Eating Disorders - Causes, Symptoms and Recovery

Statistically, at least 1 in 3 Americans can be considered diet obsessive.

And why not?

We are constantly being bombarded with imagery of fantastic looking size zero supermodels wearing gazillion dollar perfume and diamonds. They're always fastened to the arm of some bad-boy-hottie driving a Rolls Silver Shadow parked outside of a five-star restaurant.

The message? If you look like me, you can have all of this.

The sad reality for an increasing number people, especially young women, is that our obsessive relationship with food is spiraling into a national health tragedy.

• 8 million people in the United States (90% of which are women) suffer from eating disorders
• 3% of all young women and girls suffer from Anorexia Nervosa
• Between 3 and 4% of all young women and girls suffer from Bulimia Nervosa
• 1% of men suffer from eating disorders
• Many more suffer from lessor forms of these conditions
• Eating disorders have the highest mortality rate of any psychological disease.

Anorexia Nervosa is characterized by starvation and an intense fear of gaining weight. The sufferer has an extremely distorted sense of their body image, and no matter how dangerously thin they become, they will continue to see themselves as too fat. Typically they will reach the point where intake of all kinds of foods is limited, and what they do eat is dispelled by self-induced vomiting or by taking laxatives.

Bulimia Nervosa is characterized by frequent (at least twice a week) episodes of out of control eating, called binges, where the sufferer consumes an amount of food that far exceeds the norm for the same period of time. The bulimic then controls potential weight gain through the use of vomiting, laxatives, fasting, or excessive exercise. This is a particularly dangerous disorder because a bulimic's weight will usually only vary slightly from the normal range, and therefore appears normal.

Binge Eating Disorder is characterized by binge (out of control) eating. Unlike the bulimic, the binge eater does not attempt to mitigate the certain weight gain that results from the episode. Instead, they remain clinically obese.

Causes of Eating Disorders:

Eating disorders are the result of many factors. They include:

• A lack of control in one's personal life
• A need for social approval
• Food addiction
• Low self-esteem

Statistically, sufferers will tend to be white women from middle, or upper-middle class families where there has been a heavy emphasis placed on achievements and appearance.

They will often have other disorders:

• 50% suffer from clinical depression
• 25% suffer from alcoholism
• Other statistically significant problems include other addictions like gambling and compulsive stealing.

Treatments for Eating Disorders:

There are over 50 dangerous, sometimes even deadly, diseases and conditions associated with eating disorders. For this reason, treatment almost always focuses initially on the threat to life. After that, the focus shifts to a therapy-based approach involving not only the sufferer, but friends and family as well. A therapist that specializes in eating disorders will best be able to help keep the focus on the factors (social, psychological, physiological, etc.) that have contributed to the problem.

If you believe that you or someone you love may be suffering from an eating disorder, seek professional help immediately. Eating disorders are dangerous and they do not go away by themselves. Eating disorders will eventually lead to irrevocable damage to the body and its organs, and often to death.