Embrace Yourself 💖💛💙

Hi everyone, Ayizz, Minin and Fatini here. We’ve decided to go for task 1, researching about other eating disorders besides anorexia and manorexia. Surprisingly, there are actually numerous eating disorder that exist in the world and we hope you guys are not classified in any of these.

BINGE EATING DISORDER

This is the most common eating disorder in the United States. It’s characterized by recurrent episodes of eating large quantities of food very quickly and to the point of discomfort. This is followed by a feeling of a loss of control during the binge, experiencing shame, distress or guilt afterwards.

• Recurrent episodes of binge eating. An episode of binge eating is characterized by both of the following:
• Eating, in a discrete period of time (e.g., within any 2-hour period), an amount of food that is definitely larger than what most people would eat in a similar period of time under similar circumstances.
• A sense of lack of control over eating during the episode (e.g., a feeling that one cannot stop eating or control what or how much one is eating).
• The binge eating episodes are associated with three (or more) of the following:
• Eating much more rapidly than normal.
• Eating until feeling uncomfortably full.
• Eating large amounts of food when not feeling physically hungry.
• Eating alone because of feeling embarrassed by how much one is eating.
• Feeling disgusted with oneself, depressed, or very guilty afterward.

Statistics

• A 2007 study asked 9,282 English-speaking Americans about a variety of mental health conditions, including eating disorders. The results, published in Biological Psychiatry, found that 3.5% of women and 2.0% of men had binge eating disorder during their life
• This makes BED more than three times more common than anorexia and bulimia combined.
• BED is also more common than breast cancer, HIV, and schizophrenia.
• When researchers followed a group of 496 adolescent girls for 8 years until they were 20, they found:
• 5.2% of the girls met criteria for DSM5 anorexia, bulimia, or binge eating disorder.
• When the researchers included nonspecific eating disorder symptoms, a total of 13.2% of the girls had suffered from a DSM-5 eating disorder by age 20.

NIGHT EATING SYNDROME

Night eating syndrome (NES) is a condition that combines overeating at night with sleep problems. With NES, you eat a lot after dinner, have trouble sleeping, and eat when you wake up at night. Night eating syndrome is not the same as binge eating disorder, although individuals with night eating syndrome are often binge eaters. It differs from binge eating in that the amount of food consumed in the evening/night is not necessarily objectively large nor is a loss of control over food intake required. Individuals with night eating syndrome feel like they have no control over their eating patterns, and often feel shame and guilt over their condition.

People with NES will eat at least a quarter of their daily calories after dinner. If you wake up to eat at least twice a week, you may have NES if you also have at least three of these:

• Lack of appetite in the morning
• A strong urge to eat between dinner and sleep
• Insomnia four or five nights a week
• A belief that eating is necessary to get to sleep or get back to sleep
• A depressed mood that gets worse during evening hours

   

What Causes It?

Causes of night eating syndrome vary, but there are usually a variety of contributing factors. Sometimes college students pick up the habit of eating at night and are unable to break the habit when they become working adults. High achievers sometimes work through lunches, and then overcompensate by eating more at night.

Night eating syndrome, ironically, may be a response to dieting. When people restrict their intake of calories during the day, the body signals the brain that it needs food and the individual typically overcompensates at night. Night eating may also be a response to stress.

Researchers have found a possible link between NES and genetics. There’s a gene called PER1 that’s thought to have a hand in controlling your body clock. Scientists believe a defect in the gene could cause NES. More research is needed.

PURGING DISORDER

In the context of eating disorders, purging typically goes hand-in-hand with bingeing. However, the latter is not necessary for compensatory behaviors to occur. Purging, which can include self-induced vomiting, laxative or diuretic abuse, enemas, and compulsive exercise, can also follow a small or relatively normal-sized meal. This is referred to as purging disorder.

Bulimia nervosa is characterized by both bingeing and purging. Compensatory behaviors without bingeing can also be found in those with anorexia nervosa. However, if an individual’s symptoms do not fit the other diagnostic criteria for these disorders, then purging disorder might be present.

Many people mistakenly believe that eating disorders are only present if there is a dramatic weight loss. This is not true, and is often not representative of individuals with purging disorder, though weight fluctuations are common. There are other specific behaviors that can serve as red flags for purging disorder.

Purging disorder is included in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-5) under the classification of Other Specified Feeding and Eating Disorder (OSFED). Though there are no current statistics on how many individuals are affected by this condition, the signs and dangers of purging on both the mind and body are well understood within the eating disorder community.

Compensatory behaviors are typically done in secret. As with other eating disorders, purging disorder is closely associated with shame and self-loathing. Individuals struggling with purging disorder often isolate during and after mealtimes, avoiding meals with friends or big parties where they might be unable to purge following food consumption of any kind.

Engaging in compensatory behaviors can become addictive. Self-induced vomiting can actually change an individual’s brain chemistry, affecting serotonin levels and releasing endorphins.

This can result in a high that those with purging disorder might strive to recreate following a meal. Similarly, it can be difficult to cease laxative use if an individual’s body has become reliant on them to produce bowel movements.

If you notice a loved one regularly going to the restroom directly following every meal, this can be indicative of purging behaviors. Likewise, if someone does not have gastrointestinal problems but consistently has diarrhea, this can be a sign of laxative abuse.

Physical and Psychological Impact

Different forms of purging can have similar physical side effects. These include dehydration, electrolyte imbalance, and vital organ damage. Additionally, self-induced vomiting can lead to dental problems, swelling of the throat, and broken blood vessels in the face and neck. Laxative abuse can result in rectal bleeding, chronic diarrhea, or constipation without the aid of laxatives.

There are serious psychological side effects of purging, as these behaviors are addictive and can become a compulsion. Purging in any form is often implemented to cope with feeling out of control and/or to relieve anxiety, but it undoubtedly exacerbates both in the long run.

These effects are similar to those of other eating disorders, including irritability, mood swings, and increased anxiety, particularly when the individual is unable to engage in behaviors.

Eating disorders typically trick those who are struggling into believing their behaviors are the one thing keeping them above water. In reality, disordered eating and compensatory behaviors can force an individual into isolation and increase co-occurring mental health conditions. The chemical changes that self-induced vomiting causes in the brain can also directly contribute to depression and anxiety.

In conclusion, we should just love our body and be comfortable with our own skin because loving yourself is the greatest revolution. #EMBRACEYOURSELF #meloveme