Eating disorders are common and can have very serious effects on the human body. In the United States, it’s understood that up to 30 million people have suffered from some type of eating disorder at some stage in their life. Eating disorders usually stem from mental health conditions and often require medical attention to solve. These physiological conditions cause unhealthy eating patterns to begin and persist. The common cause of these habits is a bad mental relationship with body shape or image, food, and weight.
There are various eating disorders. Each of which has its own symptoms and causes. If you know someone who could potentially be suffering from an eating disorder, you should ensure they receive appropriate help.
Anorexia Nervosa
Anorexia nervosa is the most common form of eating disorder. It is often referred to as anorexia. It is an eating disorder usually developed at a young age, being more common in women.
Those with anorexia usually develop an unhealthy relationship with food due to a number of different reasons. It could be due to a fear of gaining weight, avoiding a balanced diet, or improper intake of calories. This can cause someone who is already underweight to eat improperly. This can be very damaging to the body. It can directly affect hair, nails, bones, sexual organs, and overall body performance. Anorexia can also cause dysphagia. This can cause an individual to have difficulty swallowing. Dysphagia can be helped by using food-thickening products such as the ones available at Simply Thick.
Bulimia Nervosa
Like anorexia, bulimia is more common in women than men. It usually involves an individual eating overly large food portions in one sitting at a particular time. The binge eating usually continues until the person feels extremely ill. It persists due to the fact the person feels they cannot stop or control their eating. This can often cause the one suffering with bulimia to go to extreme lengths to relieve the tension in their stomach. These actions include fasting, vomiting, taking laxatives, and extreme or excessive exercise. It can cause a number of bodily harms. They include hormonal disturbances, dehydration, stomach irritation, and much more.
Pica
Pica is an eating disorder that sees the suffering individuals consume items and materials that aren’t considered food or healthy to eat. Some examples of these non-food items are sand, chalk, cloth, dirt, hair, and more. Pica is most commonly seen in young children, but is also a disorder that affects pregnant women and people who suffer from mental illness. Depending on the substance being consumed, it can have a number of impacts to the human body. They include damage to the digestive system, poisoning, and infection.
Rumination Disorder
Rumination disorder can develop at any stage of a person’s life. The eating disorder will involve an individual chewing and swallowing their food before regurgitating it and chewing it again. Then the food will either be swallowed again or completely spat out. The condition can lead to malnutrition and rapid weight loss. It usually requires therapy to be cured.
