Types of Eating Disorders
- Anorexia Nervosa - classified by starvation or loss of appetite. One may have no desire to eat or just refuse to
- Bulimia Nervosa - classified by excessive overeating and purging. (Purging is not limited to throwing up, one can use any means or removing the food from the body)
- Binge Eating - classified by frequently overeating. One may eat more quickly and it may be uncontrollable.
Eating disorders are extremely dangerous to the body, they are one of the leading causes of death in America, According to the Academy of Eating Disorders, they can take a toll on the physical systems of the body, resulting in heart and kidney failure, electrolyte imbalances from bingeing and purging, and high rates of suicide. Dr. Miller says "Anorexia, binge eating, bulimia... they ravage the body, creating a host of medical problems..." Those suffering from an eating disorder may have anxiety or depression, which may lead to suicide. Dr. Cornella-Carlson, a board certified child and adolescent psychiatrist at Rogers Medical Hospital says, "eating disorders rarely stand alone... other factors such as depression and anxiety...may trigger or perpetuate the eating disorder." Some statistics regarding eating disorders are frightening:
- 30-37% of adolescent girls engage in crash dieting, fasting, self-induced vomiting, or take diet pills or laxatives
- 42% of first through third grade girls say that they want to be thinner
- 95% of those with an eating disorder are between the ages of 12 and 26
- 50% of teenage girls and 30% of teenage boys engage in unhealthy weight control behaviors
- 25% of college aged women are bulimic
- 20-25% of healthy dieters will eventually progress to develop partial or full-syndrome eating disorders
Survey Results
- 85% of people were between the ages of 13-18
- 72% were female and 28% were males
- 80% believe there is not a perfect image that everyone should look like
- 60% are happy with their appearance ☺
- 65% would not change anything about the way they look
- Majority sometimes worries about their weight
- Most never make excuses to avoid going out to eat with family and friends
- Most always feel fat even though they are told they are at a healthy weight
- Majority never feel pressured to look a certain way by celebrities, friends, classmates, or peers
- Most never feel guilty when eating certain foods
- Most have never taken laxatives or diuretic pills to control their weight
- Majority have never forced themselves to vomit after eating fattening foods
- Most have never considered starving themselves to lose weight or harming themselves to look "perfect"
- Some have always felt guilty about their body size or shape and some have never felt insecure
Interview Highlights with Susan Esposito
Susan Esposito is a registered dietician who specializes in the treatment of eating disorders. She works in the IOP (Intensive Outpatient Program) for ten years and it has offices located in New York City, New York and Long Island, New York. She has had an eating disorder herself as well as knowing someone who has one which is the reason she decided to go into this line of work. She believes there are many contributing factors to developing an eating disorder such as, genetics, society, and emotional factors. I read in an article that eating disorders are often seen with an underlying illness so I decided to ask her if she also thought so. She replied, "There are many underlying issues including emotional, physical, and sometimes biological issues." Esposito said that females between the ages of thirteen to forty come in the most for treatment but there is an increase in males with eating disorders. Males are affected by toy superheroes in the same way that females are affected by Barbie dolls. She told me there are always relapses and only about 1/3 of the people in treatment fully recover. She left me with some advice for both those suffering from an eating disorders and for those who know someone with an eating disorder.
- If you have an eating disorder: Continue to fight and make sure you are getting the right treatment, don't give up.
- If you know someone with an eating disorder: Never say anything about their appearance, it may increase the chance of a relapse.