What do you know about eating disorders? Also, what kinds of diets have people that you know tried?

Fad Diets and Eating Disorders

KEY TERMS

Fad DietsWeight CyclingEating Disorder

Anorexia NervosaBulimia NervosaBinge Eating Disorder

Weight loss plans that are popular for only a short time

Any weight lost on fad diets is usually regained

Limited on what you can eat

Doesn’t provide proper nutrients

The repeated pattern of loss and regain of body weight

Slow and steady weight loss is the best strategy for long lasting results

An extreme, harmful eating behavior that can cause serious illness or even death

May be brought on by mental and emotional factors such as poor body image, social and family pressures, and perfectionism

About 90% are females

It is estimated that 8 million Americans have an eating disorder – seven million women and one million men

One in 200 American women suffers from anorexia

Two to three in 100 American women suffers from bulimia

Nearly half of all Americans personally know someone with an eating disorder (Note: One in five Americans suffers from mental illnesses.)

An estimated 10 – 15% of people with anorexia or bulimia are males

Is a disorder in which the irrational fear of becoming obese results in severe weight loss from self imposed starvation

Develops most often in teenage girls

Symptoms include:

• Extremely low calorie intake

• obsession with exercising

• emotional problems

• unnatural interest in food, distorted body image

• denial of a problem

Consequences include

Malnutrion

Starvation

Reduction of body fat may cause females to stop menstrurating

Loss of bone density

Low body temperature

Slowed metabolism

Reduction in organ size

Treatment

A stay at home clinic, or hospital where the person can receive nutrients to regain weight and strength

Psychological treatment to address the problems that led to the disorder

A disorder in which some sort of purging or cleaning of the digestive tract follows cycles of over eating.

After eating, a person may vomit or take laxatives to purge the food from the body

Symptoms

Include distorted body image and an unnatural interest in food

Consequences

Repeated binging, purging, and fasting can cause serious health problems, even death

Frequent vomiting and diarrhea can lead to dehydration, kidney damage, and irregular heartbeat

Vomiting also destroys tooth enamel; causes tooth decay; damages the tissue of the stomach, esophagus, and mouth

A disorder characterized by compulsive over eating; consume huge amounts of food at one time but do not try to purge

Consequences

Often results in unhealthful weight gain which contributes to health problems such as Type 2 Diabetes, heart disease, and stroke

Increased risk of certain types of cancer have also been associated with this disorder