Self-Help Information: Eating Disorders
What are Eating Disorders?
We
all worry about food sometimes, overeat at holidays or skip a meal.
In some people, the worry becomes extreme
and they live in constant fear of food and fat, often struggling to
hide eating patterns they cannot control. When this occurs, an
eating disorder may result. Eating Disorders are extreme expressions
of a range of weight and food issues experienced by both men and
women. They include anorexia nervosa, bulimia nervosa, and
compulsive overeating. All are serious emotional problems that can
have life-threatening consequences.
Technically speaking, the "eating" in eating
disorder refers to a set of eating habits, weight management
practices and attitudes about weight and body shape. The "disorder"
means that the eating-related attitudes and behaviors result in (a)
loss of self-control and other forms of behavioral inefficiency, (b)
obsession, anxiety, guilt, and other forms of misery, (c) alienation
from self and others, and (d) physiological imbalances which are
potentially life-threatening.
Anorexia Nervosa
The defining features of this disorder are
(a)
an intense and irrational fear of body fat and weight gain,
(b) an
iron determination to become thinner and thinner, and
(c) a
misperception of bodyweight and shape to the extent that the person
may feel or see "fat" even when emaciation is clear to others.
These
psychological characteristics contribute to drastic weight loss and
defiant refusal to maintain a healthy weight for height and age.
Food, calories, weight, and weight management dominate the person’s
life, and woe to anyone who tries to disrupt this private system.
The symptoms of Anorexia Nervosa include:
Refusal to maintain weight at or above
a minimally normal weight for height and age
Intense fear of gaining weight or
becoming fat
Distorted body image
In females, loss of three consecutive
menstrual periods
Extreme concern with body weight and
shape
Bulimia Nervosa
This disorder is characterized by
self-perpetuating and self-defeating cycles of binge-eating and
purging. During a "binge" the person consumes a large amount of food
in a rapid, automatic, and helpless fashion. This may anesthetize
hunger, anger, and other feelings, but it eventually creates
physical discomfort and anxiety about weight gain. Thus, the person
"purges" the food eaten, usually by inducing vomiting and by
resorting to some combination of restrictive dieting, excessive
exercising, laxatives, and diuretics.
The term nervosa reminds us that people
suffering from bulimia are similar to those with Anorexia Nervosa.
Both may have a distorted body image, an intense fear of fat, and
the conviction that a slender body shape is absolutely crucial for
self-acceptance.
The symptoms of Bulimia Nervosa include:
Repeated episodes of bingeing and
purging
Feeling out of control during a binge
Purging after a binge (vomiting, use
of laxatives, diet pills, diuretics, excessive exercise,
fasting)
Frequent dieting
Extreme concern with body weight and
shape
Other Eating Disorders
A significant number of people with "eating
problems" do not quite fit the criteria for Anorexia Nervosa and
Bulimia Nervosa. However, there is substantial disagreement about
the nature and labeling of these "other" eating disorders. Clearly
there are some people who abuse vomiting and/or exercise without
bingeing as forms of weight management, while there are others who
indulge in repetitive episodes of bingeing without purging.
Compulsive overeating is characterized primarily by periods of
impulsive gorging or continuous eating. While there is no purging,
there may be sporadic fasts or repetitive diets. Body weight may
vary from normal to mild, moderate, or severe obesity.
What Causes Eating Disorders?
Eating disorders arise from a combination of
long-standing psychological, interpersonal, and social conditions.
Feelings of inadequacy, depression, anxiety, and loneliness, as well
as troubled family and personal relationships, may contribute to the
development of an eating disorder. Our culture, with its unrelenting
idealization of thinness and the "perfect body" is often a
contributing factor.
Once started, eating disorders may become
self-perpetuating. Dieting, bingeing and purging help some people to
cope with painful emotions and to feel as if they are in control of
their lives. Yet, at the same time, these behaviors undermine
physical health, self-esteem, and a sense of competence and control.
What are the Warning Signs?
A marked increase or decrease in
weight not related to a medical condition
The development of abnormal eating
habits such as severe dieting, preference for strange foods,
withdrawn or ritualized behavior at mealtime, or secretive
bingeing
An intense preoccupation with weight
and body image
Compulsive or excessive exercising
Self-induced vomiting, periods of
fasting, or laxative diet pill, or diuretic abuse
Feelings of isolation, depression, or
irritability
(The above information was adapted from
material produced by Dr. Michael Levine, Dr. Margo Maine and Eating
Disorder and Prevention, Inc.).
Need Additional Help?
Washington State University College of Veterinary Medicine
Counseling and Wellness Services offer free individual counseling for these
and related issues for veterinary students (WSU Veterinary Students ONLY).
For more information or to schedule an appointment call or e-mail:
Carolyn Wyatt PhD
ADBF 1035
335-0774
cwyatt@vetmed.wsu.edu
NOTE: The information contained in these self help
documents is not to be used as a substitute for professional care. Neither
the authors, Washington State University nor the College of Veterinary
Medicine assume liability for injury incurred by following the information
presented in these self-help documents
Last Edited: Mar 07, 2007 2:17 PM
