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An eating disorder is a condition when a person is preoccupied with food, eating and their body weight and size. This condition can disrupt everyday behaviours, thoughts and decisions. The longer a person experiences an eating disorder, the more difficult it is to recover and become healthy. Eating disorders can cause many harmful effects to a person's health including mental, physical and social problems. For this reason, it is very important to get help as quickly as possible.
There are three main types of eating disorders:
Anorexia Nervosa
A person with Anorexia Nervosa will use unhealthy practices to restrict their food intake. These people will often experience extreme and dangerously unhealthy weight loss caused by excessive dieting. They usually have a negative body image and see themselves very differently than other people do.
Common symptoms of Anorexia Nervosa are:
- An obsession with being thin combined with an extreme fear of gaining weight or being fat
- Losing large amounts of weight without a valid cause (i.e. another illness)
- Restricting food intake even when feeling hungry
- Abusing laxatives or diet pills, vomiting and excessive exercise to rid the body of calories from food
- Physical signs of starvation such as loss of hair; dry, pasty skin; no menstrual periods; yellowing palms or soles of feet
A person with Anorexia Nervosa may experience a combination of these symptoms along with symptoms of Bulimia Nervosa. This condition can cause serious and life-threatening effects to a person's health.
Bulimia Nervosa
A person with Bulimia Nervosa will experience periods of binge eating followed by purging. These people will often eat a large amount of food quickly in an uncontrolled way. Afterwards, there is a powerful urge to rid the body of the food in some way. .
Common symptoms of Bulimia Nervosa are:
- Feeling out of control when eating
- Using unhealthy behaviours to rid the body of food after eating, including vomiting, taking laxatives, diet pills or diuretics, excessive exercise and skipping meals
- Constantly worrying about body weight and image. Weight may also go up and down frequently
- Physical symptoms of vomiting may include swelling of the cheeks or jaw area, hard and thick areas on the back of hands, and/or discoloured teeth
Bulimia Nervosa, like Anorexia Nervosa can be a life-threatening condition and can affect many areas of a person's life including close relationships with friends and family.
Binge Eating Disorder
People with Binge Eating Disorders eat large amounts of food at one time. This may be a result of extreme dieting and/or food restriction. Unlike people suffering from Bulimia Nervosa, those with Binge Eating Disorder do not take measures such as vomiting or laxatives to rid the body of food after binge eating. These people often overeat to comfort themselves emotionally.
Common symptoms of Binge Eating Disorder are:
- Eating large amounts of food in one sitting with no control on when to stop
- Eating in secret
- Restricting food for a long period of time to the point of over eating at the next meal
- Having feelings of guilt and shame about binge eating
- Feeling uncomfortably full after eating
Seeking Help:
If you think that you or someone you care about might have an eating disorder, it is very important to get professional help as soon as possible. The quicker you get help, the easier it will be for you to get your health back on track.
There are many ways you can get help with an eating disorder:
Your Doctor's Office
Speaking with your family doctor about your symptoms is the best place to start. Your family doctor can help you in the right direction towards finding professional help.
The Hamilton Family Health Team
If you are a patient of the Hamilton Family Health Team, you have access to one-on-one counselling with a Registered Dietitian who specializes in Eating Disorders. They can help you with normalizing your food intake and developing an eating plan for improving your health. Speak to your family doctor about connecting you with a Registered Dietitian.
Online Resources
There are a number of online resources to help you learn more about your condition as well as on where to find help:
The National Eating Disorder Information Centre provides helpful information on eating disorders and where to find professional help in your area.
Danielle's Place is an organization that offers support and help to those suffering from an eating disorder. They provide resources, self-help tools and special events designed to help and motivate people to overcome their struggles with an eating disorder.