[LifeStyle] Eating disorders can strike at any age

[#Steeven.™]

If a person doubts some of his own behaviors regarding food or feelings about her body, he should ask for support.

Although eating disorders are more common among teens and young adults, they affect people of all ages, including older people. Eating disorders are serious conditions that are related to persistent eating behaviors and affect health, emotions, and the ability to function in important areas of life.

Most eating disorders are characterized by excessively focused attention on weight, body shape, and food, leading to dangerous eating behaviors. These behaviors can have a significant impact on the body's ability to obtain proper nutrition.

Eating disorders can damage the heart, digestive system, bones, teeth and mouth, and lead to other diseases, say Mayo Clinic experts.

The three most common types of eating disorders are anorexia nervosa, bulimia nervosa, and binge eating disorder. Others known are rumination disorder and avoidance or restriction disorder in food intake.

Anorexia nervosa is defined by an intense fear of weight gain and a distorted perception of weight or body shape. People with anorexia may excessively limit the calories they eat or resort to other weight loss methods, such as extreme exercise and taking laxatives or diet pills. These people can become abnormally low body weight. The fear of gaining weight can also be accompanied by embarrassment about ingesting calories, which is alleviated by inducing vomiting or using laxatives.

In bulimia, people normally eat a large amount of food at one time (binge eating). Then, driven by embarrassment, they shed the extra calories in an unhealthy way - for example, through vomiting.

The compulsive eating disorder is marked by the ingestion of an excessive amount of food impulsively, the person feels that they have no control over their way of eating. However, unlike anorexia or bulimia, it does not compensate for this behavior. Binge eating disorder is believed to be the most prevalent among older people, who have the same body image concerns as younger people.

One large study found that the level of dissatisfaction with the body is constant among women of all ages, and another study found that even healthy-weight women report being dissatisfied with their body and "feeling fat." Social pressure to be thin is linked to eating disorders in older people, just as it is in adolescents and young people. These feelings can add to factors such as excessive stress, problems with menopause, and fear of the changes that age makes in personal physical appearance.

There is a misconception that an eating disorder is simply a chosen lifestyle, but studies show that these disorders stem from a complex interplay between genetics, biology, behavior, psychology, and social factors. In particular, alterations in the brain circuits of people with eating disorders can complicate recovery and increase the likelihood of relapse.

The eating disorder is usually managed with teamwork that includes the perspective of family practitioners, including mental health professionals and dietitians. Although treatment depends on the type of disorder, it usually involves nutrition education, counseling, and refeeding. Also, a medication may be recommended, especially in cases of binge eating disorder.

Most of the treatment can be done in an outpatient setting. However, people with severe cases of malnutrition due to anorexia or with serious health problems from compulsive eating may require admission to the hospital or a specialized eating disorder program.