Definitions
What is an eating disorder?
A disturbance in behaviors, thoughts, and attitudes to food, eating, and body weight or shape.
Rapid weight loss or frequent weight changes, loss or disturbance of menstruation in girls and decreased libido in men, fainting or dizziness
Physical warning signs
An intense fear of gaining weight or being "fat"
Anorexia Nervosa
Eating disorders are common amongst teens and young adults.
Fact. 9 out of 10 cases are found among young girls and women.
Bingeing on very large quantities of food followed by a compensatory behavior (self-induced vomiting, laxatives, etc.).
Bulimia Nervosa
Eating in private and avoiding meals with other people, frequent trips to the bathroom during or shortly after meals, changing in clothing style
Behavioral warning signs
Eating in secret
Bulimia Nervosa or Binge Eating Disorder
Eating disorders are more common among wealthy, white females.
False: All racial groups studied have the same prevalence.
Recurrent episodes of eating in a discrete period of time an amount of food that is larger than what most individuals would eat to the point of discomfort.
Binge Eating Disorder
Compulsive or excessive exercising, extreme sensitivity to comments about body shape, weight, eating habits
Behavioral warning signs
Development of food rituals (eating in a certain order, rearranging food, excessive chewing)
Anorexia Nervosa
You have to be underweight to have an eating disorder.
False: Only anorexia nervosa is characterized by being under weight.
What are the causes of eating disorders?
The exact cause is unknown. However, genetics and biology, and psychological and emotional health may play a role.
Feeling anxious or irritable around meal times, feeling 'out of control' around food, a distorted body image, using food as a source of comfort, using food as self-punishment
Psychological warning signs
These are 2 symptoms of ALL eating disorders.
Depression and low self-esteem.
Eating disorders are a mental illness
True: Eating disorders are not a lifestyle choice or diet that has "gone too far".
Eating things that are not food (ex. dirt, soil, chalk, soap, paper, hair).
Pica
Lethargic and low energy, signs of damage due to vomiting including swelling around the cheeks or jaw, calluses on knuckles, damage to teeth.
Physical warning signs
When person regurgitates the food they previously chewed and swallowed, re-chews it, and either re-swallows it or spits it out.
Rumination Disorder
Low self-esteem, perfectionism, impulsive behaviors, and troubled relationships are all factors of eating disorders.
True: These all contribute to eating disorders