Eating disorder

• Eating disorders are serious, complex and potentially life-threatening

mental illnesses. They are characterized by disturbances in behaviors,
thoughts and attitudes to food, eating, and body weight or shape. Eating
disorders have detrimental impacts upon a person’s life and result in
serious medical, psychiatric and psychosocial consequences.
• person with an eating disorder may experience long-term impairment to
social and functional roles, and the impact may include psychiatric and
behavioral problems, medical complications, social isolation, disability and
an increased risk of death as a result of medical complications or suicide.
Suicide is a major cause of mortality for people with eating disorders.
• Prevalence
Eating disorders are common and increasing in prevalence. There
is a lifetime estimated prevalence of 8.4% for women and 2.2%
for men.
• Types of eating disorder
• Anorexia nervosa
• Bulimia nervosa
• Binge eating disorder
 Causes of eating disorder

• Family history. Eating disorders are significantly more likely to occur in

people who have parents or siblings who've had an eating disorder.
• Other mental health disorders. People with an eating disorder often have
a history of an anxiety disorder, depression or obsessive-compulsive
disorder.
• Psychological and emotional health. People with eating disorders may
have psychological and emotional problems that contribute to the disorder.
They may have low self-esteem, perfectionism.
 Anorexia nervosa

• It generally develops during adolescence or young adulthood and tends to

affect more women than men. People with anorexia generally view
themselves as overweight, even if they’re dangerously underweight. They
tend to constantly monitor their weight, avoid eating certain types of foods,
and severely restrict their calorie intake.
 Diagnostic criteria
A. Restriction of energy intake relative to requirements, leading to a
significantly low body weight in the context of age, sex, developmental
trajectory, and physical health. Significantly low weight is defined as a
weight that is less than minimally normal or, for children and adolescents,
less than that minimally expected.
B. Intense fear of gaining weight or of becoming fat, or persistent behavior
that interferes with weight gain, even though at a significantly low
weight.
C. Disturbance in the way in which one's body weight or shape is
experienced, undue influence of body weight or shape on self- evaluation,
or persistent lack of recognition of the seriousness of the current low body
weight.
• Mild: BMI > 17kg
• Moderate: BMI 16-16.99kg
• Severe: BMI 15-15.99 kg
• Extreme: BMI < 15 kg