Eating Disorder
"Know and Tell"
Eating Disorder - known in Bengali as Ahar Viyadhya, is a complex behavioral problem name that is not used to refer to any specific condition. It is mainly related to human eating habits. A behavioral condition that refers to some abnormal behavioral pattern or sample of human eating habits. There are basically 3 types of eating disorder that we find among its sufferers. They are:
- Anorexia Nervosa
- Bulimia Nervosa and
- Binge Eating Disorder
Although the above are the major disorders, there are some minor types which are well known worldwide.
For example:
- Avoidant/Restrictive Food Intake,
- Rumination Disorder,
- Pica
- Night eating disorder
In recent times, these minor disorders are also being written about in Bangladesh. That is, such events are happening right now around us. So now is the time to raise awareness!
Eating disorders can progress to very severe levels that sometimes affect physical, mental and social functioning. Behaviorally this problem is a bit harder to diagnose. It takes a long time to understand the problem which can lead to this disorder in a critical state and then it takes a lot of speed to cure it. So first of all you have to know what are the symptoms of any disorder….
Anorexia Nervosa: Anorexia in short, which can be life-threatening for the sufferer. The features are:
Low body weight,
Working out and intense fear of weight gain
Having distorted attitudes about weight and body shape.
With this behavioral disorder, the person restricts calorie intake or resorts to other options to mitigate the effects of calorie intake, including excessive exercise, laxative use, or diet. Vomiting even after taking the pill. Having this disorder causes people to starve or abstain from consuming moderate amounts of food day after day despite being underweight. In short, people with this disorder are hyper-conscious about their physical fitness or build. They do not like physical criticism at all.
Bulimia Nervosa: It is simply called Bulimia and it is also a serious behavioral problem that can be life-threatening to a person. People with this disorder have no control over eating. It means that one refrains from eating his food throughout the day, which later leads to overeating and finally expels the food forcefully. Sufferers do this out of guilt, shame and excessive fear of gaining weight. Attempts to reduce calorie intake in other ways, including forced vomiting, excessive exercise, or medication. These people judge themselves harshly i.e. they are overly judgmental. In this case, the victim's weight may be normal or high.
Binge Eating Disorder: People with this behavior consume excessive amounts of food every day and have no control over their eating. They eat quickly or binge even when they are not hungry. Not only this, the person does not stop eating despite feeling discomfort due to overeating. This behavior causes feelings of guilt, discomfort, and shame, but they do not tend to force food or exercise. Many eat alone or in secret because of embarrassment. The victim may be of normal, abnormal or obese weight.
Now let's come to the discussion of minor disorders. First of all, these disorders do not fall into the main stage. But still these patterns of abnormal eating behavior are on the rise. So there is no way to ignore it as unimportant. Let's know briefly about them.
Avoidant/Restrictive Food intake: Due to this disorder, the person fails to meet their daily nutritional requirements due to lack of appetite or picky nature. They don't like all foods. The sufferer has no appetite or taste for food. They develop an aversion to certain foods because they do not like the taste, color or shape of a food. They avoid them. If you think about it, you will understand that this tendency can be observed among the little ones. They are very picky about food. This behavior appears in adults with a more complicated form that we call eating disorder. Specifically avoidant food intake.
Rumination Disorder: A newly recognized disorder in which sufferers regurgitate food they have chewed or swallowed and either re-swallow or regurgitate it. The person does it involuntarily and cannot control himself. It basically indicates psychological disorder. Not related to any physical or digestive problems. Behavioral therapy is helpful in getting rid of this disorder.
Pica: A disorder in which a person begins to eat foods that are not food at all. Eg: chalk, hair, cloth, stone, soap etc. This disorder can be very complex in people. For example: 200 iron nails were found in the stomach of a 15-year-old boy in China! Also, there are strange examples of this disease all over the world which are also terrifying. This disorder can occur due to various reasons. Some mental or even physical malnutrition (lack of minerals) can be responsible for this disease. It is possible to cure this disease by finding the right cause.
Night Eating Disorder: As the name implies, this disorder refers to the tendency of the person to eat at night. The habit of getting up and eating repeatedly during the night can lead to a disorder. And taking extra food for a long time or taking untimely food can cause physical problems such as indigestion, excess fat etc. in many people.
What is the cause of eating disorder?
Experts believe that various factors and characteristics can be responsible for this disorder. Genetic factors, some personality traits, structural differences in the brain, eating habits or culture of a region and many other things work behind it.
What are the effects of eating disorder?
- Complex and serious health problems.
- Working on depression anxiety.
- Suicidal thoughts or actions.
- Impaired physical development.
- Problems in social and personal life.
- death
What is the treatment of this disorder?
- Psychotherapy
- Clinical observation and care.
- Nutritional counseling.
- taking medication
Note that the need for the above points will be decided by a doctor based on the severity of the victim's behavioral disorder. In this case, all types of treatment may not be required or may include more.
Eating disorders affect at least 9% of people worldwide. This disorder exists among 70 million people internationally (National Eating Disorders Association). This number is increasing day by day. Along with the abundance of mental problems among people, this behavioral problem is appearing in more different forms. In fact, even if this problem exists among us, we are not aware of it, due to which this behavioral disorder remains hidden behind the scenes. Eating disorder can lead to death. So public awareness should be raised about this disorder so that its cure is possible and easy at the right time.
Source: Mayo Clinic, National institute of mental health