Eating disorders

1006 Words3 Pages

Food, how can something so essential, so familiar and so delicious, become something that a person associates with unnecessary, foreign and disgusting? Chances are that this person has developed an eating disorder. What is an eating disorder and its what are some characteristics? What causes eating disorders? Are there any treatments? An eating disorder is in reference to a group of conditions defined by abnormal eating habits. These habits include excess eating, not eating enough, preoccupation with food, binging, purging, laxative abuse, and excessive exercising. Eating disorders fall into different categories, anorexia nervosa, which is characterized by restriction of calories an irrational fear of gaining weight, and distorted body image. The person affected by anorexia nervosa is called an anorexic. Anorexics are usually mildly to severely underweight because they do not consume enough calories to sustain a normal weight, their body beings feeding on its self causing them to lose weight. The next category is bulimia nervosa, which is characterized by a binge purge cycle, and distorted body image. The person affected by bulimia is called a bulimic. Bulimics indulge in binges; a binge is when a person consumes larger than normal quantities of food in a short amount of time. Binges can be quick, lasting 30 minutes, in other cases binges can span 3 hours or even for an entire day. After the bulimic has binged they are overcome with an immense amount of guilt and disgust making them feel the need to purge. Purging is any method of expelling food from the body, theses methods include; vomiting, laxative abuse, the use of enemas, diuretics, and excessive exercise. Purging brings a sense of relief and a feeling of control to the bul... ... middle of paper ... ...look at it from an illogical point of view. Also I think that the friends and family of those who are affected are afraid to look deeper into the problem because chances are that they are part of the cause either that or they dissociate from the affected individual because it is not something that is normal, it is "taboo" and people do not want to be apart of something out of the norm for fear that they themselves will be ostracized. Another reason is that it is truly painful to watch someone you love hurt themselves and feel like you can’t help them. Fortunately there are plenty of doctors and specialists who know exactly what is going on in the ever-spinning minds of those with eating disorders. There is hope, there is help, but there is a greater fear within the hearts and minds of those affected we need only to reach out further and let their fears be abolished.

