Eating Disorders
Is there a link/relationship between pathological dieting and eating disorders in young adolescents? (no American quotes or stats as I'm in Australia)
Eating disorders and pathological dieting: An overview
According to the Australian Psychological Society (2011) it is estimated five percent of all women and girls are suffering from anorexia nervosa, and two to three per cent have bulimia nervosa and other eating disorders. Males also suffer from eating disorders, affecting an estimated ten percent of the total national eating disordered population. This translates into 0.5% and 0.5-1% of the Australian population as a whole who are identified as 'eating disordered' (Eating disorders, 2011, Women's Health).
Physicians and psychologists have reported a notable increase in the past decades in eating disordered patients in Australia. In 2004-05, 14% of all hospitalisations for mental and behavioural disorders in women aged 12-24 were due to eating disorders and in 2003, according to the Australian government, anorexia nervosa and bulimia accounted for 4, 639 years of healthy life lost due to illness or injury (Eating disorders, 2011, Women's Health). From 2004-2007 there was a reported four-fold increase in admissions for eating disorders in the past three years in hospitals (Clark 2010).
However, the reasons for this sharp increase are uncertain. Some eating disorder specialists hypothesize that this may be due to cultural factors, such as the increased valorization of thinness in the modern media. Another hypothesis is that affluence, urbanization, and the availability of food increase the cultural pressures to be thin for females. The increase in dieting, and the popularization of the 'diet industry' has also been cited as a reason for an increase in eating disorders, not simply anorexia, creating the physiological conditions for a 'feast and famine' cycle. Dieting has been credited with generating an unhealthy fixation on food. Binging after starvation diets is a common pattern in compulsive over-eating. Bulimia is often seen as one way of 'having one's cake and eating it too,' or finding a way to acquiesce to the pressures to indulge while still embodying an emaciated ideal.
Individuals with eating disorders are often not forthcoming about their behaviors. It is estimated that for bulimics who did seek treatment, about five years lapsed between the onset of their full-blown symptoms and their decision to obtain aid (Eating disorders, 2011, Women's Health). Anorexics are even less willing to submit to treatment, and must be often coerced by family members to do so. Said Dr. Tracey Wade, a Senior Lecturer in the School of Psychology at Flinders University in Adelaide: "People with anorexia are actually proud of the problem. This is something they have worked hard to get and they see is it as an achievement. It makes them special and in control, and is a solution to their problem" (Ford 2003).
Regarding the relationship with engaging in extreme dieting behaviors and the development of full-blown eating disorders, one longitudinal survey of more than 3000 people in South Australia found an interesting trend: "The number of people regularly binge eating, abusing laxatives, making themselves sick or undergoing extreme fasting jumped from 4.7% in 1995 to 11% in 2005" (Clark 2007). The numbers of the same population manifesting full-blown eating disorders requiring clinical treatment remained relatively steady, but a wider swath of the population was engaged in disordered behaviors than before. According to the study's authors, this remains a cause of concern, given that subclinical manifestations can easily become full-blown. Many of the study's respondents identified the fear of being…
Eating Disorder Anomalous eating habits involving too less or too much dietary intake that may lead to physical or mental harm to an individual is known as Eating Disorders. Classification of Eating Disorders According to Walsh and Sysko (2009) Eating Disorders are most commonly classified into three categories Anorexia nervosa (AN) Bulimia nervosa (BN) Atypical eating disorder or Eating disorders not otherwise specified (EDNOS) Anorexia Nervosa is a medical condition associated with exceptionally low food intake, less
Eating Disorders and Gender There are medical conditions which more commonly occur in one gender over another. These conditions can be either mental or physical. Very often, they are both mental and physical conditions. Certain medical situations are extremely severe and can potentially result in serious harm to the body or perhaps even death. There are certain conditions which being with a mental impression, a false belief that has been ingrained
Eating disorder is characterized by abnormal eating habits involving excessive or insufficient intake of food which is detrimental to the individual's physical and mental well-being. There are two common types of eating disorders although there are other types of eating disorders. The first is bulimia nervosa which is excessive eating coupled with frequent vomiting. The second type is anorexia nervosa which is immoderate restriction of food which leads to irrational
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Finally, McDermott et.al also provided us with valuable clue in early detection and possibility of avoiding worsening of the condition. By identifying a positive relation between laxative use and severity of disorder the study serves as a warning, indicating treatment measures for such children who abuse laxatives. These researchers have clearly stressed the importance of early detection and treatment to minimize the chances of a full blown disorder. Medicos,
Eating Disorders Systems Theory Model integration Article by Lisa & Owen (2008). Inputs: values: research eating disorder continuum by measuring self-esteem, perfectionism, and eating disorder behavior; offer validation evidence on the measure of eating disorder behavior, and QEDD. Resources include the EDI-2 subscale score, Multidimensional Perfectionism Scale, contingency tables and Kappa values, QEDD, 261 students, questionnaires, literature, and survey results. Throughput includes measurement of using tests, counterbalance results of surveys, critical analysis of literature,
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