Eating Disorders: Anorexia Nervosa

In society today, one of the most prevalent and harmful mental illnesses is an eating disorder. Many people do not know the extent to which eating disorders can affect someone’s life nor the types of treatment that are available for those that are struggling with this issue. If one is to fully understand the entire impact that eating disorders have on individuals and society as a whole along with the treatments for them, first one must know the true definition of the problem as well as how widespread this disorder really is. There are various types of eating disorders; however, they have far more similarities than differences, which is why they can be thought of as one general issue.

Eating Disorders (a definition)

Someone with an eating disorder

Specifically, two main types of eating disorders are those known as Anorexia Nervosa and Bulimia Nervosa. Anorexia Nervosa is a disorder where someone has an extremely large fear of gaining weight and/or becoming fat. People with anorexia tend to starve themselves by skipping meals often, restricting food choices and dieting intensely. Similarly, Bulimia Nervosa is categorized by people that are also very afraid to gain weight, but instead of simply starving themselves, they will eat a lot of food in a short amount of time, also known as binging, and soon after they will somehow eliminate the food and calories, also known as purging. One can purge by means of vomiting, exercising excessively or by using laxatives, diet pills or diuretics to get rid of the weight and calories. Another

In fact, 30% of people, no matter the age or gender, suffer from an eating disorder in the United States (ANAD, 2015). And although an eating disorder certainly can be present in both genders, typically more women suffer from them. It has been estimated that 90% or more of people that suffer from bulimia are women (Jones, 1985). This could potentially be due to the emphasis that society has placed on women to be skinny. Furthermore, the median age for having an eating disorder is 18-21 years old; however, there was a study done involving a screening of high school students for eating disorders that also shows that they are prevalent in younger children as well (Bryn, Najat, Forman, Prokop, Keliher & Jacobs, 2008). This study presented that 25% of girls and 11% of boys reported having an eating disorder and/or weight control symptoms. These girls and boys had at least one symptom that was serious enough to insist on having further evaluation. Moreover, the study showed that there was little ethnic distinction between the girls that had eating disorders and the ones that didn’t, but for boys it was found that more African Americans, American Indians, Asian/Pacific Islanders, and Latinos had more symptoms than white boys. As for college students, 25% of women in college engage in binging and purging as a weight management mechanism and