What are the different types of eating disorders? (click types to learn more)

*Bulimia Nervosa
*Anorexia Nervosa
*Binge Eating
*Partial Syndrome
*Obsessive Dieters or "weight-preoccupied" individuals
*Obese individuals with eating disorders

Helpful answers to questions you may have

*I think my friend may have an eating disorder.  What should I do?
*What are the causes of eating disorders and obesity in Children and Adults?
*What shall I do to get well from my eating disorder? (Recommend methods for anorexia, bulimia and fat recovery.)
*What methods are used for psychotherapy treatment of eating disorders, anorexia, bulimia, binge eating?
*How do I lose weight?!
*How do I control my feelings instead of eating?

(http://web4health.info/en/answers/ed-treat-general.htm)

(http://kidshealth.org/teen/your_mind/problems/friend_eating_disorder.html)  

(Edited by c j at 5:46 pm on May 25, 2006)

-------
Someone's always stealing my tuna,
even though it's clearly labelled "Bob's Tuna."
It just makes me so mad I want to scream.

Bulimia nervosa is a common eating disorder. It is most common among young women, where 1-2% are affected. It is characterized by a craving for food, where you rapidly wolf down much more food than your body needs. People with bulimia sometimes often cannot stop themselves from eating more and more. More or less successful methods are then used by the individual to prevent an increase in weight e.g.:

With self-purging:
producing vomiting after compulsive eating  
        or  
self-purging with laxatives or enemas  

Without self-purging:
starving or fasting after compulsive eating   or  
excessive physical exercise  

Bulimics are frequently able to maintain normal weight or slightly less than normal weight despite their eating disorder, but there are also those with drastic swings in weight. Bulimics usually alternate between compulsive eating and periods of getting rid of the food and fat using different methods. The fasting or vomiting usually ends with renewed hunger, causing a new period of frenzied eating. People with Bulimia often feel that they are unable to control their own eating.

People who have these symptoms, but weigh much less than normal, are usually classified as suffering from anorexia, or bulimic anorexia, not bulimia.

(Edited by c j at 4:27 pm on May 25, 2006)

-------
Someone's always stealing my tuna,
even though it's clearly labelled "Bob's Tuna."
It just makes me so mad I want to scream.

Anorexia nervosa is a very serious eating disorder. It may lead to death as a consequence of starvation or other medical conditions caused by lack of food. The limit for anorexia is usually put at a BMI of less than 17.5 in combination with other symptoms. Between a half and one percent of young people suffer from anorexia.

Those who eat too little as a consequence of a disease are not classified as having anorexia nervosa.

Those who either won't or can't eat sufficient food are classified as having anorexia nervosa.

The desire to avoid eating too much is often combined with an excessive fear of becoming fat and extreme notions about wholesome and unwholesome food.

It can also depend on an addictive condition where starvation stimulates the body's reward centre. More.

Those with anorexia frequently deny that they are underweight, or ill, just as alcoholics deny that they are addicted to alcohol.

Women with anorexia often miss their menstruation several times in succession.

There are two main types of personality who are subject to anorexia:

*The restrictive type who limits all their eating and often have a strong will.
*The compulsive eating type who alternate between eating and removing all excessive nutrition in the same way as those with bulimia. Those with this type of problem often have other addictive conditions and difficulties with impulse control.

A similar condition may accordingly be classified as anorexia, bulimia or overweight depending on how much a person weighs. For example, a person can begin with anorexia and then go over to bulimia.

(Edited by c j at 4:32 pm on May 25, 2006)

-------
Someone's always stealing my tuna,
even though it's clearly labelled "Bob's Tuna."
It just makes me so mad I want to scream.

The term Binge Eating Disorder (BED) is used for those who go through recurring episodes of compulsive overeating. They eat far too much, but don't get rid of the extra calories in the same way as those with bulimia.  

They typically eat large quantities of food quickly even when they are not physically hungry. Feelings of shame and guilt are common.

BED usually leads to overweight. About one fifth of those who seek medical help for overweight have typical symptoms. Even those with overweight who don't have typical symptoms are often helped by similar treatment.

Many people have eating disorders which don't exactly fit the traditional classification of anorexia, bulimia and binge eating.

Description of a binge eating attack

A binge (binge-eating) is a big meal, it is a food episode that implies:

Consuming a large quantity of food in a very short period of time;

Being unable to control the amount of food consumed and stop eating.

