EATING DISORDER

Overview of Eating Disorder

Eating disorders are serious mental illnesses. They can affect people of all ages, genders, backgrounds, cultures and sizes. The number of people with eating disorders is increasing. Eating disorders are estimated to affect nearly one million Australians. Certain groups in the community are at higher risk, including women, children, and people of various sexes and genders.

Symptoms of eating disorders

While the experience of an eating disorder can look different for each person, there are some warning signs that are more common to people with eating disorders. These may include:

• change in weight or weight fluctuation
• body dissatisfaction
• preoccupation with body size, shape or weight
• sensitivity to cold
• faintness, dizziness and fatigue
• mood changes and irritability
• social withdrawal
• anxiety or depression
• inability to concentrate
• increased interest in preparing food for others
• obsessive rituals around food and eating, such as only drinking out of a certain cup
• eating alone or in secret
• wearing baggy clothes or changes in clothing style
• excessive or fluctuating exercise patterns, exercising through injury or illness
• avoiding social situations involving food
• making excuses not to eat
• disappearance of large amounts of food from the refrigerator or pantry
• trips to the bathroom after eating
• Constant and excessive dieting.

Types of eating disorders

The main types of eating disorders include:

• Anorexia nervosa –Typified by eating restrictions, losing weight, and being afraid of gaining weight.
• Bulimia Nervosa –Episodes of binge eating (typically in private), which are followed by attempts to make up for it by overdoing it on exercise, throwing up, or going on strict diets. Empowerment and a sense of being out of control are frequently experienced in conjunction with binge eating.
• Binge eating disorder – characterized by recurrent periods of binge eating. Binge eating can include:
  • Eating much more than usual
  • Eating until uncomfortably full
  • Eating large amounts when not feeling hungry.
• After binge eating bouts, one may have feelings of shame, disgust, and melancholy. Bulimia nervosa-related compensatory behaviours are not present in binge eating.
• Other specified feeding or eating disorder (OSFED) –Eating or eating habits that don’t fit the criteria for the first three eating disorders but nevertheless cause the person distress and damage.
• Avoidant restrictive food intake disorder (ARFID) – feeding or eating behaviors’ that can include restriction or avoidance that leads to a person not meeting nutritional/energy needs, including:
  • Fear associated with certain foods or the process of eating
  • Sensory sensitivity to certain foods (such as the texture of foods)
  • Lack of interest in eating or food.

Causes of eating disorders

Eating disorders are complex- Eating disorders are not caused by a single factor. Different persons are affected by social, psychological, and biological influences to differing degrees.

Social factors

Contributing social factors may include:

• Sociocultural messages that focus on the ‘ideal’ body size and shape
• Normalization of dieting and weight loss to achieve this ‘ideal’ body size and shape
• Pressure to achieve and succeed
• Peer pressure to be or behave in a certain way
• A cultural tendency to judge people by their appearance
• Occupations or activities that emphasize a particular body shape and size – for example, ballet, modeling, elite sports.

Major life changes or events may also contribute to the onset of an eating disorder, including:

• Relationship difficulties
• Transition to new school or employment
• Pregnancy and childbirth
• The death of a loved one.

Biological factors

Contributing biological factors may include:

• Adolescence and its associated physical changes
• Genetic or familial factors (for example, family history of an eating disorder).

Psychological factors

Contributing psychological factors may include:

• Low self-esteem
• Negative body image
• Perfectionism
• Depression
• Anxiety or difficulty coping with stress
• Impulsivity
• Obsessive thinking
• Difficulties expressing emotions.