EATING DISORDERS

1. Bulimia Nervosa Anorexia Nervosa Get The Facts Binge-Eating Disorder EATING DISORDERS Identify short & long term effects of anorexia & bulimia Investigate professional treatment options and resources available for people seeking help with an eating disorder.

2. Answer in your journals: 1. Which of these statements is true? • Women can get both anorexia and bulimia, but men can’t get anorexia. • Both women and men can develop an eating disorder, but they’re more common in women. • Both women and men can develop anorexia and bulimia, but men don’t have body-image problems. 2. People with anorexia: • have an intense fear of being fat • feel better when they’ve reached their goal weight • eat huge amounts of food but don’t gain weight 3. People with bulimia: • don’t participate in sports • quickly begin to look very different • may use laxatives or diuretics to lose weight 4. Both anorexia and bulimia can lead to: • A. feelings of guilt and depression • B. drug use • C. all of these things

3. What is your opinion? • If a person thinks that he or she has an eating disorder, should that person tell an adult at school? • How about if a person thinks that a friend may have an eating disorder? • What adult in your school might someone talk to about an eating disorder?

4. Check your answers • 1. B • 2. A • 3. C • 4. C

5. What are Eating Disorders? • An illness that causes serious disturbances to your everyday diet • Eating extremely small amounts of food or severely overeating • As well as feelings of distress or extreme concern about body shape or weight. • Common eating disorders include: • Anorexia Nervosa • Bulimia Nervosa • Binge-Eating Disorder

6. Get the Facts—Eating Disorders • Researchers are investigating: • how and why voluntary behaviors, such as eating smaller or larger amounts of food than usual, at some point move beyond control in some people and develop into an eating disorder. • Eating disorders are not due to a failure of will or behavior • They are REAL, treatable medical illnesses in which unhealthy patterns of eating take on a life of their own.

7. Get the Facts—Eating Disorders • Frequently co-occur with other psychiatric disorders such as depression, substance abuse, and anxiety disorders • Females are much more likely than males to develop an eating disorder. • An estimated 5-15% of people with anorexia or bulimia are male

8. Anorexia Nervosa • People with this disorder see themselves as overweight even though they are dangerously thin. • The process of eating becomes an obsession. • Unusual eating habits develop, such as avoiding food and meals, picking out a few foods and eating these in small quantities, or carefully weighing and portioning food. • The most common causes of death are complications of the disorder, such as cardiac arrest or electrolyte imbalance, and suicide.

9. Symptoms—Anorexia • Resistance to maintaining body weight at or above the normal weight for age and height • Intense fear of gaining weight or becoming fat, even though underweight • Disturbance in the way in which one's body weight or shape is experienced • Intense self-evaluation • Denial of the seriousness of the current low body weight • Amenorrhea • Infrequent or absent menstrual periods

10. Short Term Effects • Malnutrition • Weight loss • Dry skin • Hair loss • Organ malfunction • Dehydration • Easily blacking out • Dizziness • Weakness • Mental disturbances • Depression • Low heart rate • Low blood pressure • Low body temperature

11. Long Term Effects • Malnutrition • Weight loss • Organ damage • Organ failure / malfunction • Irregular heart beats • Depression • Suicide • Death

12. Treatment—Anorexia Treatment of anorexia calls for a specific program that involves three main phases: • Restoring the weight lost to severe dieting and purging • Treating psychological disturbances such as distortion of body image, low self-esteem, and interpersonal conflicts • Achieving long-term remission and rehabilitation, or full recovery. • Early diagnosis and treatment increases the treatment success rate.

13. Bulimia Nervosa • An illness in which a person binges on food or has regular episodes of overeating and feels a loss of control. • The affected person then uses various methods to prevent weight gain • Purging: vomiting or laxative abuse • Many (but not all) people with bulimia also have anorexia.

14. Bulimia Nervosa • Because purging (vomiting) usually follows the binge-eating episodes, people with bulimia usually weigh within the normal range for their age and height. • However, like people with anorexia, they may fear gaining weight, desire to lose weight, and feel intensely dissatisfied with their bodies. • People with bulimia often perform the behaviors in secrecy, feeling disgusted and ashamed when they binge, yet relieved once they purge.

