Eating disorder

An eating disorder is a compulsion to eat, or avoid eating, that negatively affects both one's physical and mental health. Eating disorders are all encompassing. They affect every part of the person's life. According to the authors of "Surviving an Eating Disorder," "feelings about work, school, relationships, day-to-day activities and one's experience of emotional well being are determined by what has or has "not" been eaten or by a number on a scale." [Siegel, Michaele, Brisman, Judith and Weinshel, Margot. "Surviving an Eating Disorder." New York: Harper and Row Publishers. 1988.] Anorexia nervosa and bulimia nervosa are the most common eating disorders generally recognized by medical classification schemes, []

While scientists have determined that there are possible biochemical or biological causes leading to eating disorders because certain chemicals which control hunger, appetite or digestions are out of balance, experts such as Dr. Edward J. Cumella, executive director of the Remuda Treatment Programs, states that there are three components to eating disorders: 1. The genetic component; 2. The unique environmental factors, such as personal experiences; and 3) The shared environmental factors, such as culture. According to Dr. Cumella, "Some people are born with a predisposition to having an eating disorder and there are genetic markers that can push a person in the direction of anorexia or bulimia...but it does not guarantee that a person will automatically suffer from an eating disorder. The environment - a person's life experience - still has to pull the trigger." [http://my.webmd.com/content/article/48/39237.html Overcoming Eating Disorders ]

Developmental etiology

Research from a family systems perspective indicates that eating disorders stem from both the adolescent's difficulty in separating from over-controlling parents, and disturbed patterns of communication. When parents are critical and unaffectionate, their children are more prone to becoming self-destructive and self-critical, and have difficulty developing the skills to engage in self-care giving behaviors. Such developmental failures in early relationships with others, particularly maternal empathy, impairs the development of an internal sense of self and leads to an over-dependence on the environment. When coping strategies have not been developed in the family system, food and drugs serve as a substitute. [citation|last = Weiner|first = Sydell|title = The Addiction of Overeating: Self-Help Groups as Treatment Models|year = 1998|volume = 54|issue = 2|pages = 163–167|journal = Journal of Clinical Psychology|issn=0021-9762|doi = 10.1002/(SICI)1097-4679(199802)54:2<163::AID-JCLP5>3.0.CO;2-T]

Trauma

Eating disorders should also be understood in the context of experienced trauma, with many eating problems beginning as survival strategies rather than vanity or obsession with appearance. According to sociologist Becky Thompson, eating disorders stemming from women of varying socio-economic status, sexual orientation and race, and finds that eating disorders and a disconnected relationship with one's body is commonly a response to environmental stresses, including sexual, physical, and emotional abuse, racism, and poverty. This reality is further detrimental for women of color and other minority women, since they are forced to live in a culture that embraces a narrowly defined conception of beauty: "people furthest from the dominant ideal of beauty, specifically women of color, may suffer the psychological effects of low self-esteem, poor body image, and eating disorders." [citation|title = Asian Eyes: Body Image and Eating Disorders of Asian and Asian-American Women|last = Hall|first = C. I.|journal = Eating Disorders|volume = 3|number = 1|pages = 8–19|year = 1995|publisher = Taylor & Francis|doi = 10.1080/10640269508249141]

Gender Differences

"Frequent dieting and trying to look like persons in the media were independent predictors of binge eating in females of all ages. In males, negative comments about weight by fathers was predictive of starting to binge at least weekly." [ [http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/news/fullstory_65366.html "Risk Factors for Eating Disorders Vary by Gender: Rejecting media images, resilience to negative comments should be focus of prevention,"] Kevin McKeever, "HealthDay," June 3, 2008.]

Exercise addiction is common in men and women, especially in those who suffer from eating disorders and obsessive-compulsive disorder. It is the result of a fear of becoming fat, a rude dislike of the piknoid body type and allowing their need to stay fit to overtake their lives. Exercise addicts are risking their health in order to get a "runner's high." [ [http://www.brainphysics.com/exercise-addiction.php "Exercise addiction and dependence"] Hollyann E. Jenkins, "BrainPhysics," Aug 29, 2008. ] They are in search of the ideal body type and place the importance of exercise above the needs of their children, parents, friends and health.

Diagnosis

Clinically, eating disorders are evaluated using instruments such as the Questionnaire of Eating and Weight Patterns (QEWP), which has specialized versions for adolescents and parents (QEWP-A, and QEWP-P). In addition to evaluating eating patterns, these tests also measure depression.cite journal |last=Johnson |first=William G. |coauthors=Grieve, Frederick G.; Adams, Christina D.; Sandy, Jamie |title=Measuring Binge Eating in Adolescents: Adolescent and Parent Versions of the Questionnaire of Eating and Weight Patterns |month=January |year=1998 |journal=International Journal of Eating Disorders |issn=0276-3478 |doi=10.1002/(SICI)1098-108X(199911)26:3<301::AID-EAT8>3.0.CO;2-M |pmid=10441246 |volume=26 |pages=301]

References

*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*

External links

* [http://www.anad.org/ National Association of Anorexia Nervosa and Associated Disorders]
* [http://www.nationaleatingdisorders.org/ National Eating Disorders Association]