Eating disorders are complex, life-threatening conditions from which people can and do get better with appropriate treatment. Eating disorders can affect anyone. They can be seen as a way of coping with unmanageable feelings.The term ‘eating disorder’ refers to a group of conditions characterised by:
- Severe disturbances in eating
- Emotional and psychological distress
- Physical consequences
People experiencing an eating disorder share many of the following features:
- A history of dieting
- Low self esteem
- Marked over-concern with body weight, shape and size and obsession with food
- Thinness is seen as a magical solution to problems while weight gain is feared
- Difficulty identifying and expressing needs.
- Distorted body image (perceiving your body as larger than it actually is)
- Problems around control.
- Difficulty talking about feelings and dealing with conflict
- Depressed and withdrawal from contact with others
- Mood swings
The disordered eating can take various forms, from fasting (self starvation) to consuming quantities of food well beyond what the body needs to satisfy its hunger (bingeing). Excessive exercising or self-induced vomiting, the use of laxatives or diuretics can be used to avoid weight gain (purging). All of these behaviours, sustained over time, will have a serious effect on both physical and emotional health.
Because the behaviour of a person with an eating disorder revolves around food and eating, eating disorders are often mistakenly believed to be primarily about food.
It is important to realise that the behaviour around eating is an outward sign of emotional distress. It may be the only way the person has of communicating their distress.
Treatment of an eating disorder will therefore require attention to both the physical and the psychological aspects of the condition and should always include respect for and sensitivity to the overall well-being of the person.
The distress of a person experiencing an eating disorder, whether or not it is acknowledged, will have a considerable impact on family and friends.
The Main Eating Disorders: Although the term ‘eating disorder’ is applied to a wide range of disturbed eating behaviours, only three conditions are listed in official classifications of eating disorders: Anorexia Nervosa, Bulimia Nervosa and Binge Eating Disorder. Most people do not fall within the strict diagnostic criteria of any one eating disorder.
A person experiencing Anorexia Nervosa will make determined efforts to attain and maintain a body weight lower than the normal body weight for their age, sex, and height. They will be preoccupied with thoughts about food and the need to lose weight. They may also exercise excessively and may engage in purging behaviours. Statistics show that anorexia most commonly occurs among adolescent girls and young women in their early twenties but recent studies suggest an increased incidence among males and among children.
Bulimia Nervosainvolves repeated episodes of binge eating followed by high-risk behaviours aimed at compensating for the binges. These can include fasting, excessive exercising, self-induced vomiting, the use of laxatives, diuretics or other medications. Most people with bulimia maintain a body weight within the normal range for their age, sex and height. It is therefore less obvious than anorexia and can remain unnoticed for longer. Bulimia occurs predominantly among women between the ages of 15 and 25. The incidence among both males and females is thought to be rising.
Binge Eating Disorder (sometimes referred to as Compulsive Overeating) involves repeated episodes of bingeing but without purging. Over time, binge eating disorder (BED) can result in significant weight gain, though this is not always the case. A person experiencing BED finds themselves locked into a lonely cycle of dieting, bingeing, self recrimination and self loathing. Unlike anorexia and bulimia, binge-eating disorder is thought to be almost as common among men as it is among women. It is believed that the number of people who binge-eat far exceeds the number who present for treatment.
Why Might A Person Develop An Eating Disorder? There is no single cause which can explain why a person develops an eating disorder. The disorder often develops gradually as a response to an upset in a person’s life. This could be a traumatic event, a loss or major change in a person’s life, bullying, critical comments about weight or shape, an overload of stress. The distress felt will relate not only to the current upset but also to a store of past upsets that have never been expressed.
A person without a strong sense of who they are and who is concerned with meeting the standards and expectations of others is more vulnerable. This explains why eating disorders occur so often during adolescence when identity is an issue, the opinion of peers is so important and parental expectations are resisted.
Eating disorders occur in societies that promote thinness as a means of achieving health, success and happiness. Dieting has been proven to be an important risk factor in the development of eating disorders.
Eating disorders do not start out as a conscious choice and are not a wilful form of ‘attention seeking’.
Treatment: Is available in many forms. Treatment will be different for everyone, so it is important not to ignore the issue and seek help and support as soon as possible.
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