Eating disorders affect health profoundly because they disrupt the body's supply of energy and challenge major organs to do things they weren't designed to do.
The most widely recognized eating disorders are anorexia nervosa, bulimia nervosa, and binge-eating disorder. Each eating disorder creates health issues in unique ways. Each takes a heavy toll on the body.
Health Problems Associated With Anorexia
Anorexia deprives the body of necessary energy. When the body's major organs function on less energy than they need, they simply don't function nearly as well. The body begins to consume its own muscle to keep itself going. Since the heart is a muscle, it often begins to erode as the body slowly consumes it in its desperation for food. In addition to the strain on the heart and increased risk of heart failure, anorexia damages muscles and bones, the reproductive system, kidneys, and the immune system. It is a life-threatening disorder.
Health Problems Associated With Bulimia
Bulimia damages health by physically traumatizing the body and disrupting good nutrition. Binges can fill the stomach to beyond what it can hold. Repeated purging sends stomach acid through the esophagus, eating away at its vulnerable tissue. Purging leads to dehydration, which has numerous other health consequences. In addition, binging and purging creates electrolyte imbalances, which in turn can cause life-threatening heart arrhythmias.
- Bulimia's health risks
- Know the mental and behavioral symptoms of bulimia as well
- Diagnosing bulimia
Health Problems Associated With Binge-Eating Disorder
Binge-eating disorder stresses the digestive system in different ways than bulimia. As with bulimia, binging can push the stomach to its limits. Though it's less damaging than purging food, digesting unusually large amounts of food opens up the possibility of significant unwanted weight gain. This, in turn, can create other health problems.
Other Eating Disorders and Health
While anorexia, bulimia, and binge-eating disorder are the most recognized eating disorders, other eating issues can cause health problems as well. For example, purging disorder carries the problems associated with purging in bulimia. Night eating syndrome involves unhealthy eating patterns mixed with interrupted sleep. Some people have many of the symptoms of anorexia or bulimia but do not meet the full diagnostic criteria. These persons are said to have "eating disorders not otherwise specified," and they still have significant health risks that a doctor should evaluate.
