Medpedia

Feb 04, 12 05:02PM | 0 comments

Canada, The United Kingdom and The United States use the month of February to bring awareness to Eating Disorders.

Generally, eating disorders involve self-critical, negative thoughts and feelings about body weight and food, and eating habits that disrupts normal body function, and daily life activities.

What causes eating disorders is not entirely clear, though a combination of psychological, genetic, social and family factors are thought to contribute to the disorder.

Types of Eating Disorders

Anorexia Nervosa~ Essentially self-starvation, this disorder involves a refusal to maintain a minimally normal body weight. In severe cases, anorexia can be life-threatening

Bulimia Nervosa ~ This involves repeated episodes of binge eating, followed by ways of trying to purge the food from the body or prevent expected weight gain. People can have this condition and be of normal weight.

Binge-eating Disorder~ This is characterized by frequent episodes of overeating without purging.

Eating Disorders Not Otherwise Specified (EDNOS) ~ A range of other disordered eating patterns don’t fit into the other types of eating disorders. These eating patterns are still serious, and intervention and attention are necessary.

Eating disorders can affect functioning in every system of the body, especially the heart and kidneys, and may cause lasting damage and even death. Because of the urgency of the risks associated with eating disorders, getting high-quality eating disorder treatment early on is the best way to combat the mental and physical consequences of these devastating mental illnesses.
Left unattended, eating disorders can lead to serious health problems or even death. For more information, go to the National Eating Disorders Association and to the International Association of Eating Disorders.



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  • (Comment from original source - jalalHB) on Feb 05, 12 01:19AM
    Thanks for sharing this - it is certainly informative. I have shared the post for others to know
  • (Comment from original source - Dr. Deb) on Feb 05, 12 12:03PM
    Thanks JalalHB
  • (Comment from original source - jumpinginpuddles) on Feb 06, 12 06:49PM
    as always a good read :0
  • (Comment from original source - Dr. Deb) on Feb 07, 12 02:52PM
    Thanks JIP.
  • (Comment from original source - PTC) on Feb 09, 12 08:05AM
    I'm thinking about going to a NEDA event, but I don't know, I don't really want to go by myself.
  • (Comment from original source - Carpe Diem Online Counselling) on Feb 15, 12 07:31AM
    Not a lot of people know that February is eating disorder awareness month. We at our counselling firm have started a local campaign with the hope of it going viral to help spread this message.
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