Eating disorders

An eating disorder is a mental disorder defined by abnormal eating habits that negatively affect a person's physical or mental health. They include binge eating disorder, where people eat a large amount in a short period of time; anorexia nervosa, where people eat very little and thus have a low body weight; bulimia nervosa, where people eat a lot and then try to rid themselves of the food; pica, where people eat non-food items; rumination disorder, where people regurgitate food; avoidant/restrictive food intake disorder, where people have a lack of interest in food; and a group of other specified feeding or eating disorders. Anxiety disorders, depression, and substance abuse are common among people with eating disorders. These disorders do not include obesity. An eating disorder is a mental disorder defined by abnormal eating habits that negatively affect a person's physical or mental health. They include binge eating disorder, where people eat a large amount in a short period of time; anorexia nervosa, where people eat very little and thus have a low body weight; bulimia nervosa, where people eat a lot and then try to rid themselves of the food; pica, where people eat non-food items; rumination disorder, where people regurgitate food; avoidant/restrictive food intake disorder, where people have a lack of interest in food; and a group of other specified feeding or eating disorders. Anxiety disorders, depression, and substance abuse are common among people with eating disorders. These disorders do not include obesity. The causes of eating disorders are not clear. Both biological and environmental factors appear to play a role. Cultural idealization of thinness is believed to contribute. Eating disorders affect about 12 percent of dancers. Individuals who have experienced sexual abuse are also more likely to develop eating disorders. Some disorders such as pica and rumination disorder occur more often in people with intellectual disabilities. Only one eating disorder can be diagnosed at a given time. Treatment can be effective for many eating disorders. Typically, this involves counselling, a proper diet, a normal amount of exercise, and the reduction of efforts to eliminate food. Hospitalization may be needed in more serious cases. Medications may be used to help with some of the associated symptoms. About 70% of people with anorexia and 50% of people with bulimia recover within five years. Recovery from binge eating disorder is less clear and estimated at 20% to 60%. Both anorexia and bulimia increase the risk of death. In the developed world, binge eating disorder affects about 1.6% of women and 0.8% of men in a given year. Anorexia affects about 0.4% and bulimia affects about 1.3% of young women in a given year. Up to 4% of women have anorexia, 2% have bulimia, and 2% have binge eating disorder at some point in time. Anorexia and bulimia occur nearly ten times more often in females than males. Typically, they begin in late childhood or early adulthood. Rates of other eating disorders are not clear. Rates of eating disorders appear to be lower in less developed countries. Bulimia nervosa is a disorder characterized by binge eating and purging, as well as excessive evaluation of one's self-worth in terms of body weight or shape. Purging can include self-induced vomiting, over-exercising, and the use of diuretics, enemas, and laxatives. Anorexia nervosa is characterized by extreme food restriction and excessive weight loss, accompanied by the fear of being fat. The extreme weight loss often causes women and girls who have begun menstruating to stop having menstrual periods, a condition known as amenorrhea. Although amenorrhea was once a required criterion for the disorder, it is no longer required to meet criteria for anorexia nervosa due to its exclusive nature for sufferers who are male, post-menopause, or who do not menstruate for other reasons. The DSM-5 specifies two subtypes of anorexia nervosa—the restricting type and the binge/purge type. Those who suffer from the restricting type of anorexia nervosa restrict food intake and do not engage in binge eating, whereas those suffering from the binge/purge type lose control over their eating at least occasionally and may compensate for these binge episodes. The most notable difference between anorexia nervosa binge/purge type and bulimia nervosa is the body weight of the person. Those diagnosed with anorexia nervosa binge/purge type are underweight, while those with bulimia nervosa may have a body weight that falls within the range from normal to obese. These eating disorders are specified as mental disorders in standard medical manuals, such as in the ICD-10, the DSM-5, or both. Symptoms and complications vary according to the nature and severity of the eating disorder: Some physical symptoms of eating disorders are weakness, fatigue, sensitivity to cold, reduced beard growth in men, reduction in waking erections, reduced libido, weight loss and failure of growth. Unexplained hoarseness may be a symptom of an underlying eating disorder, as the result of acid reflux, or entry of acidic gastric material into the laryngoesophageal tract. Patients who induce vomiting, such as those with anorexia nervosa, binge eating-purging type or those with purging-type bulimia nervosa are at risk for acid reflux. Polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) is the most common endocrine disorder to affect women. Though often associated with obesity it can occur in normal weight individuals. PCOS has been associated with binge eating and bulimic behavior. Other possible manifestations are dry lips, burning tongue, parotid gland swelling, and temporomandibular disorders. Pro-ana refers to the promotion of behaviors related to the eating disorder anorexia nervosa. Several websites promote eating disorders, and can provide a means for individuals to communicate in order to maintain eating disorders. Members of these websites typically feel that their eating disorder is the only aspect of a chaotic life that they can control. These websites are often interactive and have discussion boards where individuals can share strategies, ideas, and experiences, such as diet and exercise plans that achieve extremely low weights. A study comparing the personal web-blogs that were pro-eating disorder with those focused on recovery found that the pro-eating disorder blogs contained language reflecting lower cognitive processing, used a more closed-minded writing style, contained less emotional expression and fewer social references, and focused more on eating-related contents than did the recovery blogs.