Majority of patients struggling with eating disorders are women. From a historical perspective, eating disorders started out with women displaying eating behavior contrary to the social norms. In the deviation, women take advantage of unusual eating behaviors to distance themselves from gender roles. Today, eating disorders are representative of a distorted body image with it being common among adolescents and young adults. Some of the eating disorders include anorexia nervosa, bulimia nervosa, and binge eating disorder, (Thompson and Smolax, 2002). Most of the materials on eating disorders are attributable to various causes and not just one, with the field lacking in clarity on the risk factors associated with the condition, (Espindola and Clay, 2006). A misconception is that eating disorders emanate from a lack of self-control; however, they are multiple factors that influence the manifestation of the various disorders.
Anorexia Nervosa
As an eating disorder, individuals suffering from it go through severe weight loss and refusal to maintain an ideal body weight. It involves a combination of restriction of food intake, self-induced vomiting, laxative abuse and excessive exercising. The central goal is to lose weight and maintain low body weight, (Thompson and Smolax, 2002). Mentally, individuals experience a preoccupation with shape and weight as they experience an intense fear of gaining weight. The fear drives a preoccupation with weight loss, such that they experience a sense of body dysmorphia. This means that despite achieving the desired weight, there is still an obsession with losing weight, accounting for the comorbidity with OCD. According to the DSM-V, presentations of anorexia nervosa vary with it including ingestion of non-nutritive substances such as cotton balls or tissues of paper in an attempt to control appetite and reduce the intake of food. In its manifestation, anorexia has various subtypes with some individuals limiting their intake of food while others display binge eating or purging type behavior. With low body weight being characteristic of individuals with anorexia, a body mass index of 17.0kg/m2 displays severe low body weight.
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There are various risk factors for developing anorexia nervosa with some of them including anxiety disorder, depression and the influence of cultural norms on body image. Individuals who go through childhood anxiety are more likely to struggle with anorexia, (APA,2013). Depression predisposes individuals to have a low valuation for themselves with an eating disorder hoping to compensate for their depression. From a cultural stance, cultures that favor an ideal body image as thin cause individuals who do not meet the ideal to struggle with conforming to the ideal.
Bulimia Nervosa
Bulimia is an eating disorder evidenced through repeated episodes of overeating in which an individual experiences loss of control in eating behavior. The behavior follows compensatory efforts such as self-induced vomiting, abuse of laxatives, and periodic fasting to maintain body weight. Compared to anorexia, bulimia is difficult to detect following that individuals display normal body weight. Individuals struggling with the disorder often hide their eating behavior, having ties to shame. With bulimia, there is a period of binge eating and compensating behavior. It should occur at least once a week for three months. Menstrual irregularity or amenorrhea often occurs in the case of bulimia. With the purging behavior involved, there are other complications such as gastric rupture and esophageal tears. The prevalence of bulimia has been on the rise among adolescents with a new trend, manifesting among athletes as they hope to attain an ideal body image, (Costa-Font and Jofre-Bonet, 2013). From a geographical perspective, it affects individuals in western countries. For example in the United States, the prevalence of bulimia is about 3-5% among women, with it being a struggle especially for young women.
Binge Eating Disorder
Binge eating as a disorder involves eating excessively and having no sense of control over the amount of food taken in. Within the binge eating episodes, individuals eat faster than usual and continue to do regardless of being full. Mentally, individuals experience shame and disgust during an episode. The criterion is similar to anorexia and bulimia. Binge eating disorder is often comorbid with obesity. In diagnosing the condition, it could mistaken for bulimia with the disorder distinctively involving a preoccupation with food and the presence or absence of compensating behavior.
Treatment
With treatment of eating disorders, Thompson and Smolax (2002) highlight the importance of behavioral and cognitive therapy in treatment of the condition. Of interest is the use of nutritional rehabilitation for anorexic patients that seeks to help underweight patients have normal perceptions of hunger and satiety, (Chakraborty, 2010). Behavioral therapy involves exposure and response prevention in which an individual with bulimia displays their dysfunctional eating behavior before the therapist and develop strategies to control the behavior. Eating disorders are chronic psychiatric conditions that require the development of treatment strategies.
Conclusion
Eating disorders are conditions that impair and distort the self-image. With anorexia, individuals struggle with maintaining and having low body weight whereas with bulimia, individuals maintain a normal body weight but engage in binge and purging behavior. Binge eating behavior is another eating disorder, often overlooked but impairs individuals’ ability to function optimally. There are various treatment options available to assist individuals overcome the disease such as behavioral and cognitive therapy. Today, there are various interventions in place to ensure young women embark in healthy journeys free from a preoccupation with weight loss.
References
American Psychiatric Association. (2013). Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders. (DSM-5). APA.
Costa ‐ Font, J., & Jofre ‐ Bonet, M. (2013). Anorexia, body image and peer effects: evidence from a sample of European women. Economica , 80 (317), 44-64.
Chakraborty, K., & Basu, D. (2010). Management of anorexia and bulimia nervosa: An evidence-based review. Indian journal of psychiatry , 52 (2), 174.
Espíndola, C. R., & Blay, S. L. (2006). Bulimia and binge eating disorder: systematic review and metasynthesis. Revista de Psiquiatria do Rio Grande do Sul , 28 (3), 265-275.
Thompson, Kevin and Smolak, Linda. (2002). Body Image, Eating Disorders, and Obesity in Youth: Assessment, Prevention, and Treatment. Washington:APA.
