Overview

An eating disorder is a compulsion to eat, or avoid eating, that negatively affects both one's physical and mental health. Eating disorders are all encompassing. They affect every part of the person's life. According to the authors of Surviving an Eating Disorder, "feelings about work, school, relationships, day-to-day activities and one's experience of emotional well being are determined by what has or has not been eaten or by a number on a scale." Anorexia nervosa and bulimia nervosa are the most common eating disorders generally recognized by medical classification schemes, with a significant diagnostic overlap between the two. Together, they affect an estimated 5-7% of females in the United States during their lifetimes. There is a third type of eating disorder currently being investigated and defined - Binge Eating Disorder. This is a chronic condition that occurs when an individual consumes huge amounts of food during a brief period of time and feels totally out of control and unable to stop their eating. It can lead to serious health conditions such as morbid obesity, diabetes, hypertension, and cardiovascular disease.

Thursday, July 16, 2009

Anorexia and Treatment - The Symptoms and Actions to Take

In general, anorexia is an eating disorder where people voluntarily limit their food intake in order to lose weight while starving their bodies in the process. People that suffer from this eating disorder are usually around the beginning of their puberty, and most of these people are women.

Anorexic is the term used to describe a person suffering from anorexia. Anorexics have a 10 to 15% reduction to their normal body weight, making them thin and skinny. Even though they are already slim, they still have the mindset that they are fat or overweight. This can be attributed to their extreme or intense fear of being fat, although they aren't. Based on this unfounded fear, they develop these bad eating and nutritional habits which harm their bodies in a short period of time.

In order to determine anorexia and treatment needed to triumph over this psychological eating disorder, it must first be determined whether or not the person has symptoms pertaining to the disease. There are many symptoms in determining whether or not a person is an anorexic or not.

First is the eating or dieting habit of the person. If the person has an abnormal eating or diet practice like refusing to eat in public or being obsessive with calorie intake when eating, then he or she may be suffering from anorexia.

Second, if the person focuses his or her daily life on controlling and managing their weight coupled with fanatical episodes of food intake limitation, sugar and fat level scrutiny in food, and pain staking irregular diets, again the person has the potential of being an anorexic.

Today, treatment regarding anorexia has undergone tremendous changes and innovations. In severe or critical cases, weight gain is the first remedy or first aid in treating anorexia. This is done by supplementing the victim with 14 milligrams of zinc.

Research shows that sufficient zinc intake stimulates the appetite of the anorexic, showing increase in food intake over a period of five days. The dangerously low levels of vitamins, minerals, and nutrients in the body are immediately replaced, thereby averting any form of imminent danger to the victim of anorexia.

Another recent discovery in treating this disorder is through psychological treatment and dieting counseling. The victim's mind is conditioned through a series of therapies and counseling sessions in order to encourage him or her to practice proper eating habits.

The disadvantages and dangers of suffering from anorexia and treatment with the modern ways and means on how to prevent further damage by it are taught in detail. Treatments may take weeks, months or even years, but slowly the anorexic will be gradually cured of the harmful eating disorder after going through this series of treatments.



Autor: Mark Bridges

To learn more about the anorexia home treatment program, visit Anorexia And Bulimia Home Treatment Program. For more facts about anorexia causes and treatments, go to >> Eating Disorder Treatments And Causes


Added: July 17, 2009
Source: http://ezinearticles.com/

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