Eating disorders are serious, potentially life-threatening mental disorders that can affect anyone regardless of age, gender, race, sexual orientation, or socioeconomic status. Eating disorders can affect all areas of a person’s life, including their intimate relationships and sex life. Increased communication is important to maintain a healthy relationship with someone who is suffering from an…
Tag: eating
Orthorexia
According to the NEDA, or the National Eating Disorders Association, orthorexia is an obsession with healthy eating. The term originated in 1998 and has become increasingly prevalent as societal pressure to diet rises. Orthorexia has become more common as the expansion of social media has given people access to a variety of information on dieting,…
Eating Disorder Statistics
Eating disorders are serious, potentially life threatening mental disorders that affect people of all ages, genders, races, sexual orientations, and socioeconomic groups. Eating disorders are caused by a combination of biological, psychological, social, and cultural factors. Certain groups and types of people are more at risk than others for developing an eating disorder. There has…
Bulimia
What is Bulimia? Bulimia is an eating disorder categorized by a cycle of binge eating an abnormally large amount of food in a short period of time, followed by a compensatory behavior.1 Compensatory behaviors may consist of self-induced vomiting, excessive exercising, fasting, or laxative use to avoid gaining weight from binge eating.1 Individuals with bulimia…
Anorexia
Anorexia, or anorexia nervosa, is a life-threatening eating disorder characterized by significant weight loss due to the restriction of calorie intake.1 This extreme weight loss is accompanied by an intense fear of gaining weight, denial of the seriousness of the weight loss, and perceiving one’s own body differently than reality.1 Anorexia affects all people regardless of class,…
Rumination Disorder
Rumination disorder is a gastrointestinal disorder that causes a person to unintentionally regurgitate their undigested food shortly after ingestion.1 In most cases, the person expels or vomits up the food up to a half hour after eating. The patient could also regurgitate their food, rechew, then re-swallow it. It is important to note that regurgitation…
Pica
The National Eating Disorders Association defines pica as “the recurrent eating of non-food substances that offer no nutritional value and are not part of a culturally sanctioned practice”.1 To be considered a disorder, this behavior must take place over at least one month.2 Some of these substances may include cloth, hair, wool, starch, soil, string,…
If You Think You Have an Eating Disorder
An eating disorder is a mental illness that is characterized by irregular eating behaviors and patterns coupled with concern and distress over body shape and weight.1 People struggling with an eating disorder may use starvation, purging, or other behaviors to control their physical appearance. Although eating disorders typically develop during adolescence, anyone can develop one…
Eating Disorder Not Otherwise Specified (EDNOS)
What is EDNOS? The Diagnostic and Statistical Manual for Mental Disorders (DSM-5) defines EDNOS as atypical eating behaviors that cause significant distress and fit most, but not all of the criteria for the DSM-5 recognized eating disorders (anorexia nervosa, bulimia nervosa, binge eating disorder). Approximately 40-60% of patients who are treated for an eating disorder…