What are three common types of disordered eating?
Dieting, restrictive eating, inflexible or irregular eating patterns are all considered disorders. They are not normal ways of eating, and they can lead to physical, mental and emotional problems.
Eating disorders are a serious problem that requires professional treatment. It is important to recognize the early signs of an eating disorder and reach out for help if you notice that a loved one is suffering.
They may be self-conscious about their weight or body image, or they may feel that they can’t control what they eat or what they do with the food that they do eat. They may also have low self-esteem and feel they are not good enough as they are.
Symptoms of disordered eating include behavior, cognitive and emotional symptoms that focus on body weight, shape and size. Often, these behaviors are used to control emotions or to cope with feelings of stress, anxiety and depression. They can cause emotional overeating and eating a lot of food at one time, and can also lead to binge eating and purging (purging).
These behaviors may also include distorted thinking about types of foods and the quality of food. They may fear that food they eat could be contaminated, cause illness or be a source of disease.
The most common eating disorders are anorexia nervosa and bulimia nervosa. These are very serious eating disorders that can affect your health, relationships and career.
They can lead to serious medical conditions such as heart disease, stroke, high blood pressure and diabetes. They can also lead to serious mental health issues such as depression, anxiety and panic attacks.
People with these disorders are usually underweight or overweight, but not obese, and they can’t seem to control their eating. They are obsessed with food and their weight, and they may have trouble concentrating.
Anorexia nervosa is a very common eating disorder that tends to occur during adolescence and early adulthood. It can lead to serious complications such as thinning bones, low libido and brittle hair and nails.
Bulimia nervosa is another eating disorder that occurs primarily in women, but it can occur in men as well. It is characterized by frequent episodes of binge eating, followed by purging behaviors such as vomiting or excessive exercise to rid the body of the calories consumed during the binge episode.
Night eating syndrome is a type of binge eating that happens at night and causes the person to lose their appetite in the morning. This condition can be dangerous because it increases the risk of developing heart disease, type 2 diabetes and stroke.
The key to treating this disorder is to identify the specific cause of the binge eating and to address that cause. These symptoms are often caused by mental, emotional or social problems that can be addressed with therapy and medication.
It is also important to ensure that the person isn’t being influenced by media or culture to develop an eating disorder. The media often presents a false picture of the perfect body and can influence individuals to think that they need to be thin in order to be attractive or desirable.
