What is anorexia?

Characterized by:

•Irrational dread of becoming fat coupled with a pursuit of thinness

•Going to extremes to reach and maintain dangerously low body weight

•No matter how much weight is lost, still not enough

•More the scale dips, the more obsessed they become with food, dieting, and weight loss

ANOREXIA

There are two types of anorexia. In the restricting type of anorexia, weight loss is achieved by restricting calories (following drastic diets, fasting, and exercising to excess). In the purging type of anorexia, weight loss is achieved by vomiting or using laxatives and diuretics.

FOOD BEHAVIOR SIGNS AND SYMPTOMS

•Dieting despite being thin

•Obsession with calories, fat grams, and nutrition

•Pretending to eat or lying about eating

•Preoccupation with food

•Strange or secretive food rituals

APPEARANCE AND BODY IMAGE SIGNS AND SYMPTOMS

•Dramatic weight loss

•Feeling fat, despite being underweight

•Fixation on body image

•Harshly critical of appearance

•Denies being too thin

PURGING SIGNS AND SYMPTOMS

•Using diet pills, laxatives, or diuretics

•Throwing up after eating

•Compulsive exercising

What is bulimia?

Characterized by:

• Frequent episodes of binge eating, followed by frantic efforts to avoid gaining weight

1. During an average binge, you may consume from 3,000 to 5,000 calories in one short hour

2. Panic sets in and you turn to drastic measures to “undo” the binge, such as taking ex-lax, inducing vomiting, or going for a ten-mile run

If you make up for your binges by fasting, exercising to excess, or going on crash diets, this also qualifies as bulimia, bulimia doesn’t necessarily involve purging

BULIMIA

BINGE EATING SIGNS AND SYMPTOMS

•Lack of control over eating

•Secrecy surrounding eating

•Eating unusually large amounts of food

•Disappearance of food

•Alternating between overeating and fasting

PURGING SIGNS AND SYMPTOMS

•Going to the bathroom after meals

•Using laxatives, diuretics, or enemas

•Smell of vomit

•Excessive exercising

PHYSICAL SIGNS AND SYMPTOMS

•Calluses or scars on the knuckles or hands

•Puffy “chipmunk” cheeks

•Discolored teeth

•Not underweight

•Frequent fluctuations in weight

What is binge eating?

Characterized by:

• Compulsive overeating in which people consume huge amounts of food while feeling out of control and powerless to stop

1. Feeling extremely distressed or upset during or after bingeing

2. Unlike bulimia, there are no regular attempts to “make up” for the binges through vomiting, fasting, or over-exercising

BINGE EATING

BEHAVORIAL SYMPTOMS

•Inability to stop eating or control what you’re eating

•Rapidly eating large amounts of food

•Eating even when you’re full

•Hiding or stockpiling food to eat later in secret

•Eating normally around others, but gorging when you’re alone

•Eating continuously throughout the day, with no planned mealtimes

EMOTIONAL SYMPTOMS

•Feeling stress or tension that is only relieved by eating

•Embarrassment over how much you’re eating

•Feeling numb while bingeing—like you’re not really there or you’re on auto-pilot.

•Never feeling satisfied, no matter how much you eat

•Feeling guilty, disgusted, or depressed after overeating

•Desperation to control weight and eating habits

There is no single reason!

Family life› They can control their body› They try to be good enough *Pressure from the Media

- want to be as skinny and “beautiful” as the models

- that is the normal*Pressure from friends

-standards for friends#Karen Carpenter

Because people have these “expectations and pressures” we’re seen to be a certain way› Strive to be perfect› http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-cJAyksN

hIo&feature=related

› Don’t see reality

Gymnastics, wrestling, track, etc. Christy Henrich- Gymnist 22, 47 Ibs,

Heidi Guenther- ballet dancer 22› Feel the need to be at the best physical

shape

Many factors contribute to the cause of eating disorders

Top athletes, models, media, photoshop make “standards” or expectations for what is normal, in a person or athlete, which makes people feel pressured to do anything in order to be skinny/no fat/ have the “perfect body”

More common in athletes than general population and more common in female athletics than male athletics

Leanness-dependent/weight-dependent sports such as wrestling, body-building, gymnastics.

