A Synthesis of Eating Disorders
The Signs and Symptoms of Anorexia, Bulimia, and Binge Eating
Weight is now a problem of being thin, rather than being healthy. The rate of eating disorders has increased, especially among teenagers. The fear of getting fat forces certain people to resort to extreme measures.
General Statistics
According to the National Eating Disorders Association, Americans spend over $40 billion on dieting and diet-related products each year. It is also estimated that 90 percent of women on college campuses have dieted, while 45 percent are on a diet at any given day. Dieting affects a quarter of the men on college campuses.
According to the South Carolina Department of Mental Health, 8 million Americans have an eating disorder, out of which 7 million are women and 1 million are men. One in 200 women suffer from Anorexia, while two to three in 100 women suffer from Bulimia. Approximately, 10 to 15 percent of people with eating disorders are male. People with an eating disorder spend anywhere between 70 to 90 percent of their conscious time thinking about food and weight-related issues.
"From what I gather on this campus, eating disorders are more common in females because they are more concerned with detail, wanting to be accepted and being loved,” said Maria Grimshaw-Clark, a counselor from the Lifestyles Center at State University of New York at Oswego. “On a college campus, the prevalence of eating disorders increases due to stress as some people use it as a way of escape.”
Anorexia
The first type of eating disorder is Anorexia Nervosa. The main characteristic of Anorexia Nervosa is the restriction of food, especially foods with high fat or caloric content. People with Anorexia have an extremely low body weight but they still perceive themselves to be fat. Anorexics will obsessively check their body size and weight through frequent weighing, measuring and viewing themselves in the mirror.
Other signs of Anorexia include exercising more than two hours a day, having dry hair, flaky skin or broken nails, cold hands and feet, general weakness, constipation, digestive problems, insomnia, and absence of menstrual periods.
“The major fear of Anorexics is becoming fat,” said Elissa Strassman, a registered dietitian at SUNY Oswego. “Sometimes they go through extreme measures to counteract this fear. I've known people who will only eat a salad a day or yogurt with fruit just for the fear that eating bread, pasta, or rice will make them fat. These people are almost bony but don't perceive themselves that way.”
Other signs of Anorexia include exercising more than two hours a day, having dry hair, flaky skin or broken nails, cold hands and feet, general weakness, constipation, digestive problems, insomnia, and absence of menstrual periods.
Bulimia
The second type of eating disorder is Bulimia Nervosa. Bulimia Nervosa is characterized by a cycle of binging and purging. A person affected with bulimia eats huge quantities of food quickly and then purges in order to prevent weight gain.
Signs of a person affected with bulimia include excessive exercising, unusual eating patterns, abusing laxatives, using diet pills, eating secretly, constantly going to the bathroom, not going out, and being unhappy with their body.
Constant purging affects a person's body. The after-effects of constantly vomiting include swollen cheeks or swollen jaw area, calluses on the knuckles, broken blood vessels in the eyes, and yellow teeth.
Binge Eating
The third type of eating disorder is binge eating. A person suffering from binge eating eats large quantities of food in a short period of time. Binge eaters differ from bulimics because they do not purge. Thus, most binge eaters are overweight or obese. People usually eat fast, at unusual times, and even when they are not hungry. Some of the causes for binge eating includes trying to conceal emotions and trying to feel better through food.
Binge eaters are susceptible to the consequences of obesity. These include type 2 diabetes, high-blood pressure, high cholesterol, heart disease, gallbladder problems, and certain types of cancer.
Associations Dealing With Eating Disorders
National Eating Disorders Association (NEDA)
Academy for Eating Disorders
National Association of Anorexia Nervosa and Associated Disorders
Multi-service Eating Disorders Association
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