Eating Disorder (What You Should Know)

An eating disorder is a mental illness that causes people to have a distorted view of their own body weight and shape. There are three main types of eating disorders: anorexia nervosa, bulimia nervosa, and binge-eating disorder. Eating disorders can affect people from all genders, races, and social classes.

If you have an eating disorder, you may believe that you are overweight when in reality you are underweight or of a normal weight. You may also think that you're fat even when friends and family say that you look thin. This lack of insight causes many people with eating disorders to refuse help for their illness, and can even lead to death.

People who have an eating disorder often believe that controlling what they eat will improve many areas of their lives. They may think this way because they experienced a traumatic event—such as the death of a loved one or sexual abuse —or because they feel out of control in some area of their life. However, eating disorders are illnesses that require professional help, so it's important not to try to solve them on your own.

Eating disorders commonly develop in adolescence and young adulthood, but they can affect people of all ages. Girls and women are more likely than boys and men to have an eating disorder. This is because women are more likely to be dissatisfied with their bodies and feel pressure from the media to appear thin.

How to Tell if Someone Has Eating Disorder

By just looking at them there are warning signs you should watch for:

• Constant dieting or skipping meals

• Obsessively counting calories or constantly thinking about food

• Hiding or stockpiling food in strange places

• Wearing baggy, loose clothing to hide weight loss

• Going to the bathroom after eating and rinsing out the mouth with a lot of water

• A distorted view of their own body weight or shape

• Feeling guilty after eating or being unable to eat certain foods

Common Types of Eating Disorder and Symptoms

1. Anorexia Nervosa

Anorexia nervosa is an eating disorder that manifests in a variety of ways. It can be characterized by food restriction, excessive weight loss, anxiety around eating and denial of the severity of the disease. This illness has many negative effects: it can lead to stunted growth and organ failure, among other things. The most common cause of death for people with this disease is suicide; sufferers may feel like they're never good enough or thin enough.

The most common symptoms of anorexia nervosa are weight loss, food restriction, and anxiety around eating. Other symptoms may include distorted body image, excessive exercise, and problems with menstruation.

2. Pica

Pica is a disorder in which people crave and eat non-food items. The most common examples are clay, chalk, dirt, ice, paper products such as toilet tissue or paper towels, string or wool from cloths used to clean house. This condition has been found among children living in underdeveloped countries with poor hygiene conditions and those living with intellectual disabilities. In the United States it affects between 1% and 10% of school age children. It can lead to intestinal obstruction or other complications if not treated properly. Some sufferers may also have iron deficiency anemia due to the lack of nutrients from actual food sources eaten during episodes of pica behavior. Pica is a dangerous eating disorder that should be addressed immediately by a doctor

Symptoms of pica include craving and eating non-food items, such as clay, chalk, dirt, ice, paper products, string or wool from cloths used to clean house. Pica can lead to intestinal obstruction or other complications if not treated properly.

3. Bulimia Nervosa

Bulimia nervosa is an eating disorder characterized by episodes of bingeing and purging. People with bulimia often eat large quantities of food in a short period of time, usually followed by vomiting, excessive exercise, or use of laxatives or diuretics to get rid of the food. This behavior can have serious consequences, including dehydration, tooth decay, and heart problems. Bulimia can also lead to social isolation and mood swings.

The most common symptoms of bulimia nervosa are bingeing and purging. Other symptoms may include excessive weight loss, feeling out of control around food, distorted body image, and mood swings. Bulimia can have serious consequences, including dehydration, tooth decay, and heart problems.

4. Binge Eating Disorder (BED)

People with binge eating disorder consume extremely large amounts of food, usually very quickly and to the point of discomfort. BED sufferers also feel a lack of control over their eating and will often eat until they're uncomfortably full or feel sick. This condition is associated with obesity, depression, low self-esteem, diabetes, and high blood pressure.

The most common symptoms of binge eating disorder are eating large amounts of food quickly until feeling uncomfortably full or sick, not feeling in control during episodes of bingeing, and obesity. BED is associated with obesity, depression, low self-esteem, diabetes, and high blood pressure.

5. Night Eating Syndrome (NES)

People with night eating syndrome wake up during the night to eat, often in secret. This is not necessarily related to an increase or decrease of appetite that occurs throughout the day, but rather it's related to poor sleep habits. People with NES may be unable to sleep without food and may eat even when they're not hungry.

This condition is characterized by eating during the night, often in secret and without a change in appetite during waking hours. Night eating syndrome may be associated with insomnia or sleep apnea.

6. Orthorexia

Orthorexia is an eating disorder that is characterized by an unhealthy obsession with healthy eating. People with orthorexia fixate on eating foods that they feel are pure or healthy, such as whole grains and organic products. This fixation can lead to social isolation and other health problems, including malnutrition and nutritional deficiencies.

The main symptoms of orthorexia are an unhealthy obsession with healthy eating, leading to malnutrition and nutritional deficiencies.

7. Other Specified Feeding or Eating Disorder (OSFED)

People with OSFED have symptoms of other eating disorders but continue to eat normally. For example, they may be underweight but still have regular bowel movements and periods. People with OSFED usually experience the same problems as those with anorexia nervosa, bulimia nervosa, BED, and/or night eating syndrome.

OSFED symptoms include eating normally but having symptoms of other eating disorders such as anorexia nervosa, bulimia nervosa, binge-eating disorder, and/or night eating syndrome.

8. Avoidant/Restrictive Food Intake Disorder (ARFID)

People with ARFID have a hard time eating because of an intense fear or anxiety about food. They may avoid certain textures of food, only eat small amounts, or vomit after they do eat. These people often don't have any other mental health problems but are still very much at risk for malnutrition and weight loss. ARFID is not the same as having an allergy to a type of food or being on a diet. It's different from these conditions in that it involves extreme distress about eating--not just particular foods--and usually develops when someone is between six and 18 months old (but can develop in adulthood).

The most common symptoms of ARFID are avoidance of certain types of food, refusing to eat anything but very small amounts, and not wanting to eat in front of others.