ANOREXIA
What is anorexia?
Characterized by:
•Irrational dread of becoming fat coupled with a pursuit of
thinness
•Going to extremes to reach and maintain dangerously low body
weight
•No matter how much weight is lost, still not enough
•More the scale dips, the more obsessed they become with food,
dieting, and weight loss
There are two types of anorexia. In the restricting type of anorexia,
weight loss is achieved by restricting calories (following drastic diets,
fasting, and exercising to excess). In the purging type of anorexia,
weight loss is achieved by vomiting or using laxatives and diuretics.
FOOD BEHAVIOR SIGNS AND SYMPTOMS
•Dieting despite being thin
•Obsession with calories, fat
grams, and nutrition
•Pretending to eat or lying about
eating
•Preoccupation with food
•Strange or secretive food rituals
APPEARANCE AND BODY IMAGE SIGNS AND SYMPTOMS
•Dramatic weight loss
•Feeling fat, despite being
underweight
•Fixation on body image
•Harshly critical of appearance
•Denies being too thin
PURGING SIGNS AND SYMPTOMS
•Using diet pills, laxatives, or diuretics
•Throwing up after eating
•Compulsive exercising
BULIMIA
What is bulimia?
Characterized by:
•
Frequent episodes of binge eating, followed by frantic efforts to
avoid gaining weight
1.
During an average binge, you may consume from 3,000 to 5,000
calories in one short hour
2.
Panic sets in and you turn to drastic measures to “undo” the binge,
such as taking ex-lax, inducing vomiting, or going for a ten-mile
run
If you make up for your binges by fasting, exercising to excess, or going
on crash diets, this also qualifies as bulimia, bulimia doesn’t
necessarily involve purging
BINGE EATING SIGNS AND SYMPTOMS
•Lack of control over eating
•Secrecy surrounding eating
•Eating unusually large amounts of food
•Disappearance of food
•Alternating between overeating and
fasting
PURGING SIGNS AND SYMPTOMS
•Going to the bathroom after meals
•Using laxatives, diuretics, or enemas
•Smell of vomit
•Excessive exercising
PHYSICAL SIGNS AND SYMPTOMS
•Calluses or scars on the
knuckles or hands
•Puffy “chipmunk” cheeks
•Discolored teeth
•Not underweight
•Frequent fluctuations in
weight
BINGE EATING
What is binge eating?
Characterized by:
•
Compulsive overeating in which people consume huge amounts of
food while feeling out of control and powerless to stop
1.
Feeling extremely distressed or upset during or after bingeing
2.
Unlike bulimia, there are no regular attempts to “make up” for the
binges through vomiting, fasting, or over-exercising
BEHAVORIAL SYMPTOMS
•Inability to stop
eating or control
what you’re eating
•Hiding or stockpiling
food to eat later in
secret
•Rapidly eating
large amounts of
food
•Eating normally
around others, but
gorging when you’re
alone
•Eating even when
you’re full
•Eating continuously
throughout the day,
with no planned
mealtimes
EMOTIONAL SYMPTOMS
•Feeling stress or tension that is only relieved by eating
•Embarrassment over how much you’re eating
•Feeling numb while bingeing—like you’re not really there or you’re
on auto-pilot.
•Never feeling satisfied, no matter how much you eat
•Feeling guilty, disgusted, or depressed after overeating
•Desperation to control weight and eating habits
There is no single
reason!
Outside expectations/pressures
2. Body image/perfectionism/dismorphia
3. Sports stereotyped figures
1.

Family life
› They can control their body
› They try to be good enough
*Pressure from the Media
- want to be as skinny and “beautiful” as the
models
- that is the normal
*Pressure from friends
-standards for friends
#Karen Carpenter

Because people have these
“expectations and pressures” we’re seen
to be a certain way
› Strive to be perfect
› http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-
cJAyksNhIo&feature=related
› Don’t see reality
Gymnastics, wrestling, track, etc.
 Christy Henrich- Gymnist 22, 47 Ibs, Heidi
Guenther- ballet dancer 22

› Feel the need to be at the best physical
shape
Many factors contribute to the cause of
eating disorders
 Top athletes, models, media, photoshop
make “standards” or expectations for
what is normal, in a person or athlete,
which makes people feel pressured to
do anything in order to be skinny/no fat/
have the “perfect body”


