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Eating Disorders

Lorraine Dupleasis

Writing in Psychology

June 5, 2016

EATING DISORDERS

Abstract

In these previous years, there has been an increase in the number of people being affected by complication caused by eating disorders. Many deaths reported lately have been linked to eating disorders. Complications related to eating disorders have become a threat to the medical fraternity. The basis of this research was to identify the causes of these eating disorders, the types and how they can be prevented or treated.

It was discovered that there are three main types of eating disorders namely binge eating disorder, bulimia and anorexia nervosa. Several factors were found to trigger the attack of this disorder and they include biological factors such as genetics, environmental factors, psychological factors and cultural factors.

The findings in this research could be used to come up with a system of treating these disorders so to prevent the complications related to it more so death.

LITRATURE REVIEW

Of late, it seems or rather it looks like every girl want to be a model or to be more precise, she wants to have a body like that of a model. Most of these girls become obsessed with getting thin. However, to get such bodies; they have to undergo very painful and shocking things. This has led to what is known as medical disorders in the medical fields. The number of people being affected by health complications with their roots in eating disorders has been on the increase. This disorder is commonly found in young adults and children .in the USA alone it affects more than eleven million people most of them being young ladies. According to a recent research by the American Society for Nutrition, this disorder is more common in females than in males.

This research is based majorly on the types, causes, symptoms and prevention of eating disorders.

There exists three main types of eating disorders and they include binge eating disorder, anorexia nervosa and bulimia nervosa. However, the most common types are the anorexia nervosa and bulimia nervosa. Medically speaking, the causes of this disorder have not yet been discovered although certain factors were found to contribute to the attack of this menace .there are several of such factors and some of them are cultural factors ,psychological factors and biological factors such as genetics.

Some of the most common signs of eating disorders are switching between periods of over eating and under eating, having abnormal eating patterns such as hiding food, frequent weight changes, having fixed diet recipes and a fixed cooking method and the obsession with some types of foods.

The medical fraternity has been on its heels to try and find a cure for this disorder. In the mean time, they have come up with preventive measure which is able to counter attack the eating disorders.

Eating disorders particularly the nervosa types i.e. anorexia nervosa and bulimia nervosa has become a major challenge to most young adults and children in the current world.

Eating disorders are defined by either excessive and abnormal intake of food or insufficient food intake.

The anorexia nervosa type is caused by the attempt of maintaining a body weight of below minimal normal weight for a certain age and height. It is also associated with the fear of weight gain even if one is an underweight. Due to this, they consume very limited amounts of food. This eating disorder may cause severe health damage such as brain damage. This is more common in young ladies than in males. On the other hand, bulimia nervosa involves over eating which is followed by activities to hide the over-eating. These activities include fasting, extreme exercising and sometimes induced vomiting. The other type of eating disorders is the binge eating disorder which is similar to the bulimia nervosa type with the main difference being that it does not involve activities to hide the over-eating.

Although the exact causes of these disorders are not known, certain factors were found to induce its attack. These factors include biological factors which comprise of genetics, psychological factors such as stress, depression, low self-esteem and having a negative attitude towards body shape and cultural factors.

The most common signs of eating disorders include switching between periods of over eating and under eating, abnormal eating patterns, frequent weight changes and having a fixed diet.

Once these disorders are identified, treatment should follow immediately. One can either visit a nutritionist or a qualified physician .one can also be put on medication.

CAUSES OF EATING DISORDERS

Introduction

Eating disorders are body disorders which are characterized by irregular eating habits and abnormal concern on body weight and shape. These irregular eating habits may include extreme eating of food or inadequate consumption of food. Either way, eating disorders cause damage to the victim’s body. There are different forms of eating disorders with the most common being bulimia nervosa, anorexia nervosa and binge eating disorder and they affect both young and old, men and women. Although they may affect anybody of any age, they mostly show up during teen years or immediately after teenage. There are different factors which may lead to eating disorders but in this case am going to talk about environmental factors, biological factors, psychological factors and cultural factors. Am also going to touch on the signs and symptoms and eventually the preventive measures and treatment of these disorders (Keel, 2006).

Discussion

Types of eating disorders

Bulimia nervosa- This type of eating disorder involves repeated excessive overeating which is followed by activities in which the victim tries to cover up the overeating. These cover-up activities include excessive use of laxatives, extreme exercising and induced vomiting. People who have these disorders are usually unhappy with their body shapes and sizes and they also fear gaining weight.

Our next type of eating disorder is anorexia nervosa. Victims of this disorder have fear of weight gain and they have a belief that they are overweight’s even when they are underweights in reality. Due to this belief, they consume very limited amounts of food. This eating disorder may cause severe health damage such as brain damage and heart failure if not checked.

Binge eating disorder is the last type of eating disorder is going to discuss about. This type of eating disorder is almost similar to bulimia nervosa but the difference is that the victim does not have cover up. Due to this, many people suffering from this type of disorder tend to be obese and overweight and are at a high risk of contracting health issues such as heart attacks (Bruch, 2004).

Causes of eating disorders

It is mostly believed that these diseases are caused by environmental, psychological, cultural and biological factors just to name but a few. Examples of biological factors which could lead to the cause of these disorders include genetics, deficiency of some nutritional elements and abnormal hormone functioning. Examples of psychological factors include low self-esteem, having a negative attitude towards your body shape, and feeling of lack of control in life, depression, stress, anxiety, loneliness and anger. The environmental factors include professions that promote weight loss and having a thin body, peer pressure and traumas (Mehler & Andersen, 2009).

Signs and symptoms of eating disorders

Some of the most common signs of eating disorders are switching between periods of over eating and under eating, having abnormal eating patterns such as hiding food, frequent weight changes, having fixed diet recipes and a fixed cooking method and the obsession with some types of foods. Most of the cases you find that these individuals cook for themselves and they can’t accept others to cook for them or if they allow others to cook for them they have to supervise them (Cumella, Eberly, & Wall, 2008).

Treatment and prevention of eating disorders

Once these eating disorders are identified, preventive measures and treatment must be looked for immediately due to the gracious nature of them. One can either visit a nutritionist or medical doctor. The treatment involves nutritional monitoring, psychotherapy as well as administering medication (Garner & Garfinkel, 2007).

Review of academic references