EATING DISORDER AND FOUR TYPES OF EATING
Eating disorders are a range of psychological conditions that cause unhealthy eating
habits to develop. They might start with an obsession with food, body weight, or body shape.
In severe cases, eating disorders can cause serious health consequences and may
even result in death if left untreated.
Those with eating disorders can have a variety of symptoms. However, most include the
severe restriction of food, food binges, or purging behaviors like vomiting or over-exercising.
Why there is eating disorders?
1. Genetic. Some genes identified in the contribution to eating disorders have been shown
to be associated with specific personality traits. They are believed to be highly heritable
and often exist prior to the onset of the eating disorder. These traits are: Obsessive
thinking, Perfectionistic tendencies, Sensitivity to reward and punishment, Emotional
instability, Hypersensitivity, Impulsivity, Strictness.
2. Biochemical. Individuals with eating disorders may have abnormal levels of certain
chemicals that regulate such processes as appetite, mood, sleep and stress. For
instance, both people with bulimia and anorexia have higher levels of the stress
hormone cortisol. Some research also suggests that individuals with anorexia have too
much serotonin, which keeps them in a constant state of stress.
3. Psychological. Various psychological factors can contribute to eating disorders. In fact,
eating disorders are common in individuals who struggle with clinical depression, anxiety
disorders and obsessive-compulsive disorder. Other factors include: (1) Low self-
esteem; (2) Feelings of hopelessness and inadequacy; (3) Trouble coping with emotions
or expressing your emotions; (4) Perfectionism; and (5) Impulsivity.
4. Cultural. Dieting, body dissatisfaction and wanting to be thin are all factors that increase
the risk for an eating disorder. Unfortunately, our society encourages all three. You can’t
walk by a cash register without seeing a magazine that encourages rapid weight loss,
calorie counting or feeling guilty after a meal. Here are some aspects of our culture that
contribute to eating disorders: (1) An over-emphasis on appearance, at the expense of
more meaningful attributes; (2) Societal beauty standards that promote an unrealistically
thin body shape; (3) Associating thinness with positive qualities like attractiveness,
health, success and love; (4) Media’s focus on dieting and striving for a slim and toned
silhouette; and (5) Messages that perpetuate a fear of fat and food; viewing fat as
undesirable or foods as “good,” “bad” or “sinful”.
5. Environmental. Your environment can also play a major role in developing an eating
disorder. These factors include: (1) Family or other relationship problems; (2) Difficult or
turbulent childhood; (3) History of physical or sexual abuse; (4) Activities that encourage
thinness or focus on weight, such as gymnastics, dancing, running, wrestling and
modeling; (5) Peer pressure; and (5) Being bullied because of weight or appearance in
general.
Common Types of Eating Disorder
1. Anorexia nervosa
It generally develops during adolescence or young adulthood and tends to affect
more women than men.
People with anorexia generally view themselves as overweight, even if they’re
dangerously underweight. They tend to constantly monitor their weight, avoid eating
certain types of foods, and severely restrict their calories. Common symptoms of
anorexia nervosa include: (1) being considerably underweight compared with people
of similar age and height; (2) very restricted eating patterns; (3) an intense fear of
gaining weight or persistent behaviors to avoid gaining weight, despite being
underweight; (4) a relentless pursuit of thinness and unwillingness to maintain a
healthy weight; (4) a heavy influence of body weight or perceived body shape on
self-esteem; and (5) a distorted body image, including denial of being seriously
underweight.
2. Bulimia nervosa
Like anorexia, bulimia tends to develop during adolescence and early adulthood
and appears to be less common among men than women. People with bulimia
frequently eat unusually large amounts of food in a specific period of time. Binges
can happen with any type of food but most commonly occur with foods the individual
would normally avoid.
Individuals with bulimia then attempt to purge to compensate for the calories
consumed and relieve gut discomfort. Common purging behaviors include forced
vomiting, fasting, laxatives, diuretics, enemas, and excessive exercise. Symptoms
may appear very similar to those of the binge eating or purging subtypes of anorexia
nervosa. However, individuals with bulimia usually maintain a relatively normal
weight, rather than becoming underweight. Common symptoms of bulimia nervosa
include: (1) recurrent episodes of binge eating with a feeling of lack of control; (2)
recurrent episodes of inappropriate purging behaviors to prevent weight gain; (3) a
self-esteem overly influenced by body shape and weight; and (4) a fear of gaining
weight, despite having a normal weight.
Side effects of bulimia may include an inflamed and sore throat, swollen salivary
glands, worn tooth enamel, tooth decay, acid reflux, irritation of the gut, severe
dehydration, and hormonal disturbances.
