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The most common eating disorders in the USA are Bulimia and Anorexia. These are challenging and sometimes severe problems to treat. Statistics of this disorder says that about 5 out of 100 women with Anorexia die from acute medical problem. Both Anorexia and Bulimia can be extremely dangerous as they produce profound and lasting damage to human health.
People who suffer from Anorexia intentionally refuse food and starve themselves in order to achieve the desirable weight or body form. This disorder usually involves extreme weight loss. Individuals which suffer from Anorexia may look exhausted, but be certain that they are overweight. Sometimes they are hospitalized to prevent starvation.
People with Bulimia to not refuse food, but after the meal they get rid of it by vomiting, using laxatives or enemas, or exercising drastically. Some use a combination of all these forms of purging. Because many individuals with bulimia “binge and purge” in secret and maintain normal or above normal body weight, they can often successfully hide their problem from others for years.
Bulimia and Anorexia occur almost exclusively in females and can be detected as early as 8 years old. Behavioral patterns which can help diagnose this disorder may include:
- hiding foods;
- avoiding and arguing over certain foods they can or cannot eat;
- comments that they are fat, unattractive and need to loose weight despite evidence to the contrary;
- a pattern of leaving or asking to leave the group (usually within 1 hour) with some excuse soon after eating an adequate or large meal and then purging their meal without anybody’s awareness;
- a recurrent and increasing pattern over time of emotionality, low frustration tolerance, mental dullness, physical weakness or complaints of being cold that are the result of insufficient nutrition;
- shame and guilt expressed in withdrawn and avoidant behavior that may appear shy, indignant or controlling, and may become defiant, argumentative or aggressive if ignored or challenged;
- obsessed thinking that borders on a fixation that is contradictory, illogical and irrational with regard to nutrition, food choice, purging, weight loss, the method and risks;
- exercising unnecessarily or in a secrete manner when others are not watching;
- using defiance in terms of a refusal to eat, and then offering to eat in order to negotiate permission to continue partial starvation and purging;
- increasing motivation to purge when emotionally distressed, nervous or feeling out of control following limit setting, confrontation or feedback by friends, therapists or peers that interprets their behavior in terms of manipulation, escape, or avoidance.
When a person demonstrates symptoms associated with an eating disorder, a full evaluation and diagnosis is essential. The prognosis is better when Bulimia or Anorexia is detected early and it is less favorable the longer the disorder exists and the longer it has been reinforced.
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