Eating Disorders related to law
Anorexia nervosa (an-o-REK-see-uh)—often referred to simply as anorexia—is a potentially life-threatening eating disorder characterized by abnormally low body weight, an intense fear of gaining weight, and a distorted perception of weight or shape. Bulimia nervosa (NB), like anorexia, is a restrictive eating disorder characterized by extreme preoccupation with body image and regulation of food intake. An eating disorder may include behavior that reflects many, but not all, symptoms of eating behaviors and eating disorders such as anorexia nervosa, bulimia nervosa, binge eating disorder, or other specific eating and eating disorders (OSFED). Rumination disorder is the repetitive and persistent spitting up of food after eating, but is not associated with a disease or other eating disorder such as anorexia, bulimia, or compulsive overeating.
Restrictive eating disorders (RED), such as anorexia and bulimia nervosa, have one of the highest mortality rates of any mental disorder, with people with anorexia being four times more likely to die than even people with major depression. A recent review of studies found that sexual minority adults are two to four times more likely to suffer from anorexia, bulimia, or binge eating than heterosexual cisgender adults. Disproportionately high rates of disordered eating and bodily dissatisfaction have been found in Hispanics compared to other racial and ethnic groups.
Behaviors often associated with eating disorders, such as overeating, purging, and fasting to lose weight, are almost as common among men as they are among women. Most eating disorders involve too much focus on your weight, body shape, and food, leading to unsafe eating behavior. These behaviors can have a significant impact on your body’s ability to receive adequate nutrition. When you limit your food intake or stop eating altogether, it can have serious consequences for your body, mind, and soul.
This restrictive eating pattern can greatly affect children and teens who adopt this unhealthy lifestyle with the encouragement of other family members. Food culture and fad diets are often the foundation of family eating habits. Eating disorders are disturbed and unhealthy eating patterns that may include restrictive eating, compulsive eating, or skipping meals. People with gastrointestinal conditions may be more likely than the general population to develop eating disorders, primarily restrictive eating disorders.
No one has determined the cause of an eating disorder, but certain factors, such as genetics and family history, may put you at greater risk for anorexia. Examples of other eating disorders include people with atypical anorexia nervosa who meet all criteria for anorexia nervosa (AN) but have significant weight loss but are underweight; atypical bulimia nervosa who meet all criteria for BN Symptoms, except binge eating behaviors that are less common or do not last long enough; coagulation disorders; nocturnal feeding syndrome. Nearly half of people with anorexia have also been diagnosed with anxiety disorders such as social phobia and obsessive-compulsive disorder, while 30 to 50 percent have been diagnosed with mood disorders such as depression. Many people with anorexia feel hopeless, and as the number one fatal mental illness among young adults, eating disorders are 12 times more deadly than all other causes of death in this age group.
Physical symptoms associated with eating disorders include weakness, fatigue, sensitivity to cold, reduced beard growth in men, decreased erections while awake, decreased libido, weight loss, and difficulty growing. Frequent vomiting, which can cause acid reflux or acidic stomach contents to enter the esophageal tract, can lead to unexplained hoarseness. A combination of bodily changes during puberty, anxiety, and psychological disturbances can trigger the first episodes of vomiting and diarrhea, leading to pathologically dysfunctional eating behavior (55). Hunger and weight loss can alter brain function in vulnerable people, which can perpetuate restrictive eating behaviors and make it harder to return to normal eating habits. Pregnancy and the postpartum period are associated with changes in diet, such as overeating, abrupt refusal of certain foods or drinks, changes in taste perception, and in women there are serious changes in the body, not seen since adolescence, which can cause ED in healthy pregnant women.
Found points out that the postpartum period is a vulnerable time for an eating disorder to flare up, possibly due to anxiety about postpartum body shape and the frustration and stress associated with caring for demanding children, especially if marital support is insufficient. These dietary improvements were maintained 5 years later and into adolescence. Family meals have also been shown to protect girls from eating disorders. Family meals on most days or every day during the previous year protected against purging behavior, overeating, and frequent diets. People with anorexia and bulimia have been observed to reduce the number of calories they order when they see the calorie count on the menu, benefit from ignorance of the calories in food, so as not to provoke a relapse, the means by which those suffering from an eating disorder pathologically regulate their food intake. Images and messages about diet and weight that we are regularly exposed to, even if they are intended to promote a healthy relationship with food, can cause erratic thoughts and behavior in people who have an eating disorder. When you are anorexic, you excessively restrict calories or use other methods of losing weight, such as excessive exercise, the use of laxatives or dietary supplements, or vomiting after eating. Bulimia nervosa (BN) is associated with recurrent episodes of binge eating (eating large amounts of food over a period of time with a feeling of lack of control over eating and impulsivity) accompanied by inappropriate compensatory habits such as self-induced vomiting, abuse of laxatives or diuretics, and/or excessive exercise. A study of people visiting a Texas food bank found that increased food insecurity was correlated with higher levels of compulsive eating, the overall pathology of eating disorders, moderation in eating, compensatory behavior, and self-reported weight.