Eating Disorders- Signs, Effects and Remedial Actions

An eating disorder happens when you lose the sense of reasoning and yield to an unhealthy eating pattern that overpowers your existence and makes you sick. Moreover, eating disorder potentially could lead to several other mental & physical disorders. It becomes visible when one begins to eat more or very less food than the normal routine. Here is more about eating disorders, signs, effects & remedial actions.

Signs and symptoms of an eating disorder

    • Compulsive dieting despite low bodyweight
    • Bodyweight variation
    • Over-conscious regarding calories and fats
    • Odd eating behavior.
    • Eating alone
    • A sad and lazy lifestyle
    • Withdrawn, shuns social gatherings
    • Unbalanced habits of binging or abstaining from food
    • Always afraid to put on weight and low self-esteem



Effects of disorder

  • Thinness and brittleness of hair, nails, and bones
  • Anemic and weakened muscles
  • Dry and yellowish skin
  • Extreme constipation
  • Consistent Low-blood pressure and pulse rate
  • It’s damaging to heart, brain and can cause multiorgan failure
  • Low body temperature
  • Infertility

Types of eating disorder

  • Anorexia Nervosa

Anorexia nervosa is listed illness in the addiction category.  A type of delusional psychosis, anorexia affected persons think they are overweight, despite being radically underweight.

Anorexia Nervosa

  • Bulimia Nervosa

Bulimia nervosa affected persons have a common trait with anorexia notion of being overweight. But unlike them, bulimics tend to overeat and may vomit later.

  • Binge-eating complications

Binge-eating disorder in males and females often leads to different emotions like antipathy, guilt, depression or anxiety. These complex emotions turn to suicidal tendencies in some cases.

  • Substance-Induced Eating Disorders

Many drugs in medication or taken for intoxication can also be the cause of an eating disorder.

  • Pica

Pica is a coping mechanism of the body in Schizophrenia, obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) and eating disorder. The patients can turn over to some non-food items even for their attractive colors, textures, and flavors.

Causes

It is not possible to pinpoint the causes, however, biological and environmental factors could be studied for its causes. The show biz performers and sexually-exploited people also develop this disorder, besides in some cases people with limited intellect have it too. There are certainly other causes detected for eating disorder.

  • Hormonal dysfunctions
  • Genetics is a possible cause although it is not conclusive yet.
  • Unhealthy factors in the body such as nutrient-deficiencies.
  • Psychological factors such as adverse body image and self-esteem.

Remedial actions for eating disorders

Its remedy depends on its severity and complications. A professional approach from a qualified team can handle their disorders and provide comprehensive treatment in a better way.

  1. Therapeutic Care and intensive nursing: The remedial action includes keeping a watch on their eating habits like the quality of food, its nutritional values, and diagnosis of eating behavior pattern to offer the right treatment.

2. Nutrition is the key part of this disorder: The medics need to find ways to rebuild body weight and help restore the lost weight by guiding patients for normal eating routine and specific meal plan.

3. Therapy: It includes psychotherapy of the patient involving the nears & dear ones also. The interactions help in finding physical or emotional causes of eating disorders.

4. Medications: Medications help resolve mood or anxiety symptoms, thus controlling this disorder.

References:

What is an Eating Disorder: Types, Symptoms, Risks, and Causes

Eating Disorder Symptoms, Causes and Effects