Eating Disorders

Eating Disorders

• Pressure to be thin through society and the media

• Pressure causes some to fear they will gain weight

• Some people will develop eating disorders such as binge eating, bulimia nervosa, and anorexia nervosa

Causes

• Eating disorder victims usually have several personal problems:

- Try to solve their problems through extreme and bizarre eating disorders

- These habits can damage their health and perhaps even kill them

Warning Signs of Eating Disorder

• Using body weight and lack of fat as a measure of your worth. Those with eating disorders think they are bad or ugly if they are not thin. Neither thinness nor fatness has anything to do with your value as a person

• Seeing your body much differently than others see it. Most people with eating disorders think they look fat, even if they are thin

• Constantly thinking and talking about food (refusing to discuss it).Many people with eating disorders are always planning menus, clipping recipes from magazines, buying food, and cooking.

Continue Warning Signs• Having bizarre thoughts, feelings, and behaviors when

food is present. Most people with eating disorders are afraid of eating. They fear they won’t be able to stop once they start eating.

• Making and following strict food rules. Rules might include “no sweets with any meals” or “no eating after dark”

• Binge eating to cope with negative emotions. Many people with eating disorders don’t know how to manage their emotions in a healthy manner.

• Going on weight loss diets often. Eating disorders may develop after going on many weight loss diets.

Continuation

• Nonstop exercising. A daily workout might include swimming 96 laps, running five miles, and doing two hours of aerobic exercises.

• Having problems getting along with your family or friends

If any of these warning signs describes you or someone you know, get help right away. Talk to a counselor, teacher, or a parent.

Binge Eaters

• Definition: Rapid eating or chewing and spitting out of thousands of calories in a short time

• Tend to consume high- calorie food that are easy to eat. Such as pies, cakes, cookies, ice- cream, doughnuts, and pastries

• A person can eat close to 3,400 calories in an hour or so. Sometimes they may continue eating for eight hours and eat as many as 20,00 calories

• Will not stop eating unless they are in pain, falls asleep, or is interrupted

Factors of Binge Eating

• Some become binge eaters because they use food to cope with emotions

• They eat instead of finding ways to deal with their emotions

• After going on and off fad diets a few times• Fad diets restrict calories so much that dieters

get very, very hungry. Dieters can become so hungry they will begin to binge and diet a few times and become binge eaters

Effects on health

• Binge eating can lead to obesity and all the health problems obesity can cause

• Binge eating can stretch the stomach so much that it bursts.

• If the stomach bursts, the binge eater is likely to die.

• Cut themselves off from their friends because they don’t want others to know they binge which causes them to become lonely

Treatment

• Most need the help of a professional to stop binge eating

• Treatment includes- Helping binge eaters learn to eat normal

amounts of food- Teaches them healthy ways to manage their

emotions to help them build friendships- May also include a weight loss program if they

are obese

Bulimia Nervosa

• Defintion: People who binge eat and then purge themselves

• A bulimic person purges by vomiting or abusing laxatives

• They may binge and purge from twice a week to five times daily

• Bulimics are very secretive and embarrassed about bingeing and purging. Don’t want others to know about it

Causes/Development• Develop after people try to lose weight• They mistakenly think they can eat anything and lose

weight if they purge themselves• Seems easy at first, then they realize they can’t stop

bingeing and purging• After a binge and purge event they feel guilty and never

want to do it again• Decide to stay away from food so they wouldn’t be

tempted to binge• Sometimes being upset, sad, or lonely can cause the

person to binge. • Binge is followed by purging

Cycle

Try to control themselves by eating very little

Get very hungryFeelings of guilty build up again

Get so hungry they can’t resist eatingFeel relieved for short time

They binge eat

Purge themselves Worry about becoming fat

Effect on Mental Health

• Can cause many health problems• Often have dry skin and brittle hair• Their weight can vary 10 pounds or more in a

few days• Often feel tired, sleep poorly, and have

nightmares• Many feel sad, ashamed, and guilty• Often end friendships because they fear their

friends will find out

Effect on Physical Health• Constant vomiting causes many problems-Irritates the glands in the throat and causes them to swell- Swollen glands make the bulimics face look puffy- Stomach acid in the vomit burns the throat and makes it sore- Acid also weakens teeth an causes cavities.- Vomit can get into the lungs. Bulimics can develop a deadly lung

disease if that happens- Vomiting can also cause skin rashes and swelling around the eyes.

Even break blood vessels in the face- Frequent vomiting and laxative abuse both can cause bulimics to

lose large amounts of water and minerals- Can cause muscle cramps also cause the heart, nerves, and brain to

malfunction.- Losing large amounts of water or minerals or eating so much that

the stomach bursts can kill the bulimic

Treatment

• Bulimics know what they are doing is harmful• Need medical care• Treatment includes- Helping the bulimic to break the binge-purge cycle- Also helps the them to eat normal again- How to rebuild friendships and cope with emotions

in a healthy ways- May also include medication that helps bulimics to

feel less sad

Anorexia Nervosa

• Defined as having an abnormal fear of being fat• Fear is so great that they eat only tiny amounts of

food or even starve themselves• They skip meals, exercise constantly, and become

thinner and thinner.• Always thinking about food• When they do eat, they have strange rituals such

as crumbling their food or cutting it into tiny pieces• Some also purge themselves

Development

• Develop after going on a weight loss diet• When friends notice they have lost weight, they keep on

dieting to get more praise• Soon they become so caught up in weight loss that they

don’t want to stop eating• When told they are too thin, anorexics argue that they look

good• Believe that they still look and feel fat even when they are

underweight.• Many wear baggy clothes to hide their slimness from

people who tell them they are too thin

Effect on Health• Lose enough weight to become underweight, health begins to

decline• Skin becomes rough, dry, and scaly• Nails become brittle and hair looks dull and gets thinner• Muscles waste away and body organs shrink and weaken• A thick coat of fine hair begins growing all over the body• Become unable to sleep and have nightmares• Feel cold all the time, even on hot days• Also tire quickly and feel faint and dizzy often• Become hostile and grouchy and often lose their friends

Treatment

• Can be fatal• Without treatment, may die from suicide or

starvation• Treatments includes:-Learning to cope with problems-Includes learning how to eat and exercise

normally-Accept their bodies as they are

Prevention• Can prevent by having a good attitude about eating and your

body• Tips:- Eat nutritious meals- Eat enough calories. Don’t skip meals or eat very low- calorie

diets- Find healthy way to deal with emotions. Don’t use food to cope

with them- Give food and eating the right amount of attention.- Accept the body type with which you were born- Admire people for who they are, not what they look like- Try to avoid making either positive or negative comments about a

person’s weight or appearance.

Getting help

• If you think you have an eating disorder or know someone who does, get help right away!

• Early treatment is important• Doctor or school nurse can assist you in

finding professionals who are specially trained to treat eating disorders