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What is an Eating Disorder?
I recently got an email from Emily Z, a 14-year old who is aspiring to be a mental health professional. She alerted me to an informative webpage on eating disorders.
Emily’s enthusiasm inspired me to look more into the topic, especially in how it relates to teenagers since they are more susceptible to develop them. I have however, also included some information about how eating disorders affect adults.
An eating disorder happens when a person develops an unhealthy relationship with food and can involve under eating and/or over eating. Often, eating disorders are associated with distorted body image (Maryville University, n.d.).
There is no identifiable cause for eating disorders, although there are factors that have been linked with eating disorders. I will explain these here, as well as possible treatment options. I will start by explaining the more common eating disorders.
Types of Eating Disorders
The most common types of eating disorders include anorexia nervosa, bulimia nervosa, and binge eating disorder (BED).
In anorexia nervosa the person views themselves as overweight and is fearful of gaining weight. People with anorexia are often extremely underweight, but they don’t see this. As a result, they may eat very little, although this isn’t always…
