An eating disorder is a mental disorder that is defined by eating habits that are abnormal and these habits tend to have a negative impact on the individual’s health and way of life. Some of the eating disorders include binge eating, pica, rumination disorder, avoidant disorder and anorexia nervosa among others. With binge eating, an individual eats large amounts of food in a short duration and this has an influence on their health, the greatest influence of such an eating disorder is being overweight.
On the other hand, with anorexia nervosa, people tend to eat small food masses and this leads them to have a very lower body weight which may also lead to an unhealthy lifestyle with a low body mass index. Bulimia nervosa is a type of an eating disorder which involves people eating a lot of food in one sitting and then tries to deny themselves food for a long duration of time. With pica disorder, individuals eat non-food items such as snacks and fast-foods. These foods usually have a negative impact on the person’s health as it may lead to health conditions such as cancer. The avoidant disorder involves a lack of interest in food and there are other groups of eating disorders which have not been well-defined. All these mentioned disorders impact an individual’s life negatively, either by increasing the body weight or decreasing the body weight and even leading to some health conditions.
Symptoms of eating disorders
The possible and physical symptoms of the most common eating disorders include body weakness and fatigue, cold sensitivity, men may experience reduced growth of their beards, a reduction in libido, loss of weight in both men and women and even growth failure among other symptoms. Hoarseness is usually associated with an eating disorder as a result of the entry of an acid into the laryngoesophageal tract. When an individual experiences one or more of these symptoms, then the person is most likely to be suffering from one of the eating disorders.
Medical complications from eating disorders
In the US, eating disorders cause the most serious public health conditions and have a higher death rate than the other known mental illnesses. Despite the risks associated with these eating disorders, only 10% of the affected persons get the treatment required to get rid of these diseases. Eating disorders are very complicated illnesses that can have very harmful consequences on a person’s health. These disorders tend to harm an individual’s physical and emotional well-being and if not handled in time, these disorders can lead to mortality. Eating disorders can cause negative health conditions to the body’s regulatory system including the immune system, skeletal and cardiovascular systems, reproductive system and even the digestive system among others. The effects that eating disorders may have on an individual may rapidly occur or certain interventions lead to deterioration of the health effects. If these health conditions associated with eating disorders are given proper nursing interventions, then the affected person may recover after a short period. However, there are health conditions associated with the eating disorders such as osteoporosis which may have lasting negative health impacts on the individual affected.
Eating disorders can also lead to suicide threats as the affected individual may develop a suicidal urge. In the US and other developing countries, the suicide which occurs as a result of the eating disorders accounts for almost 1/3 of the deaths. This implies that individuals who are suffering from eating disorders are more likely to think about suicidal acts more often than individuals without the eating disorders. The suicidal risk in these individuals has been evidenced to be 23 times higher than those without these disorders, an indication that close attention and care should be provided for the persons with eating disorders in order to reduce the risk of committing suicide. In addition to this, individuals suffering from anorexia nervosa may develop low blood pressure and slow heart rate which is harmful to the body and can lead to mortality. The functioning and structure of the heart are also damaged by these disorders and the muscles get weakened; this is possibly caused by the avoidant eating disorder. Some eating disorders also lead to loss of menstrual cycle and this leads to high cases of infertility in both men and women.
Biological and sociocultural factors for eating disorders
There are many biological and sociocultural factors that are associated with the different types of eating disorders. Studies have supported the fact that there are two biological factors that are associated with the development of an eating disorder. A research carried out at the University of Columbia supports that there exists a specific gene that is linked to eating disorders (BDNF-Val66Met variant). In addition to this, studies have also shown that the state of calorie deprivation is another significant biological factor that impacts the state and development of an eating disorder.
Socio-cultural factors: In any given environment, the effects and lessons from mass communication are quite significant in ensuring the well-being of an individual. It can be argued out that the most common causative agent of an eating disorder is to have body image standards that have been set by the media. With the most common urge of having a beautiful body shape and the narrow definitions linked to beauty, the society plays a significant role in influencing individual’s self-esteem and self-worth to some extent. Measuring oneself against others is also a social factor that influences the decisions made by human beings and this may, in turn, lead to the development of an eating disorder. For instance, most people tend to do things to impress others or because others have been successful in doing the same. The consequences of peer pressure and following others blindly are however real; eating disorders being one of them.
Treatment for eating disorders
There are nursing interventions that can be used to reduce the cases of eating disorders among individuals. If left untreated or unattended to, eating disorders are very complex health conditions that may lead to emotional and physical consequences. Due to these, it is advisable that persons (both men and women) suffering from eating disorders seek medical attention as soon as possible. In order to start recovering from an eating disorder, affected individuals should consider reaching out to an eating disorder treatment specialist to advise on some of the interventions that the individual can use to regain a healthy lifestyle. Eating disorder treatment can be delivered in different settings. These settings include intensive outpatient where the patient is stable medically and does not require daily assessments, the residential treatment where the affected individual is treated at the comfort of his/her home and inpatient treatment where the person requires daily assessments. Some of the therapies used to reduce cases of eating disorders in the society today include:
Acceptance therapy and commitment therapy: The aim of this therapy is to change one’s actions rather than beliefs and attitudes. Patients suffering from eating disorders are taught on how to come up with goals that fulfil the core values related to healthy eating habits.
Cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT): This is a short-term eating disorder treatment that basically focuses on the beliefs, values and cognitive development processes that may impact an individual’s eating disorder. The main aim of this therapy is to do away with the beliefs and attitudes associated with different eating disorders. It also aims to do away with the beliefs and attitude of being overweight and underweight.
Cognitive remediation therapy (CRT): This therapy helps the affected individuals with skills that they can use to focus on more than one thing. This therapy works through exercises, the reflection of an individual's life and working through guided supervisions.
Dialectical behaviour therapy: This therapy assumes that the first step of treating an eating disorder such as binge eating, anorexia nervosa and bulimia nervosa is through changing behaviours. This therapy involves developing skills that are then used to replace eating disorder behaviours.
Evidence-based treatment: Despite the fact that the mentioned therapies have been successful in treating eating disorders, most healthcare facilities have encouraged the use of evidence-based treatment. This involves using a therapy that has been researched and experimented to reduce eating disorder habits, increase weight in individuals that are under-weight and reduce weight in individuals with binge eating habits.
