Eating Disorders - The Big Three

By: Michael Russell

There are three major types of eating disorders - anorexia nervosa, bulimia nervosa and binge-eating disorder. Each of these disorders poses a serious health threat and may lead to damaging complications when left untreated.

Anorexia Nervosa

Anorexia nervosa is a type of eating disorder more prevalent in teenage girls and young women. An estimated 0.5% to 3.7% of females suffer from anorexia at least once during their lifetime.

Persons afflicted with this disorder exhibit an intense fear of gaining weight and thus keep a tight rein on their food intake. Anorexia is more than the issue of food per se. Rather, it is a way to finally take some control over their lives.

Anorexics usually have low body weights and one of their greatest fears is getting fat. They have such a distorted sense of self-image that they believe that they are fat even when they are already dangerously thin.

While no one can pinpoint the exact cause of anorexia, there are several factors, which may play a part in the development of the disorder. Some of these are heredity, social pressure, personal feelings and the occurrence of stressful and other life-changing events.

Bulimia Nervosa

Bulimia nervosa (bulimia) is a type of eating disorder characterized by bingeing and purging spells. Bulimics are generally dissatisfied with their bodies and fear gaining weight.

Bulimics often go through a cycle of bingeing and purging. Bingeing is an episode when an individual consumes a more than normal amount of food and continues doing so until he or she feels uncomfortably full. After this episode, bulimics feel ashamed of what they have done and try to eliminate all the unwanted calories by purging (forced vomiting, using laxatives, diuretics or diet pills and compulsive exercising). Only when they have done so do they feel relieved of the guilt they have previously felt.

Unlike anorexics who are generally underweight, bulimics are generally within the normal weight range for their height and age. This makes it harder to determine who is affected by this disorder.

The exact cause of bulimia is not known. However, studies prove that an interplay of various factors may be responsible for its inception. Among the factors being considered are heredity, cultural norms, personal feelings, undue stress and other life-changing events.

Binge-eating Disorder

Binge-eating is characterized mainly by consuming large quantities of food at a specific time and a total lack of control over eating during the event. During these episodes, the individual may exhibit any of the following:

. eats much faster than normal
. eats until he or she is uncomfortably full
. eats a considerably large amount of food even if he or she does not feel hungry
. prefers to eat or binge alone (binge eaters are often embarrassed by the amount of food they consume)
. feels disgusted over his or her behavior and total lack of control over eating

The main difference between bulimics and binge eaters is that binge-eaters do not use inappropriate weight control measures (purging) after each episode. This predisposes binge-eaters to being generally overweight.

Eating disorders can be treated. It may require a great deal of effort but the problem can be treated successfully. Eating disorders are complex in nature. Hence, effective treatment may involve primary medical care and monitoring, psychosocial interventions and nutritional counseling.