How to Prevent Chronic Effects from Eating Disorders
Due to increasingly impossible societal beauty standards, eating disorders are becoming more and more prevalent in adolescents. By placing too much emphasis on how one eats, drinks and exercises, this can easily turn into an unhealthy obsession and can severely affect people’s physical and mental health.
The first and most commonly known eating disorder is known as anorexia nervosa. There are two types of anorexia nervosa; the first is restrictive, where the patient severely restricts the type and amount of food they consume. The second is known as binge-purge, where they still greatly restrict their intake of food, but have large binging and purging episodes. Binging is defined as eating a large amount of food in a short period of time, and purging means using laxatives or vomiting to get rid of the food consumed. Symptoms of anorexia nervosa include excessively restrictive eating habits and excessive exercise, extreme thinness, unwillingness to retain a healthy weight and body dysmorphia. Over time, this can lead to serious health consequences such as osteoporosis, diabetes, brain damage, mild anemia, muscle and heart damage, as well as organ failure. In severe cases without medical intervention, anorexia nervosa can lead to death.
The second most common eating disorder is binge eating disorder where people lose control of their eating and have recurring episodes of eating unusually large amounts of food, usually until extremely and uncomfortably full. Unlike bulimia nervosa, people with binge eating disorder do not purge, leading to becoming overweight or in worse cases, obesity.
In several cases, with appropriate counseling and restoring adequate nutrition, eating disorders can be treated successfully. However, people with eating disorders usually have depression and anxiety and require therapy to help with depressive and anxious episodes. Some treatments suggested for people with eating disorders are working registered dietitians to learn how to eat healthily. In more severe cases, it may be necessary to go to outpatient clinics.
Proper nutrition education is also needed to improve the patient’s relationship with food and their own body. By recognizing the balance between healthy eating and having a healthy, social life with food, eating disorders can be solved. However, there may be lingering health problems such as electrolyte imbalances, heart problems, high blood pressure, nutrient deficiencies, tooth cavities, problems with infertility and amenorrhea, as well as gastrointestinal problems.
In order for eating disorders to be properly addressed, familial pressure on food and body image. Small comments from family members on body image can be extremely detrimental and cause low self confidence, which can then lead to body dysmorphia and eating disorders. By fostering a healthy relationship with both family and nutrition, it can help prevent eating disorders and improve self confidence with oneself.
Sources:
https://www.nimh.nih.gov/health/publications/eating-disorders