Types of eating disorders

Food and mood are often co-related. Many of us sometimes engage in anxiety eating. We gorge ourselves on chocolate, cheese or added calories just to escape stress or fear. Yet, when this becomes a pattern, it could be a sign of an eating disorder.

A large number of women in fashion in America suffer from eating disorders. One of them is Anorexia, a serious eating disorder that involves a serious fear to gain weight and a distorted perception of weight.

As per National Eating Disorder Association, up to 70 million people suffer from eating disorders worldwide. American Psychiatric Association says eating disorders are behavioural conditions characterised by serious and regular disturbance in eating behaviours associated with emotional distress. Eating disorders can be complex to understand and severely affect the physical, psychological and social function of an individual.

Eating disorders can affect anyone at any age. Experts reveal that an eating disorder can occur in turn with some psychiatric disorders. Most commonly they can be serious mood swings and anxiety disorders. Other conditions can be obsessive-compulsive disorder and alcohol and drug abuse problems.

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There can be various warning signs and causes of every eating disorder depending on the disease. Here is a list of uncommon eating disorders and their detailed information. If you find yourself or anyone in your surroundings suffering from the same, you must consider medical help.

Binge eating disorder:

According to Healthline, Binge eating is a very common disorder. An individual suffering from this condition often eats unusually large amounts of food in relatively short periods of time and feels a lack of control during the process. People with binge eating disorders do not have control over their calories consumption.

Later they adopt purging behaviours like vomiting or excessive exercise, to compensate for their binges. People with binge eating disorders have a higher risk of developing medical conditions like type 2 diabetes, obesity, weight gain, diabetes and cardiovascular disease. Some of the common symptoms of people with such disorder can be as follow:

Despite not feeling hungry, consuming large amounts of food in a short interval of time.
Feeling a lack of self-control during episodes of binge eating.
Experiencing distress emotions such as shame, disgust, or guilt, when thinking about the binge-eating behaviour.

Rumination Disorder:

According to Pubmed, it is a condition in which a person regurgitates food they have previously chewed and swallowed to rechew it or spit it. This process happens within the first 30 minutes of eating a meal. Adults suffering from this disorder can show symptoms of restricting consumption. Especially in public places. This condition ultimately results in being underweight. Children develop such conditions between 3- 12 months of their birth. This situation can lead to malnutrition and loss of weight. Healthline says both adults and children require therapy to resolve the situation.

Avoidant or restrictive food intake disorder:

ARFID is a new name for an old disorder. The name is replaced by the feeding disorder of infancy and early childhood. As the name suggests, this disorder develops in early childhood and can further persist in adulthood if not treated on time. The person may show up with uncertain and extraordinary behaviour like following picky eating habits in toddlers and low food intake during adulthood.

According to Healthline, Individuals with this disorder experience disturbed eating either due to a lack of interest in eating or distaste for certain smells, tastes, colours, textures, or temperatures. One can show up with the following mentioned symptoms with such disorder:

• Avoiding or restricting food intake that leads to insufficient consumption of calories and protein.
• Eating habits that interfere with normal social functions, such as eating with others.
• Malnutrition, weight loss or slow growth according to height, age and body type.
• nutrient deficiencies or dependence on supplements or tube feeding.

Pica:

Pica is another type of eating disorder that involves eating food that is not considered as eating items. It can be chalk, dirt, ice, soap, paper, hair, pebbles or detergent. Pica occurs at any age but is most commonly seen in children. People with such disorders are at risk of developing gut health issues, swallowing poisonous items. This disorder can also develop in people with certain types of mental disabilities or pregnant women.

If you are suffering from any of these disorders, or know about someone who may be suffering, you must consider Treating eating disorders can involve medical help, therapy and gradual behavioural changes.