It is very important to define a binge from an objective point of view and have these two clear concepts: large amounts of food and loss of control.

If someone overeats and cannot stop when they want to, if they nibble continually during the day, if they eat when highly strung, or get up to crunch something during the night, does not mean they suffers from Binge Eating Disorders (BED).

All this way of behaving means a disturbed relation to food, and patients often consider them binges, but they are not true binges.

Binges are a fundamental element of Bulimia Nervosa and Eating Disorders, but they can also appear in advanced phases of Anorexia Nervosa.

(Edited by c j at 4:41 pm on May 25, 2006)

-------
Someone's always stealing my tuna,
even though it's clearly labelled "Bob's Tuna."
It just makes me so mad I want to scream.

You limit your intake of food and are preoccupied with your weight, you swing between frenzied eating and vomiting, and have other eating disorders symptoms, but still do not meet the full diagnostic criteria for full-blown eating disorders.

-------
Someone's always stealing my tuna,
even though it's clearly labelled "Bob's Tuna."
It just makes me so mad I want to scream.

You think a lot about your weight and figure but not so much that you belong to the "Partial Syndrome" group.


-------
Someone's always stealing my tuna,
even though it's clearly labelled "Bob's Tuna."
It just makes me so mad I want to scream.

You eat more than you need and allow your weight to become too high for good health. Overweight can have other causes than eating disorders and can be caused by an eating disorder if there are psychological reasons for eating more than the body needs, such as when negative emotions (anger, boredom, disappointment, etc.) cause an abnormal craving for food.


-------
Someone's always stealing my tuna,
even though it's clearly labelled "Bob's Tuna."
It just makes me so mad I want to scream.

There are various contributory causes of eating disorders and often several of these may act in combination.  

·The ability to distinguish between hunger, satisfaction and other feelings is learned when one is very young. Faulty upbringing can interfere with this. The effect is often not noticed until later in life.  
·Eating disorders often arise when a person tries to reduce to an abnormally low weight. The unnatural slim ideal may be therefore a contributory cause of eating disorders.  
·Many people with eating disorders are not aware of their physical feelings of hunger and satisfaction. Thus, they lack a natural control of their eating. Such people will easier be pulled into eating disorders, where they use eating to conceal feelings and escape from constructive problem solutions.  
·Both overeating and fasting can stimulate the reward centre in the brain. Eating disorders therefore function in the same way as alcoholism and drug addiction. The same personality traits which increase the risk of alcoholism and drug addiction also increase the risk of eating disorders.  
·The personality traits which increase the risk of eating disorders are partly hereditary. Addictive problems or affective disorders (depression, etc.) are more common among relatives.
·Some of the personality traits involved are: a tendency to please others and a low ability to assert one's own needs; a need to reduce unsettling feelings of anxiety, depression and low self-confidence; perfectionism and problems with impulse control.  
·Eating disorders are more common among women and those who are affected by social attitudes and body ideals and who also lack the ability of following their own feelings and needs.  
·Children of overweight parents, and parents with an exaggerated interest in body shape, more often get eating disorders. Also, demands from the family and insecure family circumstances increase the risk.  

Overweight occurs if you eat more fat than your body can consume. Both biological (somatic) and life-style factors can cause overweight. Eating disorders (see above) can also cause overweight. There are also some illnesses and drugs which can make a person more susceptible to overweight.  

(Edited by c j at 4:52 pm on May 25, 2006)

-------
Someone's always stealing my tuna,
even though it's clearly labelled "Bob's Tuna."
It just makes me so mad I want to scream.

It takes time to get well and you must work on yourself.  

Suppose you have inherited an old house full of rubbish and in need of repair. It takes a lot of purposeful work to make it a beautiful, functional home, but it can be done if you work hard. It is, maybe, not so important which room in the building you start with, but it is important to start somewhere, otherwise nothing will happen. Important problems to attack if you have an eating disorder:  

*Learn to recognize your feelings of physical hunger and satisfaction. Eat only in response to physical hunger and stop when you are satisfied. More.  

*Learn to recognize true feelings and solve problems. Don't flee from unpleasant feelings by means of starvation, vomiting or compulsive eating.  

*Accept and allow yourself to feel unpleasant feelings.  

*Consider the whole of your life: studies, work, friends, spare time, family, home, etc. Where can you make improvements?  

