Different types of disorders have different signs and symptoms that affect people both mentally and physically.
Some of them include:
There are different types of eating disorders and each has its characteristics, diagnosis and symptoms.
Some of the commonly known eating disorders include:
Anorexia Nervosa
The most well-known type of eating disorder, Anorexia Nervosa is a life-threatening disorder often diagnosed among teenagers and young adults. It involves restricted food intake, resulting in abnormally low body weight and distorted perception of the shape and size of the body. Due to an intense fear of gaining weight, the person tends to limit the calories and lose weight with extreme methods like excessive exercise, using diet aids or vomiting after eating. This disorder can have worse effects on the body and can result in infertility, thinning of bones, multi-organ failure etc.
Some symptoms of Anorexia Nervosa include:
Bulimia Nervosa
Bulimia is another life-threatening eating disorder and involves episodes of binging and purging. During the episodes, the person binge eats a large amount of food in a short time without any control. Then due to shame, guilt or fear of weight gain, try rigorous methods like excessive exercise, enema, fasting, or forced vomiting to get rid of the extra calories in an unhealthy way.
This disorder can cause acid reflux, tooth decay, swollen salivary glands, severe dehydration, hormonal disturbances, and in some cases, heart attack or stroke.
The symptoms of Bulimia Nervosa include:
Binge Eating Disorder
The most common eating disorder, Binge-Eating Disorder is characterised by regular eating without any control. The person tends to eat quickly more food than intended, even after they are uncomfortably full. Unlike other disorders, people with this disorder do not compensate for the behaviour, rather they start eating alone to hide the embarrassment or guilt. Sometimes they might binge on unhealthy food, resulting in obesity, type 2 diabetes, heart disease etc.
The common symptoms of Binge-Eating Disorder are:
Rumination Disorder
This disorder involves repeated and persistent regurgitation of food after eating. Here, the food is intentionally brought back up to the mouth in the first 30 minutes after eating, without nausea or gagging and is rechewed, swallowed or spit out. It is more common in infants and children. This disorder may result in weight loss and severe malnutrition if the food is spat out or if the person limits their eating to prevent the behaviour.
Avoidant/Restrictive Food Intake Disorder
Previously known as a selective disorder, this disorder involves eating by restricted food intake due to a lack of interest in eating, taste, food smell, texture or temperature. Here the person is not concerned about body image or weight. This disorder can cause significant weight loss or failure to gain weight and other health problems due to nutrient deficiency.
The signs of this disorder include:
Some other eating disorders are:
While the exact causes of eating disorders are not known, some factors could trigger them, like -
Early intervention can help in preventing the disorders or limiting their effects.
Some of the ways to prevent or control eating disorders are:
Self Help
Cognitive Behavioral Therapy
CBT is for adult eating disorders and includes body structure exposure, meal planning, regular eating, relapse prevention, cognitive restructuring etc.
Nutritional Therapy
In this therapy, a professional dietician provides proper guidance on a healthy diet and helps you make the necessary dietary changes.
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