Advances in
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Opinion Volume 4 Issue 4
Eating disorders
Hafiza Syeda Samrina
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Aga Khan University Hospital, Pakistan
Correspondence: Syeda Samrina, Clinical Nutrition Intern, Aga Khan University Hospital, Stadium Road, Karachi 74800, Pakistan
Received: March 08, 2016 | Published: April 25, 2016
Citation: Samrina HS. Eating disorders. Adv Obes Weight Manag Control. 2016;4(4):107. DOI: 10.15406/aowmc.2016.04.00096
Opinion
Eating disorder is not a new term for all of us especially with the increasing global health burden. According to the 2003 statistics, eating disorders affect up to 70million individuals worldwide without any gender discrimination.1 Especially when it comes to adolescents and young individuals because they are more concerned about their body image. According to the epidemiological studies, the incidence of eating disorders has increased over the last 50years.2 There are biological, psychological, social, cultural and family factors that have a deep impact upon developing eating disorders while media influences further worsens the situation.
Which behavior risks the most for disordered eating?
The most common behavior that could lead to disordered eating is dieting.3 In addition to that low self-esteem or poor body image further knocks out the situation when the ‘want zero size’ or ‘no more skinny’ behavior drags the person to fad diets or yoyo diets.
The consequences of eating disorders
The consequences of eating disorders could be fatal if left untreated. Some of them include:
- Extreme weight loss that could ultimately lead to the loss or irregularity of menstrual cycle and therefore infertility in women
- Amenorrhea
- Electrolyte imbalances
- Muscle loss, weakness and fatigue
- Dehydration that could lead to kidney failure
- Low bone density or osteoporosis
- heart rate that is abnormally slow and low blood pressure
- Potential for gastric rupture during periods of bingeing
- Inflammation of esophagus from frequent vomiting
- Peptic ulcers and pancreatitis
- High blood pressure
- High cholesterol and triglyceride levels
- Type II diabetes mellitus
The Management of eating disorders
The primary therapeutic goal for anorexia nervosa is the normalization of body weight, and for other binge eating disorders, is the normalization of eating behaviors. This is more like psychological counseling and a big fat support from family and friends. There are others factors that influence the outcomes of eating disorders management
- Motivation to change
- Short length of illness
- An early diagnosed eating disorder
- Acceptance to weight restoration
Once the health problems are under control, a long term recovery plan should be taken under consideration.
In these circumstances, the role of a nutritionist or a dietician is to incorporate healthy behaviors into the individual’s everyday lifestyle. This will take a gradual period of time and ultimately will develop a healthier relationship with the eating patterns.
Acknowledgements
None.
Conflict of interest
The author declares no conflict of interest.
References
- The Renfrew Center Foundation for Eating Disorders, Eating Disorders 101 Guide: A Summary of Issues, Statistics and Resources. 2003.
- Morris AM, Katzman DK. The impact of the media on eating disorders in children and adolescents. Paediatr Child Health. 2003;8(5):287–289.
- Natalia Zunino. American Anorexia and Bulimia Association Inc.
©2016 Samrina. This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and build upon your work non-commercially.