Eating Disorders

Eating Disorders

• Extreme eating behaviors that can lead to serious health problems and even death

• Unhealthy behavior related to food, eating, and weight

• These are hid from friends and family(usually)• More common

– Among females– Teen years and early adulthood

• Estimated that from 1-10% of all teens suffer from an eating disorder

Anorexia Nervosa

• Type of eating disorder that involves an irresistible urge to lose weight through self-starvation and a refusal to maintain a normal body weight

• There are many approaches– Refusing to eat– Laxatives– Diet Pills

Binge Eating Disorder

• Type of eating disorder involving a lack of control while eating huge quantities of food at one time– Bingeing

• Usually happens when a person is emotionally upset or under severe stress

Bulimia Nervosa

• Involves episodes of binge eating followed by purging– The use of self-induced vomiting, laxatives,

or vigorous activities to prevent weight gain

• Usually within 10-15 pounds of a healthy weight

Effects of Eating Disorders

• Create serious health problems• Anorexia can result in:

– Lowered heart rate and body temperature– Constipation– Lowered blood pressure and breathing rate– Heart problems– Osteoporosis– Brain damage– Stunted growth

• About 10% of all individuals with anorexia will die of starvation

Effects of Eating Disorders

• Binge Eating disorder– Gain weight – Develop the same health problems as

overweight people– Very distressed about their binge eating

Effects of Eating Disorders

• Bulimia– Lose Fluids and potassium

• Results in fatigue, kidney problems, heart damage

– Vomiting damages • Esophagus• teeth • gums

– Salivary glands enlarge– May rupture the esophagus– Soar throats

What can be Done?

• Realize that a person with an eating disorder has an illness

• Most can not stop the self-destructing behaviors on their own

Recognizing Eating Disorders

Anorexia warning signs:

rapidly losing large amounts of weight

Eating little

Exercising for hours

Sensitivity to cold temperatures

Preoccupied with food and calories

Spending time alone

Avoiding friends

Recognizing Eating Disorders

• Binge Eating or Bulimia– Warning signs are more challenging to pick

up on• Often successful in hiding their problems• Tend to eat in secret

Recognizing Eating Disorders

• Bulimia– They have no control over their unusual eating

habits– Embarrassed by their lack of self-control– Preoccupation with food and eating– Leaving the table immediately after eating

• Usually going to the bathroom to purge

– Great fluctuations in weight– Dependency on laxatives, water pills, or diet pills– Physical changes

• Swollen glands or teeth problems

Getting Help

• Treatment usually requires professional help– Includes nutritional and psychological

counseling as well as medical help• Often includes hospitalization in an eating

disorders clinic

Treatment Options• Medical Nutrition therapy

• Focuses on nutrition education

• Behavioral therapy• Focuses on changing eating habits

• Cognitive behavioral therapy• Focuses on changing unrealistic thinking

• Family therapy• Focuses on developing supportive family attitudes

• Drug therapy• May involve antidepressant medication if a patient does

not respond to other therapies

Dying to be Thin

• http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/thin/program.html

Quiz

• List four characteristics of anorexia.• What types of treatment are available to

persons who suffer from eating disorders?• In recent years, a number of celebrities have

admitted to having eating disorders. Do you think such publicity has a positive or negative effect? Explain.