More common in athletes than general
population and more common in female
athletics than male athletics
 Leanness-dependent/weight-dependent
sports such as wrestling, body-building,
gymnastics.
 Pressure in sports to be thin/lean, athletes in
these sports often fluxgate weight in order to
meet demands
 Judged sports such as ballet, gymnastics,
figure skating are found to bet at the highest
risk


Factors such as: perfectionism, high selfexpectations, competitiveness, hyperactivity,
repetitive exercise routines, compulsiveness, drive,
body image distortion, pre-occupation with dieting
and weight.
These factors were all found to be common in
Athletes and those who have Anorexia.
Unfortunately it’s easy to develop if you are an
athlete.
External forces are the biggest contributors to the development of eating disorder

A study conducted in 2000 study found
that some coaches view some eating
disorders symptoms such as excessive
exercise, perfectionism, overcompliance, and competitiveness, as
desirable. And some parents view a
strong desire to please others, namely
themselves, as a healthy trait in their
children.
Try to please others
- worry about social
acceptance
- feel inadequate
- spend time thinking
about personal
inadequacies,
- dependent on
others
-
Due to the fact that in many sports,
athletes with a thin physique and shorter
stature perform better, eating disorders
have become more common.
 Competitive athletes will do whatever it
takes to win including sacrificing their
physical health in order to perform
better.

History of childhood abuse or
traumatic experience
 Family History
 Bad Role Models
 Quality of Parent-Child relationship
 Hurtful Relationships

› Reported by 53% of female athletes diagnosed
with an eating disorder. (Arthur-Cameselle J., Quatromoni P.)
“The coach is often the key person in the
lives of athletes.”
(Scoffier S., Maiano C., d’Arripe-Longueville F.)

Pressure to obtain a low body weight
› 1/3rd of the boys and 13% of the girls reported dieting after
being directed to by coach. (To Be Thin: Disordered Eating Among Adolescent
Elite Athletes and Non-Athletes)

Coaching style
› 41% reported pressure to perform as a trigger to the onset
of their eating disorder. (Arthur-Cameselle J., Quatromoni P.)

Hurtful Role Models
› Reported by 59% as a trigger to the onset of their eating
disorder. (Arthur-Cameselle J., Quatromoni P.)

Peer Acceptance
› Negatively influences disordered eating attitude.
“There is a sociocultural and media-driven
emphasis on appearance thinness”
(Bonci C,
Bonci L, Vanderbunt E, et al.)

Entertainment
› Emphasizes “thin ideal” and is a significant
factor in the prevalence of eating disorder
symptoms among athletes. (Bissel K.)

Sports Media
›
Found as a significant factor in body dissatisfaction,
bulimia, and drive for thinness among athletes.
•Treatment for Anorexia
nervosa and binge eating:
•Treatment for eating disorders
is a combination of
psychotherapy and medical
management.
Roughly 30 % of people with anorexia
receive treatment; whereas only 6 % of
bulimics receive treatment
 Sometimes it’s hard to treat because of
denial and secrecy:





Arrange to speak w/ friend in a private place
Express your concerns
Listen to your friend and offer support
If you are upset about your friend’s situation,
seek professional counseling and help
10 THINGS NOT TO SAY TO SOMEONE WITH AN EATING
DISORDER
1.
Why? (Eating disorders are complex mental
illnesses with multiple factors, and the last
thing you want to do is put him/her on the
spot, after a vulnerable revelation.)
2.
But you don't look like you have an eating
disorder! (Sounds like: "You're fat!")
3.
If you want to lose weight, why don't you just
diet and exercise? (This is like telling an
alcoholic to just have a "few" drinks.)
4.
It's what's on the inside that counts. (Sounds
like: "You're ugly.")
5.
You look great to me! (You do not know if this
is his/her healthy weight, or what s/he may
have done to get here.)
6.
How long has it been since you've eaten? (This
is unimportant, and sounds callous. Eating
disorders are never, at the heart, about food.)
7.
I had a friend once whose sister was bulimic,
and she... (Invalidates him/her as an
individual; sounds like you think you know it
all. No two eating-disordered people are the
same.)
8.
Just eat what you want! (Sounds like: "It's not
a big deal.")
9.
Nice weather we're having. (Self-explanatory.)
10.
____ (Self-explanatory.)

As future professionals in the field of
health we should be aware of:
›
›
›
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Types
Symptoms
Causes
Damage
Treatments
Of eating disorders.