Eating Disorders
Introduction
Many people you know may have an eating disorder and you may not realize it. An "eating disorder" occurs when a person eats, or refuses to eat, in order to fulfill a psychic need and not a physical need. Often times, people with eating disorders try to camouflage their problems and deny they are suffering from this illness. Eating disorders are caused by a complex interaction of social, biological and psychological factors which bring about the harmful behaviors. Millions of people suffer from severe problems related to their patterns of eating or dieting. As a result many engage in the unhealthy lifestyles and develop deadly eating habits.
Eating disorders can affect up to five percent of the population of teenage girls.(pschcentral.com) The results can be tragic: 25 percent -30 percent of women with eating disorders remain chronically ill, and 15 percent will die prematurely (www.emory.edu). It is apparently appearing among young males as well. There are a number of eating disorders which many people suffer from, and most people may not even be aware that the way they eat could be classified as an eating disorder. Some of the most common forms of eating disorders are anorexia, bulimia and compulsive eating. Eating disorders are serious problems and need to be diagnosed and treated like any medical disease (psychcentral.com). We will review each disease, its effects, and treatments for each disease.
Anorexia
Anorexia nervosa involves intense fear of gaining weight, disturbed body image, refusal to maintain normal weight, and dangerous measures to lose weight.(text) Anorexics, are those who suffer from the disease, or less commonly anorectics.( Ledger) Simply put, anorexia involves extreme measures of self-starvation. If you are at least 15 percent under your normal body weight and you are losing weight through not eating, you may be suffering from anorexia.
Experts estimate that at least 1 in...
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