15. Causes, Incidence, and Risk Factors • Many more women than men have bulimia. • The disorder is most common in adolescent girls and young women. • The affected person is usually aware that her eating pattern is abnormal and may feel fear or guilt with the binge-purge episodes. • The exact cause of bulimia is unknown. • Genetic, psychological, trauma, family, society, or cultural factors may play a role. • Likely due to more than one factor

16. Symptoms—Bulimia • Eating binges may occur as often as several times a day for many months. • People with bulimia often eat large amounts of high-calorie foods, usually in secret. • People can feel a lack of control over their eating during these episodes. • Binges lead to self-disgust, which causes purging to prevent weight gain. • Purging may include: • Forcing oneself to vomit • Excessive exercise • Use of laxatives, enemas, or diuretics (water pills)

17. Symptoms—Bulimia • Purging often brings a sense of relief. • People with bulimia are often at a normal weight, but they may see themselves as being overweight. • other people may not notice this eating disorder • Symptoms can include: • Compulsive exercise • Throwing away packages of laxatives, diet pills, emetics (drugs that cause vomiting), or diuretics • Regularly going to the bathroom right after meals • Suddenly eating large amounts of food or buying large amounts of food that disappear right away

18. Signs & Tests • A dental exam may show cavities or gum infections • The enamel of the teeth may be worn away because of too much exposure to the acid in vomit • A physical exam may also show • Broken blood vessels in the eyes (from the strain of vomiting) • Dry mouth– dehydration • Rashes and pimples • Small cuts and calluses across the tops of the finger joints from forcing oneself to vomit

19. Short Term Effects • Digestive system problems • Painful swallowing • Teeth erosion from stomach acid • Constipation • Low body temperature • Faint easily • Mood swings and intolerance to mental pressure • Easily tired, trouble concentrating • Depression and anxiety • Dry skin, Brittle Hair, Weak Nails • Weakened immune system • Insomnia • Menstrual problems • Decreased bone density • Voice changes due to damaged vocal cords

20. Long Term Effects • Damaged, weak heart • Kidney damage • Brain damage • Distorted thoughts, depression, anxiety • Loss in the feeling of being hungry or full • Distorted taste • Weak bones • Irregular menstrual cycle • Dry skin, inflammation of the skin, abnormal irritation and ongoing pimples • Damaged digestive system • pains in the abdominal area, bloating, acid reflux, stomach ulcers and esophageal problems

21. Treatment—Bulimia • People with bulimia rarely have to go to the hospital, unless: • Binge-purge cycles have led to anorexia • Drugs are needed to help them stop purging • Major depression is present • Most often, a stepped approach is used for patients with bulimia. • Most often, a stepped approach is used for patients with bulimia.

22. Treatment—Bulimia • The treatment approach depends on how severe the bulimia is, and the person's response to treatments: • Support groups may be helpful for patients with mild conditions who do not have any health problems. • Cognitive-behavioral therapy and nutritional therapy • Antidepressants • A combination of cognitive-behavioral therapy and antidepressants is very effective

23. What is binge eating? • Binge eating disorder is characterized by compulsive overeating in which people consume huge amounts of food while feeling out of control and powerless to stop. • The symptoms of binge eating disorder usually begin in late adolescence or early adulthood, often after a major diet. • A binge eating episode typically lasts around two hours, but some people binge on and off all day long. • Binge eaters often eat even when they’re not hungry and continue eating long after they’re full.

24. Key Features of Binge Eating Disorder • Frequent episodes of uncontrollable binge eating. • Feeling extremely distressed or upset during or after bingeing. • Unlike bulimia, there are no regular attempts to “make up” for the binges through vomiting, fasting, or over-exercising. • No purging

25. How do they feel? • People with binge eating disorder struggle with feelings of guilt, disgust, and depression. • They worry about what the compulsive eating will do to their bodies and beat themselves up for their lack of self-control. • They desperately want to stop binge eating, but feel like they can’t. • They are embarrassed and ashamed of their eating habits, so they often try to hide their symptoms and eat in secret.

26. The Binge Eating Cycle • Binge eating may be comforting for a brief moment, but then reality sets back in, along with regret and self-loathing. • Binge eating often leads to weight gain and obesity, which only reinforces compulsive eating. • The worse a binge eater feels about themselves and their appearance, the more they use food to cope. • It becomes a vicious cycle: eating to feel better, feeling even worse, and then turning back to food for relief.

27. Behavioral symptoms • Inability to stop eating or control what you’re eating • Rapidly eating large amounts of food • Eating even when you’re full • Hiding or stockpiling food to eat later in secret • Eating normally around others, but gorging when you’re alone • Eating continuously throughout the day, with no planned mealtimes

28. Emotional Symptoms • Feeling stress or tension that is only relieved by eating • Embarrassment over how much you’re eating • Feeling numb while bingeing—like you’re not really there or you’re on auto-pilot • Never feeling satisfied, no matter how much you eat • Feeling guilty, disgusted, or depressed after overeating • Desperation to control weight and eating habits

29. 10 Strategies for Overcoming Binge Eating • Manage Stress • Eat 3 meals a day plus healthy snacks • Avoid temptation • Stop dieting • Exercise • Fight boredom • Get enough sleep • Listen to your body • Keep a food diary • Get support

30. Getting Support • Group Therapy Sessions • led by a trained psychotherapist • may cover everything from healthy eating to coping with the urge to binge • Support groups • led by trained volunteers or health professionals • group members give and receive advice and support each other