Eating disorders

Eating disorders have been given considerable attention in the literature in recent years as the extent of the problem has become more evident. Eating disorders such as anorexia nervosa and bulimia have generally been associated with the adolescent years of growth, although they may occur in the early to mid-adult years as well. An eating disorder is defined as a disturbance in eating behavior that jeopardizes a person's physical or psychological health. The American Psychiatric Association's Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders has identified four eating disorders: anorexia nervosa, bulimia nervosa, pica, and rumination disorder. Pica is the ingestion of non-nutritive substances such as plaster, paint, or clay, and rumination disorder is the chronic regurgitation of nutrients, usually seen in infancy. Of greater frequency are anorexia and bulimia, each with its own diagnostic criteria and potential medical hazards.

Anorexia nervosa is the best known of the eating disorders and is found most frequently among middle-to-upper-class white female adolescents. The disease carries a 19 female-to-male ratio with a prevalence estimated at one percent among adolescent girls; it is believed that the disorder is becoming more prevalent (Harris, 1991: p. 30). Anorexia nervosa is defined as a psychoneurotic disorder characterized by prolonged refusal to eat, resulting in emaciation, amenorrhea, emotional disturbance concerning body

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asic causes of anorexia nervosa remain unknown. Bulimia is derived from two words for "ox" and "hunger," and it is considered by some to be an ominous variant of anorexia nervosa. There is evidence in the literature to suggest a relationship between depression and the eating disorders, and one major source of evidence is the patient's response to antidepressant drugs. A variety of psychotropic drugs have been used for the treatment of eating disorders, but the antidepressant drugs are commonly prescribed in the United States. One study shows that emotional behavior is related to the biogenic amine concentration in contact with specific postsynaptic receptors in the brain (Tolstoi, 1989: p. 1640). Among the consequences of anorexia are a slow heart rate, hypertension, and occasionally a heart murmur thought to be caused by a shrinkage in the size of the heart muscle occurring as patients lose muscle mass as well as body fat stores. Adolescent anorectic patients typically report either never having menstrual cycles or losing their periods for a period of time. This resulted from excessive loss of body fat stores. However, some anorectic patients may experience the onset of amenorrhea before significant weight loss occurs,

Category: Psychology - E