An eating disorder is a psychological condition that causes a severe and persistent
disturbance in eating behaviours. It is associated with attempting to control food to manage
distressing thoughts and emotions. Most eating disorders have an onset during adolescence
and the majority affect women, but it can affect anyone of any age. There are various types
of eating disorder of which the following are the most common. Anorexia nervosa is the
limitation of energy intake relative to need leading to a significantly low body weight in the
context of age, sex, development, and physical health. The person has an Intense fear of
gaining weight or becoming fat, even though they are underweight. There is a disturbance in
how the person perceives their own body weight or shape, an undue influence of body
weight or shape on self-evaluation, and often a denial of the seriousness of the current low
body weight. Anorexia has a higher mortality rate than any other mental health disorder
and around a fifth of deaths are due to suicide. Bulimia nervosa is recurring episodes of
binge eating. An episode of binge eating is characterized by eating excessively during a
period of time and having an apparent lack of control during the binging episode. This is
followed by recurring inappropriate behaviour intended to compensate for binging and
prevent weight gain, such as self-induced vomiting, misuse of laxatives, diuretics, or other
medications, fasting, or excessive exercise. Binge eating disorder is similar to bulimia but is not associated with the recurrent use of inappropriate compensatory behaviours such as
purging. Episodes of binge eating are associated with three (or more) of the following:
Eating much more rapidly than normal; Eating until feeling uncomfortably full; Eating large
amounts of food when not feeling physically hungry; eating alone because of
embarrassment about how much is being eaten. An episode is usually followed by feelings
of disgust, depression, or guilt and can cause noticeable distress. Pica involves eating items
that are not considered to be food and have no nutritional value. Individuals with pica crave
eating non-food substances such as ice, dirt, soil, chalk, soap, paper, hair, cloth, wool,
pebbles, laundry detergent, or corn-starch. Rumination disorder involves the process of
repeated regurgitation of food for a period of at least one month. The regurgitated food
may be re-chewed, re-swallowed, or spat out. This rumination typically occurs within 30
minutes of eating a meal. People with Avoidant Restrictive Food Intake Disorder (ARFID)
experience disturbed eating due to either a lack of interest or a dislike for the sensory
characteristics of food such as certain smells, tastes, colours, textures, or temperatures.
Conditions that are less reported include purging disorder where a person uses vomiting,
laxatives, diuretics, or excessive exercising to control their weight or shape. However, they
do not binge. Night eating syndrome involves frequent and excessive eating at night, usually
soon after awakening from sleep. People with orthorexia have an obsessive focus on healthy
eating to an extent that disrupts their daily lives. They may compulsively check ingredient
lists and nutritional labels and obsessively follow “healthy lifestyle” accounts on social
media. Someone with this condition may eliminate entire food groups, fearing that they are
unhealthy. This can lead to malnutrition, severe weight loss, difficulty eating outside the
home, and emotional distress.
disturbance in eating behaviours. It is associated with attempting to control food to manage
distressing thoughts and emotions. Most eating disorders have an onset during adolescence
and the majority affect women, but it can affect anyone of any age. There are various types
of eating disorder of which the following are the most common. Anorexia nervosa is the
limitation of energy intake relative to need leading to a significantly low body weight in the
context of age, sex, development, and physical health. The person has an Intense fear of
gaining weight or becoming fat, even though they are underweight. There is a disturbance in
how the person perceives their own body weight or shape, an undue influence of body
weight or shape on self-evaluation, and often a denial of the seriousness of the current low
body weight. Anorexia has a higher mortality rate than any other mental health disorder
and around a fifth of deaths are due to suicide. Bulimia nervosa is recurring episodes of
binge eating. An episode of binge eating is characterized by eating excessively during a
period of time and having an apparent lack of control during the binging episode. This is
followed by recurring inappropriate behaviour intended to compensate for binging and
prevent weight gain, such as self-induced vomiting, misuse of laxatives, diuretics, or other
medications, fasting, or excessive exercise. Binge eating disorder is similar to bulimia but is not associated with the recurrent use of inappropriate compensatory behaviours such as
purging. Episodes of binge eating are associated with three (or more) of the following:
Eating much more rapidly than normal; Eating until feeling uncomfortably full; Eating large
amounts of food when not feeling physically hungry; eating alone because of
embarrassment about how much is being eaten. An episode is usually followed by feelings
of disgust, depression, or guilt and can cause noticeable distress. Pica involves eating items
that are not considered to be food and have no nutritional value. Individuals with pica crave
eating non-food substances such as ice, dirt, soil, chalk, soap, paper, hair, cloth, wool,
pebbles, laundry detergent, or corn-starch. Rumination disorder involves the process of
repeated regurgitation of food for a period of at least one month. The regurgitated food
may be re-chewed, re-swallowed, or spat out. This rumination typically occurs within 30
minutes of eating a meal. People with Avoidant Restrictive Food Intake Disorder (ARFID)
experience disturbed eating due to either a lack of interest or a dislike for the sensory
characteristics of food such as certain smells, tastes, colours, textures, or temperatures.
Conditions that are less reported include purging disorder where a person uses vomiting,
laxatives, diuretics, or excessive exercising to control their weight or shape. However, they
do not binge. Night eating syndrome involves frequent and excessive eating at night, usually
soon after awakening from sleep. People with orthorexia have an obsessive focus on healthy
eating to an extent that disrupts their daily lives. They may compulsively check ingredient
lists and nutritional labels and obsessively follow “healthy lifestyle” accounts on social
media. Someone with this condition may eliminate entire food groups, fearing that they are
unhealthy. This can lead to malnutrition, severe weight loss, difficulty eating outside the
home, and emotional distress.