EATING DISORDERS:

OBJECTIVES:

1. Explain the characteristics, signs and symptoms

of eating disorders
2. Discuss ways of preventing and controlling eating
disorders
3. Apply decision-making and critical thinking skills
to prevent nutritional problems of adolescents.
EATING DISORDERS:

Look in the mirror. What do you see? Is it the real

you or just another "me"?
 WHAT IS AN EATING DISORDER?
are diseases that cause severe
malnutrition, including extreme
thinness, as a result of abnormal
eating behaviors such as binge-
eating, self-vomiting and they stem
from an intense fear of obesity.
CHARACTERISTICS OF EATING DISORDERS
The characteristics of eating disorder, which stem from the
desire to be slim and a fear of obesity, are marked by body weight
loss due to binge-eating and purging behaviors such as self-
vomiting and the abuse of purgative agents.
The most common eating disorders among adolescents are
Anorexia Nervosa, Bulimia Nervosa and Binge-Eating Disorder.
TYPES OF EATING DISORDERS
◼ Anorexia Nervosa
◼ Bulimia Nervosa
◼ Binge Eating Disorder
◼ Not Otherwise Specified (NOS)
ANOREXIA NERVOSA: WHAT IS IT?
ANOREXIA NERVOSA:
• Teenagers with Anorexia Nervosa may take
extreme measures to avoid eating and control
the quantity and quality of the foods they do
eat.
• They may become abnormally thin, or thin for
their body, and still talk about feeling fat.
• They typically continue to diet even at very
unhealthy weights because they have a
distorted image of their body. Their fear of
being overweight is too strong.
ANOREXIA NERVOSA: WARNING SIGNS
❖ A distorted view of one’s body weight, size or shape; sees self
as too fat, even when very underweight
❖ Restricting, hiding or discarding food
❖ Obsessively counting calories and/or grams of fat in the diet
❖ Denial of feelings of hunger
❖ Developing rituals around preparing food and eating
❖ Compulsive or excessive exercise
❖ Social withdrawal
❖ Pronounced emotional changes, such as irritability, depression
and anxiety
❖ Physical signs of Anorexia Nervosa include rapid or excessive
weight loss; feeling cold, tired and weak; thinning hair;
absence of menstrual cycles in females; and dizziness or
fainting.
Teenagers with Anorexia Nervosa often restrict not only
food, but relationships, social activities and pleasurable
experiences.
HEALTH RISKS WITH ANOREXIA
◼ Heart failure
◼ Kidney failure
◼ Low protein stores
◼ Digestive problems
BULIMIA NERVOSA: WHAT IS IT?
 BULIMIA NERVOSA

▪ Teenagers with Bulimia Nervosa typically ‘binge and purge’ by

engaging in uncontrollable episodes of overeating (bingeing)
usually followed by compensatory behavior such as:
- purging through vomiting,
- use of laxatives,
- enemas, fasting,
- or excessive exercise.
People with this disorder are too much concerned with their
weight. Eating binges may occur as often as several times a day but are
most common in the evening and night hours.
Teenagers with Bulimia Nervosa often go unnoticed due to the
ability to maintain a normal body weight.
 Signs of Bulimia Nervosa may include:
❖ Eating unusually large amounts of food with no apparent change in weight
❖ Hiding food or discarded food containers and wrappers
❖ Excessive exercise or fasting
❖ Peculiar eating habits or rituals
❖ Frequent trips to the bathroom after meals
❖ Inappropriate use of laxatives, diuretics, or other cathartics
❖ Overachieving and impulsive behaviors
❖ Frequently clogged showers or toilets

Physical signs of Bulimia Nervosa include discolored teeth, odor on the breath, stomach pain,
calluses/scarring on the hands caused by self-inducing vomiting, irregular or absent menstrual periods,
and weakness or fatigue.
Teenagers with Bulimia Nervosa often have a preoccupation with body weight and shape, as well as
a distorted body image. The clinical diagnosis commonly defines Bulimia Nervosa if they binge and
purge on average once a week for at least three consecutive months.
HEALTH RISKS WITH BULIMIA
 Dental problems
 Stomach rupture

