Change Your World Week Winter 2022 (Archived)

Have you ever been envious of someone you've seen before? Poor body image can lead to eating disorders that can turn fatal or decrease quality of life. However, with the correct help, recovery is possible. By discussing the variety of eating disorders, individuals can be informed about how to recognize them. The goal of our page is to provide information on eating disorders, such as causes, types, solutions, and the statistics of eating disorders. With more information, the spread of awareness on the topic of body image issues and eating disorders can bring a positive change to society. 

Several factors can cause someone to develop an eating disorder. Some of the main factors that cause eating disorders are biological, psychological, and societal. It’s important to understand that eating disorders can happen to anyone, no matter their gender, age, or race. Anyone and everyone are susceptible to developing an eating disorder.

From the biological standpoint, one may develop an eating disorder from genetics they obtain passed down from their family members. Eating disorders may be common in some families and genetics may be a cause for that. Also referring to the eating disorder, diabulimia, which is an eating disorder among those with type 1 diabetes, is also a biological cause for an eating disorder. Type 1 diabetes may run in a family and could be a factor for someone developing diabulimia.

The psychological causes of an eating disorder are what individuals deal with internally. If a person feels they don’t look “perfect” and they have a bad body image of themselves, that can cause them to develop an eating disorder. The psychological causes are what people who suffer from an eating disorder have to deal with in their minds. They may also have depression, anxiety, and feel that they have no control over their life. With those kinds of symptoms, it is not uncommon for someone to develop an eating disorder.

Society can also be a leading cause of the development of eating disorders. Many people get bullied for their weight and appearance, and bullying can lead somebody to an eating disorder. Aside from bullying, if someone is being abused or is/have suffered from some trauma they start feeling unworthy of obtaining food. Lastly, in some cases, people lack support from their friends or society, and they feel that looking “perfect” may bring their relationships closer to them.

These are the common causes of eating disorders, there may be different causes for other people who suffer from an eating disorder.

The list of eating disorders is long and ranges from a variety of causes and effects, the most common types of eating disorders are anorexia nervosa, bulimia nervosa, diabulimia, binge eating disorder, orthorexia, and rumination disorder. What are these different types of eating disorders?

Anorexia Nervosa

Anorexia Nervosa is when an individual copes with body image challenges by creating a weight limit for themselves and/or limiting food and calorie intake. Most individuals with this eating disorder put high value on the idea of being "skinny enough". Common symptoms included are a negative body image, monitoring weight due to the fear of gaining weight, and restricting food/calories. Weight is a huge factor for this eating disorder. Individuals constantly monitor their weight and the individual's weight can lead to low self-esteem and self-worth. Treatments include drug therapy and associating weight gain with positive rewards. 

Bulimia Nervosa

Bulimia Nervosa is the act of binge eating food followed by the psychological need to eliminate that food through self induced vomiting. This can be caused due to the individual's need to conform to the ideal body image, which leads to a lack of sense of self. Signs and symptoms include anxiousness surrounding food, binge eating, holding the position that you can not control food intake, the practice of self-induced vomiting, eating more food than normal in a very short time frame, having no control when eating food, being severely dehydrated, having tooth decay, acid reflux, stomach ulcers, sore throats, electrolyte imbalance, and intestine distress. Treatments include exercise and diet therapy. 

Orthorexia Nervosa

 Orthorexia Nervosa is a fixation on healthy foods. This can stem from the desire to overcome disease, the desire to obtain safety, seeking spirituality related to food, and the fear of other people. Symptoms include creating excessive restrictions connected to eating patterns, restraint from eating, disinhibition, constantly checking ingredients and food labels, cutting out sugar carbohydrates, cutting out animal products, only eating foods that the person considers pure, and worrying about food. Weight and body image don’t mean anything to these individuals, because they are only concerned about eating pure food. This may also be harder to notice someone suffering from because most people don’t see any harm in just eating healthy food. However, Orthorexia Nervosa can be a gateway into more serious eating disorders.

Rumination Disorder

Rumination disorder is the act of voluntarily regurgitating food. Regurgitation of food typically presents within 30 minutes of eating the meal. Most patients do not feel any pain or discomfort from this disorder and rarely seek help due to lack of disruption in day-to-day life. Most patients do not even realize they are contracting their stomachs to throw up. Rumination is a psychological disorder and is very closely linked to mental disease, especially depression. Common symptoms include food regurgitation, weight loss, tooth decay, stomach aches, and bad breath. Popular treatment includes relaxation before and after meals.

