Anorexia Nervosa
Bulimia Nervosa
Binge Eating
Compulsive Overeating
Obesity
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Eating disorders may appear in a variety of symptoms including the ones we've identified here. The descriptions below of the characteristics of the most common eating disorders are not to be interpreted as diagnostic.
ANOREXIA NERVOSA is a complex emotional disorder characterized primarily by an obsession with food, weight and thinness.
The major symptoms include intense fear of becoming fat (the fear does not diminish when weight is lost), distortion of body image, a constant preoccupation with food and dieting, excessive weight loss (15% of normal body weight), amenorrhea (loss of at least 3 consecutive menstrual cycles) in females, hyperactivity or compulsive exercise, extreme moodiness, social isolation, strong feelings of insecurity, loneliness, inadequacy, and helplessness.
Restricting type - During the current episode of anorexia, the person has not regularly binged or engaged in purging behavior (i.e. self-induced vomiting or misuse of laxatives, diuretics, or enemas).
Binge - Eating / Purging Type - During the current episode of anorexia, the person has regularly binged or engaged in purging behavior (i.e. self-induced vomiting or the misuse of laxatives, diuretics, or enemas).
BULIMIA NERVOSA (also known as Bulimia or bulimarexia) is an emotional disorder characterized primarily by a recurrent pattern of eating behavior. Typically, the pattern includes
- Recurrent episodes of binge eating. characterized by both of the following:
- Eating within a discrete amount of time an amount of food that is definitely larger than most people would eat during a similar period of time and under similar circumstances.
- A sense of lack of control over eating during the episode.
- Recurrent episodes of inappropriate compensatory behavior in order to prevent weight gain, such as any of the following:
- Self- induced vomiting
- Misuse of laxatives, diuretics, enemas, or other medications
- Fasting
- Excessive exercise
- Self-evaluation is unduly influenced by body shape and weight.
- Feeling depressed and guilty after binges.
To meet actual diagnostic criteria, the binging and inappropriate compensatory behavior must both occur an average of twice a week for a period of three months, and this must not only be during an episode of anorexia nervosa.
- Two Subtypes of Bulimia Nervosa:
- Restricting type - During the current episode, the person has regularly engaged in self-induced vomiting, or the misuse of diuretics, laxatives, or enemas
- Non-purging type - During the current episode, the person has used other inappropriate compensatory behaviors, such as fasting or excessive exercise, but has not regularly engaged in self-induced vomiting or the misuse of diuretics, laxatives, or enemas.
BINGE EATING is an emotional disorder characterized by uncontrollable eating which is followed by intense feelings of guilt, remorse, and shame. It is also know as compulsive eating. Major symptoms include:
- Feeling driven to eat.
- Eating large amounts of food in a discrete period of time.
- Eating large amounts of food when not feeling physically hungry.
- Bingeing often followed by feeling stomach pain, sleepiness, or uncomfortably full.
- Shame or guilt over weight.
- Depression, isolation, or low self-esteem.
- Feeling disgusted with oneself about how much one is eating.
- Eating along because of shame about how much one is eating.
- Episodic dieting; dieting seen as a solution to problems.
COMPULSIVE OVEREATING is an emotional disorder primarily characterized by consistently eating when it is not related to reasons of physical hunger. Compulsive overeating is also characterized by episodic binge eating. Current research suggests there may be a genetic component and unlike other eating disorders, occurs almost equally in males and females
Secondary characteristics may include some uses of purging and restrictive eating.
Body size for compulsive overeating is not necessarily obese, but most often found in overweight, obese or morbidly obese persons.
Emotional components of COE include:
- Fear of not being able to stop eating
- Depressed mood
- Negative thoughts after a binge
- Food becomes the primary mood regulator
- Food becomes a substitute for feelings
OBESITY is a clinical term used to describe excess body fat that is measured by the Body Mass Index (BMI). Persons with a BMI of 25 to 29.9 are classified as overweight, a BMI of 30 or higher is considered obese. BMI is calculated by dividing body weight by body height then squared. BMI is not always an accurate measure of body fat.
There is no single cause for obesity, and the degree of body fat an individual has. The causes of obesity include:
- Genetic Predisposition
- Socio/economic Status
- Dieting
- Caloric and activity imbalances
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