*Try to think in a constructive way so that you don't make unnecessary difficulties for yourself.  

(Edited by c j at 5:04 pm on May 25, 2006)

-------
Someone's always stealing my tuna,
even though it's clearly labelled "Bob's Tuna."
It just makes me so mad I want to scream.

The main cause of eating disorders may not be an unhappy childhood, but that a person's feelings and physical sensations are in a confusing jumble.

Prior to psychotherapeutic treatment it was not possible for patients to take responsibility for their inner life or manage it. If effective help is received, it will eventually be possible for patients to manage anxiety. The need to use excessive food or hunger as a drug, when one wants to diminish negative feelings, will then vanish. More.

Anxiety is a natural part of one's life which may be experienced and understood. These negative feelings can be an important source of information which may give possibilities for one's development.

Psychopharmacological medicine can often relieve eating disorders. Medicines like Prozac/Fontex are available in various forms and sometimes may increase the probability that psychotherapy will be successful.

Cognitive therapy: the patient learns to think effectively e.g. "I am normal and it is the photographer's models who are abnormally slim" instead of: "the photographer's models are perfect and I want to look like them. I must reduce my weight".

Behavioural therapy: one gets help from somebody, or from a computer, in order to understand and learn how to eat normally. One also gets tips about other things which can be done instead of eating.

Psychodynamic therapy and psychoanalysis: unpleasant and painful experiences, usually from childhood, are examined. The therapist helps patients to interpret their feelings.

A problem with treating eating disorders is that patients often have a strong tendency to be so influenced by those in their surroundings that they come away from their own feelings and wishes and just do what the therapist wants. They might accept interpretations which are not based on their own experiences. There is a risk that the patient learns to accept the therapists explanations and do not get in contact with his or her own feelings and physical signals, blaming childhood experiences instead of getting in contact with their own inner world.

Gestalt therapy: the main point of this method is for patients to learn to identify their real needs and feelings.

Family therapy: the whole family of a person with eating disorders often needs help in learning how to manage the problem.

Diet counseling: patients must learn to change their eating habits and only eat wholesome food, which makes it easier for them to recognize their real needs. They learn to avoid junk food which distorts this ability. Fat, sugar and white flour are out.

Group therapy: Patients discuss their problems in a group and the realization that others have similar needs may make it easier to understand their own problems. Members of the group help each other.


-------
Someone's always stealing my tuna,
even though it's clearly labelled "Bob's Tuna."
It just makes me so mad I want to scream.

The only way to achieve a lasting reduction in weight is by a lasting modification of eating habits. All temporary cures lead to a temporary reduction, but as soon as there is a return to the old eating habits the overweight returns.

Weight is a natural consequence of eating habits. There is no other way to achieve a lasting reduction of overweight than modified eating habits. Other methods such as exercise and cosmetic operations may sometimes be of some use but are useless if not combined with modified eating habits.

Important factors in lasting weight reduction:

*Train regularly, e.g., walk for 45 minutes a day. This affects the feelings of satisfaction in such a way that there is a reduction in the urge to eat.

*Take regular meals at those times when you are usually hungry.

*Eat nutritious food: potatoes, greens, root vegetables, fruit salads, fish, porridge and low fat milk.

*Avoid: cakes and buns, sweets and all junk foods.

*If you are doubtful about a certain kind of food, try it and see if it causes compulsive eating or makes you want to eat even when you don't need more nutrition. Avoid all food which has these effects.

*Eat only when you are physically hungry and stop immediately when you are physically satisfied.

*Don't console yourself with food. Put up with the discomfort which has usually caused you to eat unwholesome junk.

*Try to solve your problems instead of escaping from them with the help of junk food.

*Food should only be used to make you satisfied when you are hungry.

*Brighten up your life with other interests than eating.

-------
Someone's always stealing my tuna,
even though it's clearly labelled "Bob's Tuna."
It just makes me so mad I want to scream.

If you are used to hiding your feelings by means of food, you will probably feel very uncomfortable if you try to avoid eating. Don't be upset when feelings seem to be unbearable. Be brave and do your best to tolerate these negative feelings. Allow yourself to experience them instead of running away or escape with food. After you have experienced them you will feel better.

Suppose you have decided to stop eating for comfort. You can eat what you need when you are physically hungry: however, you mustn't eat sweets when you do not really need nutrition, but are only seeking a way to endure boredom, tiredness, stress or other unpleasant feeling.  