Anorexia and Bulimia
1108 Words | 3 Pages
...orted self-image, low self-esteem, and a need for control. "Eating disorders are not about food or weight but about a disordered 'sense of self' looking for approval and finding it, however
Read More
Anorexia and Bulimia
1078 Words | 3 Pages
A variation of Anorexia, Bulimia ranges from excessive food intake, to an out of control compulsive cycle of binge eating where extraordinary amounts of any available food, usually of high carbohydrate content, may be consumed. Once having gorged, the victims are overcome with the urge to rd themselves of what they hate eaten by purging themselves, usually by vomiting, and sometimes by massive doses of laxatives. Between these obsessive bouts, most are able to accept some nutrition. Whereas the anorexic sufferer fears fatness from anticipated loss of eating control, and unlike the anorexic sufferer the typical bulimic individual is not emaciated, but usually maintains a normal body weight and appears to be fit and healthy.
Read More
Anorexia And Bulimia Essay
918 Words | 2 Pages
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...
Read More
Eating Disorders
2394 Words | 5 Pages
Look in the mirror. Do you like what you see? Most of us have come to appreciate ourselves for who we are. While other’s struggle to achieve the perfect body. They strive to be what is depicted in fashion magazines and movies. The never ending obsession to be the perfect size zero. This inevitably can lead to eating disorders. Eating disorders can cause someone to have an unhealthy image of themselves and food is the enemy. In a national survey at the Mclean Hospital in Massachusetts it was estimated that over 9 million people suffer with eating disorders. They can struggle with anorexia, bulimia or binge eating. A study conducted by the National Association of Anorexia Nervosa and Associated Disorders states that most of these diseases start before the age of twenty. Another growing problem in the United States is obesity. Over 60 million Americans suffer from this disease, this according to the American Obesity Association (gale opposing viewpoints: eating disorders 2010).
Read More
Eating Disorders: A Life Threatening Mental Illness
1760 Words | 4 Pages
The three most commonly known eating disorders of today are anorexia nervosa, bulimia nervosa, and binge eating. Anorexia nervosa is a disease connected with abnormal eating; it is not brought on by excitement, delusions, overactivity or a bad habit, it is a mental illness. Development of anorexia usually starts in the early teenage years, however it can go undiagnosed for thirty to even forty plus years. Another eating disorder is bulimia, people who are bulimic have no time to think about daily life; all that is on there mind is their next meal. Someone who has bulimia often l...
Read More
Anorexia Essay
1679 Words | 4 Pages
There are countless health problems that an eating disorder can lead to. However; if caught in time, professional assistance can help a person to overcome a disorder. I personally feel invested in this topic because my best friend developed an eating disorder. It was hard for me to see how much she hated the way she looked. I watched her weight drop to an unhealthy size in a matter of months. Thankfully, with the help of therapy, she has since moved past it. Learning the signs and characteristics of an eating disorder can aid in identifying individuals at risk. If you are suspicious that someone you know could have an eating disorder, it is important you talk to them about it. The results of eating disorders being caught early on could be the difference between life and death.
Read More
Eating Disorders : Eating Disorder
1323 Words | 3 Pages
Overall, eating disorders are a very sensitive topic and can be suffered by anyone no matter their background, weight, age or gender. Anyone has the ability to be diagnosed with an eating disorder. It is important to teach children young healthy habits with eating and exercise.
Read More
Eating Disorders
1894 Words | 4 Pages
The most dangerous eating disorder is anorexia nervosa. “Anorexia nervosa translates to “nervous loss of hunger”. It is a mental illness involving the irrational fear of gaining weight. Usually, the victim is a perfectionist, although he or she may suffer from a low self-esteem. In general, a member of the opposite sex triggers anorexia. The first disease resembling present-day anorexia is one called “Anorexia Mirabilis,” or “Miraculous lack of appetite.” It is described as
Read More
Eating Disorders
570 Words | 2 Pages
The third most common disorder in adolescent is eating disorder (Reijonen, 2003). There are three types of eating disorder. The prevalence rate of eating disorder has been increasing over the past 50 years. They are anorexia nervosa, bulimia nervosa and binge eating disorder. These disorders start as early as adolescence that can cause psychological and medical problems. All three have similar etiology such as biological and sociocultural factors that develops the eating disorder. Even though the three types of eating disorder can overlap with similar characteristics, each type of disorder, there is a specific treatment that works best for one and not the other.
Read More
Eating Disorders
1401 Words | 3 Pages
Bulimia nervosa is a serious psychiatric illness. People who suffer from bulimia binge eat regularly and try compensating for their behavior by over exercising, purging and fasting; according to the National Library of Medicine a significant number of people with bulimia also have anorexia (Nordqvist, 2009). There are many warning signs and symptoms that come along with bulimia such as: binge eating, purging, over exercising, constant change in bodyweight, disappearing after eating to the restroom, depression, and damaged teeth (Nordqvist, 2009). Not only does bulimia affect ones physical appearance but it also affects a persons state of health because there are many consequences that come along with this disorder such as: sto...
Read More
Demi Lovato: The Cause And Causes Of Eating Behaviors
1078 Words | 3 Pages
Eating disorders are quite serious and can often lead to extreme disruption of normal eating behaviors. It wasn’t considered an illness till 1980, when a singer named Karen Carpenter died from complications due to anorexia. If left untreated a person can put significant stress on their body; causing the body to begin to shut down. Often the organs will begin to fail, the persons hair will start to fall out and the person whom you once knew will become completely unrecognizable. Researchers have found many reasons that can be the cause of eating disorders. If we consider Demi Lovato a once happy go lucky Disney star who started acting different from her usual self. We can see that she was struggling from some kind of internal complex. When
Read More
Eating Disorders
408 Words | 1 Pages
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.
Read More
Adolescent Eating Disorders
1663 Words | 4 Pages
Bulimia nervosa is a slightly less serious version of anorexia, but can lead to some of the same horrible results. Bulimia involves an intense concern about weight (which is generally inaccurate) combined with frequent cycles of binge eating followed by purging, through self-induced vomiting, unwarranted use of laxatives, or excessive exercising. Most bulimics are of normal body weight, but they are preoccupied with their weight, feel extreme shame about their abnormal behavior, and often experience significant depression. The occurrence of bulimia has increased in many Western countries over the past few decades. Numbers are difficult to establish due to the shame of reporting incidences to health care providers (Bee and Boyd, 2001).
Read More
Essay on Eating Disorder - Bulimia, the Destruction of Self
1414 Words | 3 Pages
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.
Read More
Eating Disorder Essay
616 Words | 2 Pages
An eating disorder is defined as a group of serious conditions in which you are preoccupied with food and weight that your rarely focus on anything else (www.mayoclinic.org). The most common eating disorders bulimia, anorexia nervosa and binge eating. The first one we are going to discuss is bulima and it is defined as an eating disorder in which the the person induces vomitting to compensate for binge eating (www.nationaleatingdisorders.org). Bulimia has can be very dangerous for the body because the constant binge eating follo...
Read More

Open Document

Wait a second!

Eating disorders

Anorexia and Bulimia

Anorexia and Bulimia

Anorexia And Bulimia Essay