Eating Disorders

Anorexia Nervosa has five primary symptoms:

• Refusal to maintain body weight at or above a minimally normal weight for height, body type, age, and activity level.
• Intense fear of weight gain or being "fat".
• Feeling "fat" or overweight despite dramatic weight loss.
• Loss of menstrual periods in post-puberty women and girls.
• Extreme concern with body weight and shape.

Approximately 90-95% of anorexia nervosa sufferers are girls and women and between 5-20% of individuals struggling with anorexia nervosa will die. The health consequences of anorexia nervosa include: abnormally slow heart rate and low blood pressure, reduction of bone density, muscle loss and weakness, severe dehydration, fainting, fatigue, dry hair, hair loss and the growth of a downy layer of hair (lanugo).

Warning signs of anorexia nervosa include:

• Dramatic weight loss
• Preoccupation with weight, food, calories, fat grams, and dieting
• Refusal to eat certain foods, progressing to restrictions against whole categories of foods
• Frequent comments about feeling "fat" or overweight despite weight loss
• Anxiety about gaining weight or being "fat"
• Denial of hunger
• Development of food rituals
• Consistent excuses to avoid mealtimes or situations involving food
• Withdrawal from usual friends and activities

Bulimia nervosa is a serious, potentially life-threatening eating disorder characterized by a cycle of binge eating and purging. Bulimia nervosa has three primary symptoms:

• Eating large quantities of food in short periods of time, often secretly, without regard to feelings of "fullness" or "hunger", and to the point of feeling "out of control" while eating
• Following these "binges" with some form of purging or compensatory behavior to make up for the excessive calories taken in: self-induced vomiting, laxative or diuretic abuse, fasting, and/or obsessive or compulsive exercise.
• Extreme concern with body weight and shape.

Bulimia nervosa affects 1-4% of college aged women and approximately 80% of bulimia nervosa patients are women. People struggling with bulimia nervosa will often appear to be of average body weight. Some health consequences of bulimia nervosa include: electrolyte imbalances that can lead to irregular heartbeats and possibly heart failure, inflammation and the possible rupture of the esophagus from frequent vomiting, chronic irregular bowel movement, tooth decay and staining, peptic ulcers and potential for gastric rupture during periods of bingeing.

Warning signs of bulimia nervosa include:

• Evidence of binge eating, including disappearance of large amounts of food in short periods of time
• Evidence of purging behaviors, including frequent trips to the bathroom after meals
• Excessive, rigid exercise regimen-despite weather, fatigue, illness, and injury
• Unusual swelling of the cheeks or jaw area
• Calluses on the back of the hands and knuckles from self-induced vomiting
• Discoloration, staining of the teeth
• Withdrawal from usual friends and activities

Binge Eating Disorder is a relatively newly recognized eating disorder characterized by frequent episodes of uncontrolled eating of large amounts of food. Binge Eating Disorder has several primary symptoms:

• Frequent episodes of eating large quantities of food in short periods of time
• Frequent feelings of being "out of control" during binges
• Eating large quantities of food rapidly, without really tasting the food
• Eating alone
• Feelings of shame, disgust, or guilt after a binge.

The prevalence of binge eating disorder in the general population is still being researched. However, researchers estimate that approximately 25% of obese individuals suffer from frequent episodes of binge eating. Binge eating disorder appears to affect slightly more women than men and people who suffer from binge eating disorder can be of normal or heavier than average weight. Many people who suffer from binge eating disorder have a history of depression. Health consequences of binge eating disorder include: high blood pressure, high cholesterol levels, heart disease as a result of elevated triglyceride levels, secondary diabetes and gallbladder disease.

Taken directly from materials provided by Eating Disorders and Prevention, Inc.

Normal eating is being able to eat when you are hungry and continue eating until you are satisfied. It is being able to choose food you like and eat it and try get enough of it�not just stop eating because you think you should. Normal eating is being able to use some moderate constraint in your food selection to get the right food, but not being so restrictive that you miss out on pleasurable foods. Normal eating is giving yourself permission to eat sometimes because you are happy, sad, or bored, or just because it feels good. Normal eating is three meals a day, most of the time, but it can also be choosing to munch along. It is leaving some cookies on the plate because you know you can have some again tomorrow, or it is eating more now because they taste so wonderful when they are fresh. Normal eating is overeating at times: feeling stuffed and uncomfortable. It is also under-eating at times and wishing you had more. Normal eating is trusting your body to make up for your mistakes in eating. Normal eating takes up some of your time and attention, but keeps its place as only one important area of your life. In short, normal eating is flexible. It varies in response to your emotions, your schedule, your hunger, and your proximity to food.

Taken directly from How to Get Your Kid to Eat, But Not Too Much by Ellen Satter.

• Learn as much as you can about eating disorders. Read books, articles, and brochures
• Know the differences between facts and myths about weight, nutrition and exercise. Knowing the facts will help you reason against any inaccurate ideas that your friend may be using as excuses to maintain her disordered eating patterns.
• Be honest. Talk openly and honestly about your concerns with the person who is struggling with eating or body image problems. Avoiding it or ignoring it won't help!
• Be caring, but be firm. Caring about your friend does not mean being manipulated by her. Your friend must be responsible for her actions and their consequences. Avoid making "rules," promises, or expectations that you cannot or will not uphold.
• Tell someone. It may seem difficult to know when, if at all, to tell someone else about your concerns. Addressing body image or eating problems in their beginning stages probably offers your friend the best chance for working through these issues and becoming healthy again. Don't wait until the situation is so severe that your friend's life is in danger. If you have already spoken with your friend and still feel like more steps need to be taken to address these issues, consider telling her parents, a teacher, a doctor, a counseling, a nutritionist, or any trusted adult. She needs as much support and understanding as possible from the people in her life.

Taken directly from materials provided by Eating Disorders Awareness and Prevention, Inc.

• Anorexia Nervosa: A Hunger for Meaning, by Karen Way, Hayworth
• A Parent's Guide to Eating Disorders: Prevention and Treatment of Anorexia and Bulimia, by Brette Valette, Avon
• Surviving an Eating Disorder: Strategies for Family and Friends, by Judith Brisman & M. Siegel. Harper Collins, 1988
• Wasted: A Memoir of Anorexia and Bulimia, by Marya Hornbacher, Harper Collins, 1998
• Fat is a Feminist Issue, by Susie Orbach, Berkeley
• Break Free from Compulsive Eating, by Geneen Roth, Penguin, USA
• Males with Eating Disorders, edited by Arnold Andersen, Brunner/Mazel, 1990
• Bodylove, by Rita Freedman, Harper Collins
• When Women Stop Hating Their Bodies, by Carol Munter & Jane Hirschman, Random House

For more information, please review the following websites:
National Eating Disorders Association
The Something Fishy Website on Eating Disorders