Anorexia nervosa, binge eating disorder, bulimia nervosa and Eating Disorders Not Otherwise Specified (EDNOS) are the usual eating disorders. People with these disorders suffer from extremes of emotions and have wrong notions about the shape and weight of their bodies. Due to the misconceptions, they suffer from within and take recourse in food. Thus knowingly or unknowingly they develop unhealthy eating patterns that affect their health adversely.
Anorexia nervosa, binge eating disorder and bulimia nervosa are directly or indirectly connected with weight. Let us read the following to know about eating disorders in detail:
Anorexia Nervosa and weight: This is a condition that makes a person think that they must be slim and trim to have a good body appearance. Believing this, they remain obsessed with their body weight and reduce their calorie consumption. They go on fad diets, restrict their food intake and as a result lose weight. They may be underweight, bone-thin; even then they think themselves to be overweight.
- Persons with anorexia nervosa refuse to maintain normal weight. As per the reports of National Eating Disorder Association, this refusal may be a primary symptom resulting in extreme measures of dieting, bodyweight and food restriction.
- If a person weighs 85% or less of their normal bodyweight, then this must be taken as a diagnostic criterion for the disease. As a result of restrictive eating, which is a type of anorexia nervosa, such a person will continuously lose weight. On the other hand, if they fluctuate between overeating and dieting, they will experience frequent weight loss or gain.
Bulimia nervosa and weight: This is a complex syndrome that makes an individual take food in large quantities, feel depressed about their overeating and then purge in order to compensate for overeating. Vomiting, excessive exercise, fasting, use of diet pills and misuse of laxatives are known as compensatory behaviors that an individuals indulges in so that they can control their weight.
- These individuals are also obsessed with their weight and body image.
- They experience weight fluctuations. In spite of their repeated attempts at purging, they do not lose weight. People with this disorder may not be obese. They may have normal weight, slightly underweight or overweight.
Binge eating disorder and weight: Binge eating disorder is bingeing in order to deal with any negative, suppressed emotions. People with this syndrome indulge in excessive eating and they are unable to resist their temptation to overeat. Usually these people are overweight. It is to be noted that not all obese people are affected with this disorder. In the USA, 2% of the adult population suffer from the disorder.
- Most of the extremely obese individuals have this syndrome.
- This excessive bodyweight may increase the risks of cardiovascular diseases, heart attack, hypertension etc.
Thus it is found that all these eating disorders are directly or indirectly related to weight issue. You must understand your body needs, take healthy diet and exercise regularly. If you are overweight, you must make attempts to lose weight. If you are underweight, you must eat well and perform light exercises to make your body fit and healthy.
