Eating Disorders

Basics

Description

Anorexia Nervosa (AN)
  • Restriction of intake, leading to markedly low body weight for age, height, and/or developmental trajectory
  • Intense fear of gaining weight or becoming fat, or behavior that prevents weight gain
  • Severe body image disturbance, undue influence of body weight and shape on self-evaluation, or denial of seriousness of low body weight
  • Lifetime prevalence: 0.9% of females, 0.3% of males in the U.S.
  • Onset adolescence to young adult

Bulimia Nervosa (BN)
  • Recurrent episodes of binge eating characterized by:
    • Eating an unusually large amount of food in a discrete period of time
    • A sense of loss of control over eating during the episode
  • Recurrent inappropriate compensatory behaviors used to prevent weight gain:
    • Self-induced vomiting
    • Misuse of laxatives or enemas
    • Diuretics
    • Diet pills
    • Fasting
    • Excessive exercise
  • Bingeing and compensation occur on average at least once a week for 3 mo
  • Self-evaluation that is excessively influenced by weight or body shape
  • Lifetime prevalence: 1.5% of females, 0.5% of males in the U.S.
  • Commonly onset in late adolescence or early adulthood

Binge Eating Disorder (BED)
  • Recurrent episodes of binge eating characterized by:
    • Eating a larger than usual amount of food in a discrete period of time
    • A sense of loss of control over eating during the episode
  • Binge eating episodes associated with 3 or more of the following:
    • Eating much more rapidly than normal
    • Eating until feeling uncomfortably full
    • Eating large amounts of food when not feeling physically hungry
    • Eating alone because of embarrassment about how much one is eating
    • Feeling disgusted with oneself, depressed, or very guilty after overeating
  • Marked distress over binge eating
  • Occurs on average at least once a week for 3 mo
  • No compensatory behavior
  • Lifetime prevalence: 3.5% of females and 2% males in the U.S.
  • Onset in late adolescence or early adulthood

Etiology

  • Twin studies have supported a strong genetic component
  • Cultural emphasis on thinness as a valued attribute has been implicated
  • Temperament or personality attributes of perfectionism, anxiety, and behavioral rigidity have been described
  • Family conflict or stress is a frequent element
  • Neurochemical (serotonin) and neuroendocrinologic (leptin, HPA axis) abnormalities have been reported
  • Dieting is a frequent immediate precipitant

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