5 Eating Disorders That Are More Common Than You Think
Eating disorders are extreme conditions associated with chronic eating habits, and they are more common than you think.
They have a detrimental effect on your health, emotions, and ability to work in significant areas of life.
Anorexia nervosa, bulimia nervosa, and binge-eating disorders are the most popular eating disorders.
Eating disorders are common in adolescents and young adult years, but they can also develop at other ages.
In this post, we’ll discuss the common types of eating disorders and what to do about it.
Let’s dive in.
What is an eating disorder?
Eating disorders are a variety of psychological factors that lead to unhealthy eating habits.
They might begin with a food obsession, body weight, or body shape.
Eating disorders can cause significant health effects in extreme cases and can even lead to death if left untreated.
Those with eating disorders can experience many symptoms.
Some of these symptoms include: extreme dietary restrictions, food binges, or purging habits such as vomiting or over-exercise.
Common types of eating disorders
1. Bulimia Nervosa
One of the most common eating disorders is Bulimia nervosa.
Bulimia continues to develop during puberty and early adulthood, like anorexia. It seems to be less common among males than among females.
Individuals with bulimia also consume unusually large quantities of food over a given time.
Each episode of binge eating generally continues until the person becomes painfully full.
Typically, during a binge, the person thinks they cannot stop eating or regulate how much they consume.
Popular bulimia nervosa symptoms include:
- Recurring binge eating episodes with a sense of loss of control
- Recurring episodes of improper purging practices to reduce weight gain
- Self-esteem that is excessively affected by body shape and weight
- Fear of weight gain, despite having a normal weight
You can force vomiting, or you can exercise too much or use other tactics, such as laxatives, to get rid of calories.
It is because of guilt, embarrassment, and an overwhelming fear of weight gain from overeating.
2. Binge Eating Disorder
If you regularly consume too much food (binge) and experience a loss of control over your diet, you most likely have a binge-eating disorder.
Binge eaters eat quickly or eat more food than expected, even when they are not hungry.
Also, they sometimes continue to eat even long after they are uncomfortably full.
Usually, a new round of bingeing happens at least once a week. You may be average, overweight, or obese by weight.
Popular binge eating disorder signs include:
- Despite not feeling hungry, eating large quantities of food easily, secretly, and until uncomfortably full
- Feeling a loss of control during binge-eating episodes
- When thinking about binge eating behavior, feelings of discomfort, such as embarrassment, disgust, or guilt
- No use of purging habits, such as limiting calories, vomiting, laxative, diuretic use, excessive exercise to cover binging.
3. Rumination disorder
Repeated and frequent regurgitation of food after feeding is a rumination disease.
However, it is not related to a medical illness or other eating disorders such as anorexia, bulimia, or binge-eating disorder.
Without nausea or gagging, food is taken back into the mouth, and regurgitation may not be deliberate.
Regurgitated food is often rechewed and swallowed or spat out.
If the food is spat out or if the person eats significantly less to avoid the behavior, the condition can result in malnutrition.
In infancy or in persons that have an intellectual disability, the incidence of rumination disorder may be more than normal.
Related: If You Have Dry Mouth, Follow These Easy Home Remedies
4. Avoidant/restrictive food intake disorder
People with this condition often fail to fulfill your minimum daily requirements for nutrition. And the reason is that they have no interest in eating.
You avoid foods that have such sensory attributes, such as color, texture, smell, or taste.
You worry about the effects of feeding, such as fear of choking. Owing to the fear of gaining weight, food is not avoided.
As well as dietary deficiencies that can cause health complications, this condition can result in severe weight loss or inability to gain weight in childhood.
5. Pica
Pica is a common eating disorder that involves eating stuff that is not food. Individuals with Pica eat non-food substances such as:
- ice
- dirt
- dust
- chalk
- soap
- paper
- fur
- fabric
- wool
- pebbles
- laundry detergent
- cornstarch
In adults, as well as kids and adolescents, Pica may occur.
Pica is more common in infants, pregnant women, and people with mental disabilities.
How to get rid of common eating disorders
Treatment for eating disorders depends on your unique condition and your symptoms.
Some treats include a mixture of psychological counseling (psychotherapy), nutrition education, medical monitoring, and occasionally drugs.
Members of your treatment team may include:
- A mental health professional who performs psychological counseling, such as a psychologist.
- You can see a doctor if you need prescription medication and management.
- Some psychologists offer psychological treatment
- A licensed dietitian to provide nutrition and meal planning education.
- Medical and dental specialists to treat health or dental conditions that arise from an eating disorder.
- Your spouse, parents, or other members of the family. Parents should take active interest in the care of family member. And may supervise meals for young people still living at home.
Treatment may involve a combination of different types of therapy, such as:
Cognitive-behavioral therapy
It helps you to learn to identify and alter distorted thoughts that contribute to eating disorders after helping you achieve healthier eating habits.
Family-based therapy
Family members learn to help you restore healthier eating habits through this therapy and hit a healthy weight before you can do it on your own.
For parents studying how to treat an adolescent with an eating disorder, this form of therapy may be extremely helpful.
Group cognitive-behavioral therapy
This form of counseling includes seeing a counselor or other specialist in mental health along with someone diagnosed with an eating disorder.
It will help you discuss your eating disorder-related thoughts, feelings, and behaviors.
You’ll also learn to develop symptom coping skills, and restore healthier eating habits.
Takeaway
It is crucial for any treatment plan for an individual with common eating disorders to include general medical care, dietary management, and nutritional therapy.
It is done to avoid the severe physical problems caused by these diseases.
These steps are starting to restore physical well-being and the tradition of healthy eating.