In severe cases, bulimia can also create an imbalance in levels of electrolytes,
such as sodium, potassium, and calcium. This can cause a stroke or heart attack.
3. Binge eating disorder
It typically begins during adolescence and early adulthood, although it can
develop later on. Individuals with this disorder have symptoms similar to those of
bulimia or the binge eating subtype of anorexia.
For instance, they typically eat unusually large amounts of food in relatively short
periods of time and feel a lack of control during binges.
People with binge eating disorder do not restrict calories or use purging
behaviors, such as vomiting or excessive exercise, to compensate for their binges.
Common symptoms of binge eating disorder include: (1) eating large amounts of
foods rapidly, in secret and until uncomfortably full, despite not feeling hungry; (2)
feeling a lack of control during episodes of binge eating; (3) feelings of distress, such
as shame, disgust, or guilt, when thinking about the binge eating behavior; (4) no use
of purging behaviors, such as calorie restriction, vomiting, excessive exercise, or
laxative or diuretic use, to compensate for the binging; and (5) People with binge
eating disorder often have overweight or obesity. This may increase their risk of
medical complications linked to excess weight, such as heart disease, stroke, and
type 2 diabetes.
4. Avoidant/restrictive food intake disorder (ARFID)
The term replaces what was known as a "feeding disorder of infancy and early
childhood," a diagnosis previously reserved for children under 7 years old. Although
ARFID generally develops during infancy or early childhood, it can persist into
adulthood. What's more, it’s equally common among men and women.
Individuals with this disorder experience disturbed eating either due to a lack of
interest in eating or distaste for certain smells, tastes, colors, textures, or
temperatures. Common symptoms of ARFID include: (1) avoidance or restriction of
food intake that prevents the person from eating sufficient calories or nutrients; (2)
eating habits that interfere with normal social functions, such as eating with others;
(3) weight loss or poor development for age and height; and (4) nutrient deficiencies
or dependence on supplements or tube feeding.
It's important to note that ARFID goes beyond normal behaviors, such as picky
eating in toddlers or lower food intake in older adults.
Moreover, it does not include the avoidance or restriction of foods due to lack of
availability or religious or cultural practices.
“Eating disorders are illnesses, not character flaws or choices. Individuals don’t choose
to have an eating disorder. You also can’t tell whether a person has an eating disorder just by
looking at their appearance. People with eating disorders can be underweight, normal weight or
overweight. It’s impossible to diagnose anyone just by looking at them.” – The Author
Four Types of Eating You Should Know Fueling for Performance
Nutrition is critical for both academic and sports performance. Student- athletes need to
fuel early and often in order to meet their daily energy needs. Fueling before exercise has been
shown to improve performance over exercising in the fasted state. Consuming 30 to 60 grams
of carbohydrate each hour during prolonged exercise will prevent the under- fueling trap. It’s just
a matter of timing, wrong timing/ timing of intake definitely cause imbalance nutrition. Because
the body is needed to reach the level of optimum efficiency. People should have ‘food strategies
and time management’. To ensure the timing of food and fluids before, during or after exercise
and especially to those who are non- athletes.
1. Fuel eating. When we engage in fuel eating, we know that we are eating to provide
nutrition to our bodies. Fuel foods are nutrient dense and include foods like fruits,
vegetables, lean meats, complex carbohydrates and healthy fats. Fuel eating should
occur 90% of the time.
2. Joy Eating. This is when you eat food simply because it tastes good. It just tastes
good in your mouth. The secret to joy eating is that you must enjoy it. Examples
include cup cakes, cookies, candy and anything else that tastes delightful but provide
little or no nourishment for our bodies. Chocolate cupcakes from A Piece of
Cake are my joy food. Eating for joy 10% of the time is a healthy balance.
3. Fog Eating. This is when you eat and are not conscious of it. It could be eating a
bag of chips while watching our favorite program on television and not realizing how
much until the bag of chips is empty. It is eating when you are not hungry or eating
when you are distracted. You should NEVER fog eat if you can recognize it.
4. Storm Eating. This is eating when you are not hungry, however you realize it but
feel that you can’t stop even though you may want to. This is similar to binge eating.
Storm eating can happen when you have been on a diet and deprived yourself of a
particular food. Storm eating can also happen when you feel a great sense of
emotion and feel out of control. After a storm eat it is important to wait until you’re
hungry and eat your fuel food again.
Categorizing you’re eating helps to understand when you are eating for reasons
other than nourishment and gives you a guideline on what you need to do to lose
weight or maintain a healthy lifestyle.
Some tips: 1. Know your limitations 2. Eat fruits and vegetables 3. Control
yourself
