Common Types and Symptoms of Eating Disorders
Eating disorders are classified as mental type disorders marked by irregular eating habits and severe anxiety or concern about body weight or shape. Eating disorders can either cause an increase in the intake of food (i.e., overeating or binge eating) or they might lead to an insufficient intake of food (i.e, food restriction). Many eating disorders coexist with life trauma, depression, or anxiety and an individual’s eating patterns are often a means to take back some sense of control. Eating disorders can affect anyone and at any age, but they are more common in teens and young adults. There are 4 main types of eating disorders: 1. Anorexia nervosa This is one of the types of eating disorders where patients live in a delusion that they are overweight. People tend to exercise excessively and refuse to eat adequately even if they are hungry. Symptoms include: A restricted diet Fear of weight gain Thinning of bones Brittle hair and nails Low blood pressure Infertility Multi-organ failure Yellow and dry skin Constipation Anemia Fluctuations in weight 2. Bulimia nervosa This is the type of eating disorder where a person eats a lot of food but either vomits it out, uses laxatives, or performs rigorous exercises to compensate for the eating and to avoid weight gain.