You will get an urge to eat something sweet, but resist it. Give yourself time to rest and feel what is happening in your body. Take in your physical impression but don't try to reason intellectually. Let the experience take its time and try to feel it intensely.

Perhaps you will experience something new. Concentrate on this and continue in the same way until you think you have gone through all you can take at this time.

These experiences may be terrifying, but afterwards you will feel much better and the urge to eat sweets will diminish.

(Edited by c j at 5:23 pm on May 25, 2006)

-------
Someone's always stealing my tuna,
even though it's clearly labelled "Bob's Tuna."
It just makes me so mad I want to scream.

In our image-obsessed culture, lots of teens (and adults, for that matter) are critical of their bodies. Many diet or exercise to try to change how they look. But normal concerns about body image cross the line and become eating disorders when a person starts to do things that are physically and emotionally dangerous - things that could have long-term health consequences.

Some people go on starvation diets and become anorexic, and others go on eating binges and then purge their bodies of the food they've just eaten through forced vomiting, compulsive exercise, taking laxatives, or a combination of these.

Although eating disorders like anorexia and bulimia are far more common in girls, guys can get them, too. So how do you know if a friend has an eating disorder? It can be hard to tell - after all, someone who's lost a lot of weight or feels constantly tired may have another type of health condition. But some of the signs that a friend may have an eating disorder include:

*Your friend has an obsession with weight and food (more than general comments about how many calories he or she eats in a day). It might seem like your friend talks about food and nothing else.
*Your friend knows exactly how many calories and fat grams are in everything that he or she eats - and is constantly pointing this out.
*Your friend feels the need to exercise all the time, even when sick or exhausted.
*Your friend avoids hanging out with you and other friends during meals. For example, he or she avoids the school cafeteria at lunch or the restaurant where you usually meet on weekends.
*Your friend starts to wear big or baggy clothes. Lots of people wear baggy clothes, but someone who wears baggy clothes to conceal a body he or she doesn't like isn't following a fashion trend.
*Your friend goes on dramatic or very restrictive diets, cuts food into tiny pieces, moves food around on the plate instead of eating it, and is very precise about how food is arranged on the plate.
*Your friend goes to the bathroom a lot, especially right after meals, or you've heard your friend vomiting after eating.
*Despite losing a lot of weight, your friend always talks about how fat he or she is.
*Your friend appears to be gaining a lot of weight even though you never see him or her eat.
*Your friend frequently takes laxatives, steroids, or diet pills.
*Your friend has a tendency to faint, bruises easily, is very pale, or starts complaining of being cold more than usual (cold intolerance can be a symptom of being underweight).

If your friend has these symptoms and you're concerned, the first thing to do might be to talk to your friend, privately, about what you have noticed. Tell your friend that you're worried. Be as gentle as possible, and try to really listen to and be supportive of your friend and what he or she is going through.

It's normal for a person with an eating disorder to be defensive and angry when confronted for the first time. Try not to get angry back at your friend; just remind him or her that you care. Trying to help someone who doesn't think he or she needs help can be hard - people with eating disorders often have trouble admitting, even to themselves, that they have a problem. Of course, it's not your job to diagnose your friend - that's the job of a doctor. But if your friend is willing to seek help, offer to go with him or her to see a counselor or a medical expert.

If your concerns increase and your friend still seems to be in denial, talk to your parents, the school guidance counselor or nurse, or your friend's parents. This isn't easy to do because it can feel like betraying a friend, but it's often necessary to get your friend the help he or she needs.

An eating disorder is a very difficult illness. You can support your friend by learning as much as you can about eating disorders. Your friend's body image and behavior may be a symptom of another underlying illness. There are lots of organizations, books, websites, hotlines, or other resources devoted to helping people who are battling eating disorders.

Being a supportive friend also means learning how to behave around someone with an eating disorder. Here are some things you can do to support a friend who is battling an eating problem:

*Avoid talking about food.
*Avoid being overly watchful of your friend's eating habits, food amounts, and choices.
*Avoid making statements like, "If you'd just eat or stop exercising, you'll get better."
*Avoid reinforcing the idea that this is all about your friend's physical appearance.
*Most importantly, remind your friend that you care - no matter how he or she looks.


-------
Someone's always stealing my tuna,
even though it's clearly labelled "Bob's Tuna."
It just makes me so mad I want to scream.