Eating Disorders

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Eating Disorders

• A Hard Habit to Break!

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What is Anorexia Nervosa?

• Anorexia nervosa, in the most simple terms, is
  self-starvation.
• Anorexics feel there is a serious disturbance in
  the way they feel about food, weight, and body
  image.
• Anorexics are also often characterized as
  stubborn, vain, appearance-obsessed people who
  simply do not know when to stop dieting.

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How do Anorexics see life?

• Food and eating dominate the life of a person
  with anorexia nervosa.
• Body weight and shape become the main or even
  sole measures of self-worth.
• Maintaining an extremely low weight becomes
  equated with beauty, success, self-esteem, and
  self-control and is not seen as a problem.
• People with an eating disorder think about food,
  weight, and body image constantly.

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What causes Anorexia Nervosa?

• Cultural pressures
• Psychological issues
• Family environment
• Genetic factors
• Life transitions
• Perpetuating factors

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Cultural Pressures

• In many societies, being extremely thin is the
  standard of beauty for women and represents
  success, happiness, and self-control.
• Women are bombarded with messages from the media
  that they must diet to meet this standard.
  However, this idealized ultra-thin body shape is
  almost impossible for most women to achieve since
  it does not fit with the biological and inherited
  factors that determine natural body weight.

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Psychological Issues

• Psychological characteristics that can make a
  person more likely to develop anorexia nervosa
  include
• Low self-esteem
• Feelings of ineffectiveness
• Poor body image
• Depression
• Difficulty expressing feelings
• Rigid thinking patterns
• Need for control
• Perfectionism
• Physical or sexual abuse

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Family Environment

• Some family styles may contribute to the
  development of anorexia nervosa. Families of
  people with the disorder are more likely to be
• Overprotective
• Rigid
• Suffocating in their closeness
• In these cases, anorexia nervosa develops as
  a struggle for independence and individuality. It
  is likely to surface in adolescence when new
  demands for independence occur.
• Overvaluing appearance and thinness
• Criticizing a child's weight or shape
• Being physically or sexually abusive

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Genetic Factors

• Anorexia nervosa occurs eight times more often in
  people who have relatives with the disorder.
  However, experts do not know exactly what the
  inherited factor may be.
• In addition, anorexia nervosa occurs more often
  in families with a history of depression or
  alcohol abuse.

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Life Transitions

• Life transitions can often trigger anorexia
  nervosa in someone who is already vulnerable
  because of the factors described above. Examples
  include
• Beginning of adolescence
• Beginning or failing in school or at work
• Breakup of a relationship
• Death of a loved one
• Dieting and losing weight can also set off
  anorexia nervosa

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Perpetuating Factors

• Once anorexia nervosa has developed, several
  factors can perpetuate the disorder. These
  factors include
• Symptoms of starvation
• Other people's reactions to the weight loss
• Emotional needs filled by feelings of
  self-control, virtue, and power from controlling
  one's weight
• The resulting cycle makes it more difficult to
  stop the disorder and become healthy again.

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The resulting cycle makes it more difficult to
stop the disorder and become healthy again.
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What Medical Problems Can Anorexia Nervosa Cause?

• Problems associated in weight loss include
  lowering of
• Heart rate
• Blood pressure
• Breathing rate
• Body temperature (which may result in feeling
  cold)
• Other Physical problems include
• Thinning or drying of the hair Lanugo" hair (a
  fine hair that develops on the face, back, or
  arms and legs)
• Dry skin
• Restlessness and reduced sleep
• Yellowish color on the palms of the hands and
  soles of the feet
• Lack of or infrequent menstrual periods
• Death!

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Facts about Anorexia Nervosa

• About 90 to 95 are females between ages 13 and
  30. However, anorexia nervosa can also occur in
  males and people of all ages.
• Although anorexia nervosa is most common in the
  white upper and middle class, it occurs in people
  of all racial, ethnic, and socioeconomic
  backgrounds.

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Anorexia Facts Cont

• People in certain occupations that emphasize
  leanness to improve performance and appearance
  are at increased risk for developing anorexia
  nervosa. These include dancers, gymnasts, figure
  skaters, runners, wrestlers, cheerleaders,
  sorority girls, and models.

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Celebrities battling the disease Anorexia Nervosa
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Reflection Questions

• Do you compare yourself to magazines,
  celebrities, actors, or models?
• When you do, do you think about it all day?
• Do you think the media plays a huge part in the
  role of eating disorders today? Why?
• Do you think someone can cure themselves from
  Anorexia or Bulimia?
• What do you think can be done to help with the
  increase in eating disorders?

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Bulimia Nervosa

• Bulimia is characterized by episodes of
  binge-eating followed by inappropriate methods of
  weight control (purging). Inappropriate methods
  of weight control include vomiting, fasting,
  enemas, excessive use of laxatives and diuretics,
  or compulsive exercising.
• A binge is an episode where an individual eats a
  much larger amount of food than most people would
  in a similar situation.
• Binge eating is not a response to intense hunger.
  It is usually a response to depression, stress,
  or self esteem issues.
• During the binge episode, the individual
  experiences a loss of control.

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What Causes Bulimia?

• Biology
• Culture
• Personal feelings
• Stressful events or life changes
• Families

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Biology

• There are studies being done to look at many
  genes, hormones, and chemicals in the brain that
  may have an effect on the development of, and
  recovery from, bulimia.

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Personal feelings

• Things like starting a new school or job, being
  teased, or traumatic events like rape can lead to
  the onset of bulimia.

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Culture

• Some cultures in the U.S. have an ideal of
  extreme thinness. Women may define themselves on
  how beautiful they are.

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Families

• The attitude of parents about appearance and diet
  affects their kids. Also, a person is more likely
  to develop bulimia if a mother or sister has it

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What are signs of bulimia?

• People with bulimia may be underweight,
  overweight, or have a normal weight. This makes
  it harder to know if someone has this disorder.
  However, someone with bulimia may have these
  signs

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Uses extreme measures to lose weight

• uses diet pills, or takes pills to urinate or
  have a bowel movement (BM)
• goes to the bathroom all the time after she eats
  (to throw up)
• exercises a lot, even during bad weather,
  tiredness, sickness, or injury

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Shows signs of throwing up

• swelling of the cheeks or jaw area
• cuts and calluses on the back of the hands and
  knuckles
• teeth that look clear

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What are the symptoms of Bulimia?

• Eating uncontrollably, purging, strict dieting,
  fasting, vigorous exercise Vomiting or abusing
  laxatives or diuretics in an attempt to lose
  weight Vomiting blood Using the bathroom
  frequently after meals Preoccupation with body
  weight Depression or mood swings Feeling out
  of control Swollen glands in neck and face
  Heartburn, bloating, indigestion, constipation
  Irregular periods Dental problems Sore
  throat Weakness, exhaustion Bloodshot eyes

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What happens to someone who has bulimia?
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Celebrities battling Bulimia
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Reflection Questions

• What would you do if you knew someone with an
  eating disorder?
• Can one friend pass the disease to another
  friend?
• Do you think it is easy to cure an eating
  disorder?