Eating Disorders in Adults

Anorexia Nervosa:

It is a disorder that generally begins between the ages of 12-18 and is determined by conscious efforts to remain extremely thin due to a severe fear of gaining weight. Although its frequency in society is unknown, it is not a very rare disorder as previously thought. Approximately 95 percent of individuals with Anorexia Nervosa are female. And if a person’s sister has this type of disorder, that person’s risk of the same disease increases significantly. The disorder is more common in upper socioeconomic classes.

The most basic symptom is the fear of gaining too much weight. This can cause the person to almost become phobic about food. In addition to the fear of getting fat, there is also a distortion in body image. Accordingly, these people may find themselves fat even if they are very thin and slender.

They use two methods to keep their body weight under control: Some people severely restrict their food intake. They are careful to make sure that the little food they eat is very low-calorie. Despite this, these people do heavy exercise. In the other group, periods of hunger, when food intake is severely reduced, alternate with periods of overeating. People in this group vomit by pressing their fingers into their throats for fear of gaining weight after overeating. People who do this frequently may have hardened skin on the back of their hands. People who vomit frequently experience tooth decay and deformities due to the effects of stomach acid.

Bulimia Nervosa :

It is a disorder that continues with periodic binge eating, gaining weight and at the same time trying to stop gaining weight. These patients are different from people who constantly overeat, are extremely obese and remain obese. When the patient starts having binge eating attacks, despite all their efforts, fears and sadness, they cannot stop their passion for eating. In order to prevent gaining weight, the patient vomits what they eat and uses appetite suppressants and diuretics. These people may not be overweight most of the time. However, they still constantly complain about gaining weight. They may be excessively preoccupied with body weight, beauty and ugliness. These people spend a significant part of their lives wavering between eating and not eating.

The passion for food becomes so strong that they eat secretly, go and throw up, and eat again. For some patients, the food eaten does not matter; what is important is an eating behavior that can be described as binge eating. In some patients, the passion for food can be so extreme that they may fear that they will not be able to find food or drink where they are.

In the bulimic form of Anorexia Nervosa, there may be occasional attacks of overeating and weight gain. However, the basic disorder is in the direction of restricting and cutting food. In Bulimia Nervosa, there may be vomiting and various medications may be used to lose weight. However, the basic pathology is more in the form of not being able to stop eating.