The Science Behind Eating Disorders

Eating disorders are behaviors that are either overly eating or not eating at all. For example, Binge-Eating Disorder and Anorexia Nervosa. These are the two common eating disorders that people have in different kinds of conditions. About 9% of the global population is suffering from eating disorders, the percentage is compared to 28.8 million people in this world. This short piece of writing will dive further into the significance of eating disorders and the reason for causing them.

Binge-eating disorder is when a person is overly eating a large amount of food that they lose their control even if they are not feeling hungry. This type of disorder is unlike Bulimia Nervosa, a kind of eating disorder followed by purging or fasting, and with many concerns with body shape and weight, they eat with no self-control. This can cause serious problems such as weight gain and obesity, moreover, two-thirds of patients with this type of disorder are overweight.

Anorexia Nervosa is often said as anorexia, it is an eating disorder characterized by food limitations, high self-control, body image disturbance, and fear of gaining weight. Opposite to Binge-Eating Disorder, patients with this type of eating disorder are often underweight and bony. They have higher expectations than usual; they think the skinnier, the better. 

Eating disorders may be harmful and seem unpreventable, but there are still ways to cure them. Through psychotherapy, medical care and monitoring, nutritional counseling, medications, etc. These ways can be helpful for people who are dealing with eating disorders; however, not all patients can get back to normal from eating disorders. 20% of the patients remain severely ill, 30% are partially cured, and the rest of 50% are successfully cured.

Eating disorders can be seen as small, harmless mentally ill, however, if the sickness isn’t being treated in the right way on time it could get to more serious stages. The two types of eating disorders, Binge-Eating Disorder and Anorexia Nervosa are dangerous and can take lives if it isn’t treated in the right way. Knowing that the root of these disorders is the mental illness or traumatization from early life.

References:

“43 Eating Disorder Statistics & Prevalence.” Life-Changing ABA Therapy - Cross River Therapy, www.crossrivertherapy.com/eating-disorder-statistics#:~:text=Key%20Eating%20Disorder%20Statistics,accounts%20for%2028.8%20million%20Americans. Accessed 5 July 2024. 

“Eating Disorders: About More than Food.” National Institute of Mental Health, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, www.nimh.nih.gov/health/publications/eating-disorders#:~:text=Treatment%20plans%20for%20eating%20disorders,weight%20to%20a%20healthy%20level. Accessed 5 July 2024. 

“NIH Record.” National Institutes of Health, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, nihrecord.nih.gov/. Accessed 5 July 2024.

“Serious Health Problems Caused by Binge Eating Disorder.” WebMD, WebMD, www.webmd.com/mental-health/eating-disorders/binge-eating-disorder/health-problems-binge-eating#:~:text=These%20include%3A-,Weight%20Gain%20and%20Obesity,bad%20about%20their%20weight%2C%20too. Accessed 5 July 2024.