Diabulimia

 Diabulimia is when individuals with Type 1 Diabetes purposefully take less insulin than needed in order to lose weight. This is a very serious eating disorder, as it can lead to blindness, kidney problems, hair loss, and early death. Recognizable signs and symptoms includes weight loss, diabetes complications, distorted body image, calorie counting, refusal to attend diabetes related appointments, depression, anxiety, withdrawal from usual activities, amenorrhea, not practicing diabetes care, having rules about food, not eating with others, fear of low blood sugar, and being occupied with their food, weight, and blood sugar levels.  

Binge Eating Disorder 

Binge eating disorder is eating large amounts of food in one sitting. This eating disorder is the most common and those who suffer from it are often overweight. Common symptoms include eating when full, not eating around people due to embarrassment, eating large amounts of food, eating fast, feelings of guilt after eating, and having no control when eating food. This eating disorder causes risk for other types of health issues regarding weight. This eating disorder may be easier to identify in individuals, because it is easier to recognize weight gain and an unusual level of food intake.

Body image is how we see ourselves when we look in the mirror and how we imagine ourselves in our own mind. In some cases, people see themselves as beautiful or superior. However, for others that struggle with negative body image, they see themselves as disgusting to look at. The majority of people that struggle with negative body image also struggle with an eating disorder. In the graph “Evolution of prevalence of ED” it shows the prevalence of eating disorders over a period of twenty years.

Key: AN, anorexia nervosa; BED, binge eating disorder; BN, bulimia nervosa; ED, eating disorder; EDNOS, eating disorders not otherwise specified.   

Anyone can be affected by an eating disorder or body image issues, although more common in women, it does affect males. Unfortunately, the age that eating disorders and body image shame starts, is earlier than teenage years. Children in first grade are expressing they wish they were thinner. This is not what small children need to be worried about and it's important to catch the signs of these disorders as early as possible. 

It is estimated that more than 30 million people in the United States will suffer from eating disorders. Many label eating disorders as the leading cause of mental illness deaths, but about 70 percent do not seek treatment. Eating disorders are much more common in women, but they also affect men as well. Normally, eating disorders begin in teen years to early adulthood. Sadly, nearly one person an hour dies from an eating disorder. There are a lot of treatment programs available to help with eating disorders and body image issues.  The eating recovery center is the only national healthcare system strictly devoted to eating disorders and related disorders, such as body image issues. More information about the eating recovery center can be found at Eating Disorder Treatment Centers | Anorexia, Bulimia & Binge Eating (eatingrecoverycenter.com)

Eating disorders aren’t necessarily a ‘illness’ that can be cured by some type of medication.  Although there are some narcotics that could potentially help a person overcome their eating disorder, like antidepressants. However, there is no set ‘cure’ to eating disorders.  

When beginning a journey to recovery of any type of eating disorder or body dysmorphia, one of the first steps is diagnosing how severe the case might be.  If the case is severe enough, hospitalization may be necessary to occur in order to begin the recovery.  After assessing the diagnosis, it is important for the person to receive proper nutrition education.  Nutrition education is going to be a way to learn about how nutrition affects your body and establish what healthy eating patterns are.  This could also include meal planning that is going to help with working towards a healthy weight and overall lifestyle. 

When overcoming an eating disorder, the biggest support generally comes from the person’s friends and family.  These are the people who are needed most during recovery because they saw the patient ill and wants to help them get better.  There are programs such as “couples treatment” which is an intervention with one’s family, friends, and/or significant other.  This not only informs the patient on how they are able to go through recovery but also gives some insight to the supporting persons on what they can do and how they can help.  If a person is going through recovery alone, there are also ways to support themselves through the recovery journey.  There is a toll-free number, 1 (888) 375-7767, which is a 24 hour helpline for those who are seeking help for recovery, or referral for someone you might know who needs some help.  Going through this journey doesn’t have to be an individual process, there are many free support groups in almost every town, as well as online for those who might not enjoy face-to-face confrontation. 

A strong and positive mindset is a major part of recovery.  As a person going through an eating disorder, one of the most common factors between all eating disorders is dissatisfaction with one’s body image, or body dysmorphia.  This is oftentimes one of the most difficult challenges when overcoming an eating disorder. Some ways to help overcome negative mindset on a person’s body image is for them to list all of the positive aspects about their body and what they enjoy about it.  Another way to overcome this is to put the scales away and refrain that person from weighing themselves so often. 

When going through recovery, it is important for the person to not forget what it is they are working towards while staying true to who they are.  This could include coping through a healthy way, whether that is talking on the phone with a friend, or taking a walk.  They could play with a pet, or even invest in a support pet that could help them through this journey.  It is important for them to stay busy and doing the activities they enjoy to help them be a happier, and healthier person. 

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