Eating disorder is a type of illness where serious issues affect your everyday diet whether it will make you eat less or extremely more. This illness can occur through by genetic, biological, behavioral, psychological, and social factors. According to The National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH), common eating disorders include anorexia nervosa (AN), bulimia nervosa (BN), and binge-eating disorder (BED). Harvard Medical School, Department of Health Care also conducted recent studies showing that, “Country-specific lifetime prevalence estimates are consistently (median; interquartile range) higher for BED (1.4%; .8–1.9%) than BN (.8%; .4–1.0%). Median age of onset is in the late teens to early 20s for both disorders but slightly
…show more content…
The causes of anorexia nervosa is usually due to peer pressure by the media and family, having a negative self- image, trying to be “perfect”, or having an anxiety disorder since childhood. Many teenage girls of average weight think they are overweight which creates a negative self-image towards their bodies. Many people tend believe that only white girls are affected by anorexia due to media showing things like the movie “Mean Girls”. In reality, no ethnic, gender or socioeconomic group is immune to the dangers of this disorder. According to Mayo Clinic and National Institutes of Health, symptoms of anorexia nervosa mainly includes having a great fear of gaining weight, even when already thin, limit calories, vomiting after eating, and being oblivious towards the danger of weight loss. Other symptoms include: dry blotchy or yellow skin, growth of fine hair all over the body and face, slow thinking, tooth decay with gum damage, depression, dry mouth, extreme sensitivity to cold, weaken bones, and loss of body fat and muscles. Despite that anorexia nervosa occurs in males and females, females suffers from anorexia nervosa more. According to National Institute of Mental Health, “Women are much more likely than men to develop an eating disorder. Only an estimated 5 to 15 percent of people with anorexia or bulimia are male (14). Fortunately, this life threatening disorder can be treated. Anorexia nervosa can be treated by hospitalization (if the disorder becomes very severe), counseling, therapy, visit nurse practitioners, physicians, physician assistants, dietitians, nutritionists, and mental health care providers, according to Medline Plus and Help
The causes of anorexia nervosa is usually due to peer pressure by the media and family, having a negative self- image, trying to be “perfect”, or having an anxiety disorder since childhood. Many teenage girls of average weight think they are overweight which creates a negative self-image towards their bodies. Many people tend believe that only white girls are affected by anorexia due to media showing things like the movie “Mean Girls”. In reality, no ethnic, gender or socioeconomic group is immune to the dangers of this disorder. According to Mayo Clinic and National Institutes of Health, symptoms of anorexia nervosa mainly includes having a great fear of gaining weight, even when already thin, limit calories, vomiting after eating, and being oblivious towards the danger of weight loss. Other symptoms include: dry blotchy or yellow skin, growth of fine hair all over the body and face, slow thinking, tooth decay with gum damage, depression, dry mouth, extreme sensitivity to cold, weaken bones, and loss of body fat and muscles. Despite that anorexia nervosa occurs in males and females, females suffers from anorexia nervosa more. According to National Institute of Mental Health, “Women are much more likely than men to develop an eating disorder. Only an estimated 5 to 15 percent of people with anorexia or bulimia are male (14). Fortunately, this life threatening disorder can be treated. Anorexia nervosa can be treated by hospitalization (if the disorder becomes very severe), counseling, therapy, visit nurse practitioners, physicians, physician assistants, dietitians, nutritionists, and mental health care providers, according to Medline Plus and Help