 Menstruation irregularities
BINGE EATING DISORDER: WHAT IS
IT?
BINGE EATING DISORDER

is characterized by a sense of
uncontrollable excessive/compulsive eating,
followed by feelings of shame and guilt. Unlike
those with Bulimia Nervosa, however, teenagers
with Binge Eating Disorder typically do not
compensate for their binges.
Teenagers with Binge Eating Disorder may
feel like they have no control over their
behavior and eat in secret when they are not
hungry.
Signs of Binge Eating Disorder might include:
❖ Eating an unusually large amount of food in a distinct period of time
(within 2 hours)
❖ Hiding food or discarded food containers and wrappers
❖ Eating in secret because of feeling embarrassed by how much they are
eating
❖ Eating when stressed or when feeling uncertain how to cope
❖ Feeling that they are unable to control how much they eat and
disgusted with themselves afterwards
❖ Experimentation with different diets

Most of the physical signs and symptoms associated with Binge Eating Disorder are
long-term, including weight gain, high blood pressure, diabetes, irregular menstrual
cycle, skin disorders and heart disease.
Similar to Bulimia Nervosa, Binge Eating Disorder is commonly diagnosed if
teenagers binge on average once a week for at least three consecutive months.
HEALTH RISKS WITH
BINGE EATING DISORDER
◼ High blood pressure
◼ High cholesterol
◼ Gall bladder disease
◼ Diabetes
◼ Heart disease
◼ Certain types of cancer
WHY DO PEOPLE DEVELOP EATING
DISORDERS?
◼ Behaviors are unhealthy coping mechanisms

▪ Factors to consider
▪ Psychological
▪ Interpersonal
▪ Social/Cultural
▪ Biological
PSYCHOLOGICAL FACTORS
◼ Low self-esteem
◼ Feelings of inadequacy or failure
◼ Feeling out of control
◼ Response to change (puberty)
◼ Response to stress (sports, dance)
◼ Personal illness
INTERPERSONAL FACTORS
 Troubled family and personal relationships
 Difficulty expressing emotions and feelings

 History of being teased or ridiculed based on

size or weight
 History of physical or sexual abuse
SOCIAL AND CULTURAL FACTORS
 Cultural pressures that glorify thinness and place value
on obtaining the perfect body
 Narrow definitions of beauty that include only women
and men of specific body weights and shapes
 Cultural norms that value people on the basis of physic l
a
appearance and not inner qualities and strengths
 BIOLOGICAL FACTORS

◼ Eating disorders often run in families (learn

coping skills and attitudes in family)
◼ Genetic component—research about brain
and eating in taking place (certain chemicals
in the brain control hunger, appetite and
digestion have been found unbalanced).
PREVENTION OF EATING DISORDER

Recommended treatment for adolescent eating

disorders usually involves a multidisciplinary
approach. Treatment should include medical;
- Psychiatric; Individual, group and, in particular,
family therapy; along with nutritional
rehabilitation aimed at restoring health and body
weight and eventually modifying behaviors
related to eating and exercise.
- Treatment should always be based on a
comprehensive evaluation of the individual and
family.
PREVENTION OF EATING DISORDER

The frequency of medical complications during

the course of treatment requires the close
supervision of a medical professional.
Medication may be required if certain psychiatric
disorders are also present; most commonly
depression and anxiety disorders.
Teenagers may have obsessive-compulsive
disorder or tendencies, and may also suffer from
trauma or substance abuse, or engage in self-
harming behavior, such as cutting or burning. It is
important that eating disorder treatment works to
identify and address these co-occurring disorders.
PREVENTION OF EATING DISORDER

Individual therapy usually includes both

behavioral and cognitive techniques.
Group therapy allows individuals struggling with
eating disorders to find a place where they can open
up and be honest and real about their struggles,
relate to others, and receive much needed support.
Family therapy is initially focused on
supporting the family in nutritional rehabilitation
and later, offering the opportunity to navigate other
challenges of adolescence and mental health.
PREVENTION OF EATING DISORDER

Nutritional counseling includes a

combination of nutrition education, meal
planning and goal setting. It also may include
hands-on experiential and skills work.
Treatment helps the individual recovering
from an eating disorder cultivate a healthier
relationship with food in order to gain the
skills and education needed to eventually
feed oneself going forward.