The last week of February into March is Eating Disorders Awareness week. It is estimated that in the US alone, 20 million women and 10 million men have or have had an eating disorder. While eating disorders have found themselves as the subjects of jokes in recent years, they should be taken seriously. Eating disorders have the highest mortality rate of any psychiatric illness. Eating disorders can cause major health issues if left untreated, often leading to organ failure or death.
Eating Disorder Symptoms
Each person’s eating disorder manifests differently. A person struggling with an eating disorder may not experience all of the symptoms listed. Specific disorders may present with more specific symptoms, but here are some common symptoms of eating disorders:
- Food rituals that may include excessive chewing, eating only a specific group of foods or not allowing food to touch
- Preoccupations with weight loss, calorie counting or nutrition facts
- Frequent dieting
- Sleep problems
- Impaired immune system
- Poor wound healing
- Extreme mood swings
A full list can be viewed here.
Anorexia Nervosa
Anorexia, perhaps the most well known eating disorder, commonly develops during young adulthood and affects more women than men. Anorexia causes people to view themselves as overweight, even when they are extremely underweight. Some cases display obsessive-compulsive symptoms, where people are plagued with constant thoughts of food and may hoard specific foods or recipes.
There are two types of anorexia cases—restrictive and binge-eating and purging. Restrictive cases will greatly restrict the amount of calories they eat, and in some cases exercise excessively. Binge-eating and purging cases may binge on very large amounts of food, or eat very little. In both cases, they will purge the food after eating, either by vomiting or taking laxatives.
Anorexia is extremely damaging to the body. Over time, individuals can experience thinning of the bones and hair, infertility—and in extreme cases—heart, brain or multi-organ failure.
Anorexia symptoms:
- Sudden, dramatic weight loss
- Dressing in layers to hide the body and/or stay warm
- Concerns about eating in public
- Withdrawing from friends and social situations
- Unable to maintain an appropriate weight for their age, height and build
View a full list here.
Bulimia Nervosa
Bulimia also tends to develop in early adulthood and affect more women than men. Those with bulimia frequently eat unusually large amounts of food in a short period of time, to the point of becoming painfully full. Often, these binges are done with foods that the individual would typically avoid. After a binge, a bulimic individual will attempt to purge by vomiting, taking laxatives, fasting, excessive exercise or other methods.
While bulimia may have similar behaviors to binge-eating and purging anorexia, individuals with bulimia do not tend to be underweight. Instead, they maintain an average weight.
Bulimia can cause tooth decay and worn enamel, acid reflux, severe dehydration and hormonal disruptions. Extreme cases can cause an imbalance in body levels of electrolytes such as sodium, potassium and calcium, which can lead to a stroke or heart attack.
Bulimia symptoms:
- Skipping meals or taking unusually small portions at meals
- Disappearing after eating, especially to the bathroom
- Excessive use of mouthwash, mints and/or gum
- Unusual swelling of cheeks or jaw
- Bloating caused by fluid retention.
View a full list here.
Binge Eating Disorder
Binge eating disorder was only recently recognized as an eating disorder. Binge eating disorder commonly develops in early adulthood, but it can begin at any age. Individuals with binge eating disorder share symptoms with binge-eating and purging anorexia, as well as bulimia, such as the loss of control during a binge episode. However, unlike the other two, those with binge eating disorder do not attempt to restrict calories or purge to compensate for the binges.
People with binge eating disorder are often overweight or obese. This increases their chances of weight-related medical complications such as heart problems and Type 2 diabetes.
Binge eating disorder symptoms:
- Fear of eating in public
- Fluctuations in weight
- Extreme concern about weight or body shape
View a full list here.
Orthorexia
Although not recognized as a formal eating disorder by the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual, orthorexia is an obsession with “proper” and healthy eating. People with orthorexia become obsessively fixated on eating healthy, hurting themselves in the process.
Orthorexia can cause individuals to lack essential nutrients, which can lead to an abnormally slow heart rate, digestion problems, electrolyte imbalances and impaired bone health.
Orthorexia symptoms:
- Obsessive checking of labels and ingredients
- Inability or refusal to eat foods that do not fit into certain “pure groups”
- High levels of stress when “safe” foods are not available
- Obsessive following of “healthy blogs” on social media
View a full list here.
Getting Help
If you are suffering from an eating disorder, you can contact the national hotline by calling (800) 931-2237. The hotline is available Monday-Thursday from 9AM to 9PM ET, and Friday from 9AM to 5PM ET.
Our doctors and staff are always willing to discuss eating disorders and their treatment with you, as well. Stop by our office any time, no appointment necessary.