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 disorders, 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 characterised by recurring episodes of binge eating. An episode of binge eating is characterised 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.
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.