Eating Disorders are psychological, behavioral and nutritional conditions whereby a person’s eating behavior is abnormal and unhealthy and it can cause serious medical complications. This is usually due to a mental distress and has a big impact on the physiological well-being of the individual. Such disorders include Anorexia and Bulimia Nervosa which can both be fatal. The rates of death of patients suffering from those disorders are among the highest in psychiatric/psychological diseases. In any of the those cases, proper nutrition is compromised and medical comorbidities arise. For such disorders, hereditary, biological factors as well as psychological factors have been clearly researched and documented. Patients of all body shapes and sizes may suffer an eating disorder, including males. Eating disorders are treatable and full recovery is always possible (eating disorders: A guide to medical care. AED report 2021, 4th edition).
The most common eating disorders include Binge Eating Disorder, Bulimia Nervosa and Anorexia Nervosa but those are not the only eating disorders.
Binge Eating Disorder is a severe yet treatable eating disorder characterized by recurrent episodes of eating large quantities of food (often in less than 2 hours and to the point of discomfort); a feeling of a loss of control during the binge; and then, experiencing shame, distress or guilt afterwards.
Bulimia Nervosa is a serious, potentially life-threatening eating disorder characterized by a cycle of bingeing and compensatory behaviors such as overexercising, restricting food, and other dangerous compensatory behaviors. The patient who suffers from Bulimia strives to lose weight like an Anorexic except that in Bulimia the patient gets impulses that drive her or him to over-eat. Bulimics might eat up to 5000 calories in one meal as a result of an urge, an impulse. Evidently this is followed by a severe feeling of guilt which makes the patient so anxious about gaining weight that he or she relies on any possible way to get rid of the eaten food. The different ways to get rid of the excess eaten food are referred to as “purging” and include: Induced vomiting, the use of laxatives, enemas, diuretics, and over-exercising.
The symptoms and signs tend to include:
- Dehydration and hypokalemia caused by frequent vomiting
- Electrolyte imbalance, which can lead to cardiac arrhythmia, cardiac arrest, and even death
- Inflammation of the esophagus
- Oral trauma, in which repetitive insertion of fingers or other objects causes lacerations to the lining of the mouth or throat
- Rupture of the stomach by the effort of throwing up
- Constipation
- Infertility
- Peptic ulcers
- Calluses or scars on back of hands due to repeated trauma from teeth called Russel’s Sign
- Constant weight fluctuations
- Patients are normal to slightly overweight
The frequent contact between teeth and gastric acid, in particular, may cause:
- Severe dental erosion
- Erosion of tooth enamel
- Swollen salivary glands
And finally, Anorexia Nervosa is an eating disorder characterized by weight loss (or lack of appropriate weight gain in growing children); difficulties maintaining an appropriate body weight for height, age, and stature; and, in many individuals, distorted body image. People with anorexia generally restrict the number of calories and the types of food they eat. It is misconceived that Anorexia affects females only. In fact, a lot of males also struggle with Anorexia. The anorexic behavior tends to start in adolescence. Some of the symptoms of Anorexia Nervosa are:
- Obvious, rapid and dramatic weight loss – Lanugo hair: soft, fine hair grows on face and body
- Obsession with calories and fat content
- Preoccupation with food, recipes, or cooking; may cook elaborate dinners for others but not eat themselves
- Dieting despite being thin or dangerously underweight
- Fear of gaining weight or becoming overweight
- Rituals: cuts food into tiny pieces; refuses to eat around others; hides or discards food
- May engage in frequent, strenuous exercise
- Perception: perceives self to be overweight despite being told by others they are too thin
- Becomes intolerant to cold: due to loss of insulating body fat or poor circulation due to extremely low blood pressure
- Depression: may frequently be in a sad, lethargic state
- Solitude: may avoid friends and family; becomes withdrawn and secretive
- Clothing: some may wear baggy, loose-fitting clothes to cover weight loss if they have been confronted about their health and wish to hide it, while others will wear baggy clothing to hide what they see as an unattractive and overweight body.
Do you have an obsessive and problematic relationship with food, your body, your weight and or your shape?
Would you say that food dominates your life?
Do you worry that you lose control over what you eat?
Have you recently lost or gained a lot of weight in a 3-month period?
Do you believe yourself to be fat when others say you are thin?
The management of Eating Disorders should be done by a group of professionals and not by just one alone. This team should include medical doctors (Endocrinologists, Gastroenterologists, and Orthopedists), clinical nutritionists, psychiatrist, clinical psychologists, psychotherapists and should involve the family of the patient for support. Detailed physical examination and laboratory screening are indicated as a routine procedure in the initial evaluation of these patients.
If you believe that this is the case for you, then we would strongly suggest you consult our eating disorder specialist in order to have a proper assessment.