A-Z Listings

Dictionary and Glossary

Cash Counts

Your one-stop shop for benefits advice

makingcontact.org

Get in touch with other families...

Subscribe to the Contact a Family Directory

This site complies with the HONcode standard for trustworthy health information: verify here.

Eating disorders

Background

Eating habits naturally vary from person to person. Some people may develop habits that mean they use food in a way that damages their health – dieting, binging (eating excessive amounts of food) or purging themselves (being sick or using laxatives – medication to help empty their bowels) . A person with an eating disorder may focus excessively on their weight and shape. In some people however, appearance may not be the main issue, there may be an element of feeling ‘in control’ by restricting food or calorie intake.

Eating disorders can affect people of any gender, age, ethnicity or social/economic background. Although they most commonly arise in females and those in the teenage years, 1 in 10 cases affect males and they frequently persist into old age.

There are several types of eating disorder:

• anorexia nervosa – occurs when someone tries to keep their weight as low as possible, by starving themselves or exercising excessively
• bulimia nervosa – occurs when someone tries to control their weight by binge eating and then deliberately purging themselves to reduce the amount of calories they intake. A person with bulimia may appear to others to be of normal weight
• binge eating disorder – occurs when a person binges on food uncontrollably but does not purge. In some cases, food may be used as a comfort or to escape difficult emotions
• compulsive overeating – occurs when a person compulsively overeats even when they are not hungry. Food can be used as a comfort or escape.

What are the causes?  

Tell us what you think of this information...

 Print whole article

1. Background
2. What are the causes?
3. How is it treated?
4. Inheritance patterns and prenatal diagnosis
5. Is there support?