Eating Disorders Essay, Research Paper

Eating disorders are very common these days. What are eating disorders?

According to the website I found, Adolescence Issue: Eating Disorders, an eating

disorder is a severe disturbance in eating behavior, as well as unhealthy efforts to control

body weight and abnormal attitudes about one s body and shape. The most commonly

known eating disorders are Bulimia Nervosa and Anorexia Nervosa.

What does it mean to be Bulimic or Anorexic? According to the website Vital

Information, Bulimic means you basically never stop eating. You just keep going and

going. One quote I found on the same web page is ox like hunger of nervous origin.

This rapid consumption of large amounts of food sometimes leads to vomiting or

purging. Those that are bulimic usually have twenty percent more body fat then those

that are not bulimic. The symptoms for Bulimia start at any age from early adolescence

to forty years of age. This becomes very serious in the late adolescence.

Anorexia usually appears in early or middle adolescence. This happens when a

person begins to starve themselves and exercises compulsively. The weight of the

person drops and their bodies become unhealthy. The person will keep denying how thin

they have become. Despite their refusal to eat, their appetite is usually normal, at least at

first. Their reasons for rejecting food are a mystery that researchers are still trying to

solve. People with this disorder will never become satisfied with their looks.

Which is worse, Bulimia or Anorexia? According to the Harvard Mental Health

website, Bulimia is not as dangerous to your health as Anorexia. Although it is not as

dangerous, it still has physical effects including weakness, constipation, fluid retention,

swollen salivary glands, sore throat from vomiting, and scars on the hand from inducing

vomiting. According to a researcher, those that suffer Anorexia are less stable

emotionally and more likely to commit suicide.

What are some warning signs of eating disorders? How do you determine if you

are merely weight conscious or if you have an eating disorder? Do you think of food

nearly 75% of the day or more? According to the website Anred.com, there are

many signs to look for. These signs include, unexplained changes in weight, food

consumption or exercise, negative demeaning judgement towards self about body, use of

amphetamines or stimulants to lose weight, preoccupied with feelings of shame and guilt

about there eating behavior and body, believe that their experiences in life are

dramatically affected by their body weight. Others include, fear of gaining fat, rigid

control or exercise or food intake to prevent gaining fat. Any type of purging, vomiting,

diuretics, laxatives, and restricting food.

What kind of a person develops eating disorders? A website, Women and Men

Eating Disorders, says that anyone is capable of getting an eating disorder. Any social

class, age, race, and gender can be affected with this disorder. One-third of all

Americans are now considered to be obese and 60% are overweight. Ten percent of all

with eating disorders are men. Many clinicians believe this percentage of men with

eating disorders is not quite accurate because many men hide it because they re ashamed.

They believe it s only a woman s disease. There are many reasons why a person can

develop an eating disorder. They many have been a victim of emotional, physical, or

sexual abuse. They may have been raised in a dysfunctional family where alcohol and

drugs were abused or in a family that did not allow emotions to be expressed. The reason

why some men get this disorder is the same as woman. Basically they have low self-

esteem, are perfectionists, over achievers, have trouble expressing emotions, they

feel unworthy and hate most everything about themselves. The number of women that

suffer from this is much higher than men because men are not under the same pressure to

be thin.

What does a person with eating disorders look like? The Anred website says that

their appearance and body image behaviors are different. They lose a lot of weight, fear

weight gaining, wear baggy cloths and sometimes in layers to hide there fat. Also,

they hide emotions, obsess about clothing size, complain he/she is fat, even though others

truthfully say this is not so. Another thing is that they always criticize themselves. What

about there feelings? They always have trouble talking about feelings, especially anger.

For example, they always say something like Everything is ok or I am just tired and

stressed. They usually become moody, irritable, snappish and touchy. Also they feel

like they do not fit in. What happens with food behaviors? A person will skip meals,

take only tiny portions, avoid eating in front of people, eat in ritualistic ways, and mix

strange food combinations. Also they chew mouthfuls of food but spit them out before

swallowing, and always have an excuse not to eat.

Are there any treatments for those who suffer through eating disorders? The

International Eating Disorders Center has treatments for those that suffer eating disorders.

There s outpatient therapy where you are given a counselor to help you accept your self

with what you look like. Also, there s Inpatient Therapy, which gathers everyone into

groups so that the emotional feelings are all out and the therapist would help you with

your feelings. Outpatient Level-System has six levels of training to get those with eating

disorders to improve. It takes a month to finish each level. After you are done with your

programs, there are aftercare services so that you can come back for help whenever you

need to.

Eating Disorder are a major problem in the U.S today. Many of us are suffering

this disorder. No matter what kind of eating disorder you have, you should get help

from somewhere. There are many places with people that are willing to help. The first

thing is to come out and admit you have an eating disorder. Then you will at least have

hope of being cured from this illness.