Pressure in sports to be thin/lean, athletes in these sports often fluxgate weight in order to meet demands

Judged sports such as ballet, gymnastics, figure skating are found to bet at the highest risk

Factors such as: perfectionism, high self-expectations, competitiveness, hyperactivity, repetitive exercise routines, compulsiveness, drive, body image distortion, pre-occupation with dieting and weight.

These factors were all found to be common in Athletes and those who have Anorexia. Unfortunately it’s easy to develop if you are an athlete.

External forces are the biggest contributors to the development of eating disorder

A study conducted in 2000 study found that some coaches view some eating disorders symptoms such as excessive exercise, perfectionism, over-compliance, and competitiveness, as desirable. And some parents view a strong desire to please others, namely themselves, as a healthy trait in their children.

- Try to please others- worry about social

acceptance- feel inadequate- spend time thinking

about personal inadequacies,

- dependent on others

Due to the fact that in many sports, athletes with a thin physique and shorter stature perform better, eating disorders have become more common.

Competitive athletes will do whatever it takes to win including sacrificing their physical health in order to perform better.

History of childhood abuse or traumatic experience

Family History Bad Role Models Quality of Parent-Child

relationship Hurtful Relationships

› Reported by 53% of female athletes diagnosed with an eating disorder. (Arthur-Cameselle J., Quatromoni P.)

“The coach is often the key person in the lives of athletes.” (Scoffier S., Maiano C., d’Arripe-Longueville F.)

Pressure to obtain a low body weight› 1/3rd of the boys and 13% of the girls reported dieting

after being directed to by coach. (To Be Thin: Disordered Eating Among Adolescent Elite Athletes and Non-Athletes)

Coaching style› 41% reported pressure to perform as a trigger to the

onset of their eating disorder. (Arthur-Cameselle J., Quatromoni P.)

Hurtful Role Models› Reported by 59% as a trigger to the onset of their

eating disorder. (Arthur-Cameselle J., Quatromoni P.)

Peer Acceptance› Negatively influences disordered eating attitude.

“There is a sociocultural and media-driven emphasis on appearance thinness” (Bonci C, Bonci L, Vanderbunt E, et al.)

Entertainment› Emphasizes “thin ideal” and is a significant factor in the prevalence of eating disorder symptoms among athletes. (Bissel K.)

Sports Media› Found as a significant factor in body dissatisfaction,

bulimia, and drive for thinness among athletes.

•Treatment for Anorexia nervosa and binge eating:•Treatment for eating disorders is a combination of psychotherapy and medical management.

Roughly 30 % of people with anorexia receive treatment; whereas only 6 % of bulimics receive treatment

Sometimes it’s hard to treat because of denial and secrecy:

Arrange to speak w/ friend in a private place Express your concerns Listen to your friend and offer support If you are upset about your friend’s situation,

seek professional counseling and help

1. Why? (Eating disorders are complex mental illnesses with multiple factors, and the last thing you want to do is put him/her on the

spot, after a vulnerable revelation.)

2. But you don't look like you have an eating disorder! (Sounds like: "You're fat!")

3. If you want to lose weight, why don't you just diet and exercise? (This is like telling an alcoholic to just have a "few" drinks.)

4. It's what's on the inside that counts. (Sounds like: "You're ugly.")

5. You look great to me! (You do not know if this is his/her healthy weight, or what s/he may

have done to get here.)

6. How long has it been since you've eaten? (This is unimportant, and sounds callous. Eating

disorders are never, at the heart, about food.)

7. I had a friend once whose sister was bulimic, and she... (Invalidates him/her as an

individual; sounds like you think you know it all. No two eating-disordered people are the

same.)

8. Just eat what you want! (Sounds like: "It's not a big deal.")

9. Nice weather we're having. (Self-explanatory.)

10. ____ (Self-explanatory.)

10 THINGS NOT TO SAY TO SOMEONE WITH AN EATING DISORDER

As future professionals in the field of health we should be aware of:

› Types› Symptoms› Causes› Damage› Treatments

Of eating disorders.