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What Are Eating Disorders? | Anorexia Nervosa | Bulimia Nervosa | Binge Eating Disorder
Anorexia Nervosa
Anorexia Nervosa is a serious disorder characterized by intense preoccupation with food and body shape/weight, restrictive and/or rigid eating behaviors, excessive weight loss and an intense fear of gaining weight.
Diagnostic criteria for Anorexia Nervosa are based on the following symptoms:
- The refusal to achieve and maintain a body weight at or above what is appropriate for age and height
- Refusal to acknowledge clinically underweight status
- Fear of gaining weight or "getting fat," regardless of current weight
- Preoccupation with body weight or shape, and/or allowing body weight or shape to unduly influence self-evaluation, or refusal to acknowledge clinically underweight status
- Amenorrhea in postmenarcheal females (missing at least 3 consecutive menstrual periods)
There are two sub-types of Anorexia Nervosa:
- Restricting Type: Does not involve binge-eating or purging behaviors such as self-induced vomiting or misuse of laxatives, diuretics or enemas
- Binge/Purge Type: Involves binge-eating and/or purging behaviors such as self-induced vomiting or misuse of laxatives, diuretics or enemas
Checklist for visible characteristics of Anorexia Nervosa
Behavioral Signs
- Signs of restricted eating (unusually low intake of food), such as severe diets or fasting
- Odd food rituals, such as counting bites of food, cutting food into tiny pieces, or
preparing food for others while refusing to eat - Intense fear of becoming fat, regardless of low weight
- Fear of food and situations where food may be present
- Rigid exercise regimes
- Dressing in layers to hide weight loss
- Bingeing
- Use of laxatives, enemas, or diuretics to get rid of food
- Frequent weighing
Physiological and Emotional Signs
- Weight loss (often in a short period of time)
- Cessation of menstruation without physiological cause
- Complaints of feeling cold or tired
- Dizziness and fainting spells
- Attitude Shifts
- Mood shifts
- Perfectionistic attitude
- Insecurities about her capabilities regardless of actual performance
- Feelings of self-worth are determined by what is or is not eaten
- Withdrawal from people