government systems and institutions (Ray, 2000a).
According to the DSM V, one of the major symptoms of anorexia is low energy intake, which leads to significantly low body weight. Individuals that suffer from this eating disorder have an extreme fear of constantly gaining weight and are unhappy with their bodies and the wa...
Anorexia is an obsessive desire to control ones bodily appearance. It often starts with the refusal to obtain a healthy body weight. “This disorder is associated with under nutrition of varying severity with resulting secondary endocrine and metabolic changes and disruptions of bodily functions” (Kontic et al. 2013). An Anorexic person has a distorted view of themselves which can lead to devastating measures of self-starvation due to an immense fear of weight gain. In the same way, an individual suffering with Bulimia has a fear of weight gain, but goes about their technique in a different manner. Bulimia is an eating disorder characterized by binge eating or, consuming a large amount of food in a short time followed by guilt. This guilt is the leading factor to the purging stage where the individual will rid themselves of the physical and emotional discomfort. The ridding stage can invo...
Rorty M, Yager J, & Rossotto E (1994). Childhood sexual, physical, and psychological abuse in bulimia nervosa. American Journal of Psychiatry, 151, 1122-1126.
I didn’t think there was anything wrong with it because it was on TV.” Said a woman featured in the documentary, “Dying To Be Thin,” as she speaks of the beginning of her struggle with a binge eating disorder. According to the National Eating Disorder Association, a binge eating disorder is defined as: “recurrent episodes of eating large quantities of food (often very quickly and to the point of discomfort).” Women and men with binge eating disorders often times do not stick out as much as those with an eating disorder such as Anorexia, because most often they sit at a healthy weight. The people with this specific eating disorder continuously find themselves eating to the point of sickness and following with a purge, or making themselves throw up. “One thing that really stuck out to me in the documentary,” said Davis, “is, I didn’t realize that the brain becomes so affected by binge eating that your body eventually adjusts to where they can’t really feel full.” Biologically, the body, in the case of a binge eating disorder, confuses the hypothalamus, which is the part of the brain that controls hunger and appetite; by misunderstanding when exactly the subject is “full,” they tend to eat more than the appropriate amount. On another hand, people with a Binge eating disorder have been found to have low levels of serotonin, making them more prone to depression, but as they binge it has been proven to increase those
Bulimia nervosa, more commonly known simply as bulimia or binge and purge disorder, is an eating disorder that affects 1 in 4 college-aged women in America, or 1 in 10,000 Americans. The most common misconception concerning bulimia is that it is simply a physical or mental problem. Many people do not understand that bulimia is a disease that affects both the mind and the body, and in its course can destroy both aspects of the diseased individual.
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.
WH, Kaye, Berrettini W, Gwirtsman H, and George DT. "Altered cerebrospinal fluid neuropeptide Y and peptide YY immunoreactivity in anorexia and bulimia nervosa." pubmed.gov. N.p., n.d. Web. 9 Dec. 2013.
Many parents have criticized homeschooling, claiming that homeschooling provides a negative effect on the students’ social life, and trains them to be more secluded from the rest of the “outside world”. However, in an analysis posted by Widener Law Review titled “Homeschooling: Constitutional Analysis in Light of Social Science Research:”, research has shown that “homeschooled students score as well as or better than traditionally schooled children on widely used measures of social development.” In the article, the authors go into development as to just how much the homeschooled students excel vs. the students of traditional schools. In terms of the job life, “Homeschooled adults are also well prepared to participate in the economic realm. They have entrepreneurial skills and make desirable employees”. What this means is that although many critics attack the ideals of homeschooling, there is solid foundation for parents to stand on when deciding their best course of