Understanding Eating Disorders

Eating Disorders

• Disordered eating involves unhealthy behaviors and worries about food and body image
• Eating disorders are extreme cases of disordered eating, based on specific criteria related to body weight and eating behaviors
• Body image is a person's perception and feelings about their body's appearance and functioning, it can be negative, positive or both and is influenced by individual and environmental factors
• Understanding the difference between disordered eating and an eating disorder. They both share some characteristics, but disordered eating is often less severe and frequent.
• Disordered eating can include chronic dieting, restrictive eating, binge eating, food avoidance and unhealthy eating patterns, and food addiction and over-exercising to control weight.

Defining Eating Disorders

• Eating disorders are psychiatric conditions involving extreme body dissatisfaction and long-term eating patterns that negatively affect body functioning
• Diagnosed by medical professionals using specific criteria related to body weight and eating behavior (DSM-5 Diagnosis manual)
• Factors that influence eating disorders include genetics, temperament, and environment

Triggers and Frequency of Disordered Eating

• Defining common triggers for disordered eating patterns and how frequently they occur
• Cultural obsession with thinness (diet culture), expectations about thinness and attractiveness, and emphasizing good vs. bad foods often lead to calorie restriction
• The cultural pressure to conform to unrealistic beauty standards is a significant factor in developing disordered eating

Body Image and Eating Disorders

• Body image is a person's perception and feelings about their body's appearance and functioning, and it plays a significant role in disordered eating and eating disorders.
• A negative body image can significantly impact a person's behavior and lead to unhealthy eating habits.

Commonly Known Eating Disorders

• Anorexia Nervosa: Restrictive eating disorder leading to severe weight loss due to self-judgement of body weight; self-starvation
• Bulimia Nervosa: Repeated episodes of binge eating and purging to maintain body weight
• Binge eating disorder: Recurring episodes of eating significant amounts of food in a short period of time, characterized by a lack of control
• Avoidant/Restrictive Food Intake Disorder (ARFID): Eating or feeding disturbance manifested by persistent failure to meet appropriate nutritional needs; often related to fears about choking, vomiting or other physical sensations; particularly prominent in children

Risk Factors for Eating Disorders

• Risk factors for eating disorders include dieting, early childhood eating habits and problems, increased self concern about weight and size, negative self-evaluation, sexual abuse, and other traumatic events.
• Precipitating factors include puberty onset, parental divorce, death of a family member and ridicule about weight and other mental health challenges

Body Dysmorphic Disorder (BDD)

• BDD is a mental disorder where individuals cannot stop thinking about perceived flaws in their appearance
• BDD can play a role in eating disorders, particularly anorexia nervosa, bulimia nervosa, and binge eating disorder

Anorexia Nervosa

• Characteristics: Restrictive eating patterns, intense fear of weight gain, and a distorted body image of being "too big"
• Health Risks: Deficiency in total calories, body using fat storage for energy, reduction in non-vital bodily functions, electrolyte imbalances, potentially organ failure, and high mortality rates (10-20%)
• Signs/Symptoms: Eliminating food groups, limiting intake, deficiencies of essential nutrients, intense fear of gaining weight, distorted body image, and amenorrhea (loss of menstrual cycle)

Bulimia Nervosa

• Characteristics: Binge eating followed by purging (compensatory behaviors like vomiting or laxative use) to prevent weight gain
• Signs/Symptoms: Eating significant amounts of food in a discrete time period, followed by purging behaviors to prevent weight gain, vomiting and/or laxatives

Other Relevant Information

• Diuretics/Fasting/Excessive Exercise: common methods used to lose weight which can cause significant health problems

• Diagnosis and Treatment:Eating disorders are diagnosed by healthcare professionals and require comprehensive treatment approaches that address both the psychological and physical aspects of the condition.

• Nutrition Therapy: Treating eating disorders include preventing further weight loss and gradually reestablishing normal eating habits, emphasizing gradually increasing food intake and helping the body receive nutrients. There are unique approaches and goals for each eating disorder type (anorexia nervosa, bulimia nervosa, and others)

• OSFED (Other Specified Feeding or Eating Disorders): This category includes eating disorders that do not fit typical criteria for anorexia nervosa or bulimia nervosa.

• Orthorexia: excessive focus on eating 'healthy' foods, it can lead to disordered habits