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Thanks
to the National Institute of Mental Health
for the following information.
Eating
Disorders: Facts About Eating Disorders and the Search for Solutions - 2
Eating disorders
frequently co-occur with other psychiatric disorders such as
depression,
substance abuse, and
anxiety disorders.
In addition, people who suffer from eating disorders can experience a wide
range of physical health complications, including serious heart conditions
and kidney failure which may lead to death. Recognition of eating
disorders as real and treatable diseases, therefore, is critically
important.
Females are much more
likely than males to develop an eating disorder. Only an estimated 5 to 15
percent of people with anorexia or bulimia and an estimated 35 percent of
those with binge-eating disorder are male.
Anorexia Nervosa
An estimated 0.5 to 3.7 percent of females suffer from anorexia nervosa in
their lifetime. Symptoms of anorexia nervosa include:
- Resistance to
maintaining body weight at or above a minimally normal weight for age
and height
- Intense fear of
gaining weight or becoming fat, even though underweight
- Disturbance in the way
in which one's body weight or shape is experienced, undue influence of
body weight or shape on self-evaluation, or denial of the seriousness of
the current low body weight
- Infrequent or absent
menstrual periods (in females who have reached puberty)
People with this disorder
see themselves as overweight even though they are dangerously thin. The
process of eating becomes an obsession. Unusual eating habits develop,
such as avoiding food and meals, picking out a few foods and eating these
in small quantities, or carefully weighing and portioning food. People
with anorexia may repeatedly check their body weight, and many engage in
other techniques to control their weight, such as intense and compulsive
exercise, or purging by means of vomiting and abuse of laxatives, enemas,
and diuretics. Girls with anorexia often experience a delayed onset of
their first menstrual period.
Part 1 |
Part 2
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