Other Eating Disorders

There are many other eating disorders besides the main ones, Anorexia Nervosa and Bulimia Nervosa.

• Binge Eating Disorder (BED) - Compulsive eating, characterized by binge eating, without offsetting behavior.
• Compulsive Overeating (COE) - Eating way more than your body actually needs.
• Purging Disorder - Characterized by recurrent purging to control weight or shape in the absence of binge eating episodes.
• Rumination - Characterized by involving the repeated regurgitation of food following a meal which is then either re-chewed and re-swallowed or discarded.
• Orthorexia Nervosa - A term used by Steven Bratman to characterize an obsession with a "pure" diet, where it interferes with a person’s life.
• Diabulimia - Characterized by the deliberate manipulation of insulin levels by diabetics in an effort to control their weight.
• Food Maintenance - Characterized by a set of abnormal eating behaviors of children in foster care.
• Night Eating Syndrome - Characterized by morning anorexia, evening polyphagia frequently associated with insomnia and injury to the hypothalamus.
• Pica - Characterized by a compulsive craving for eating, chewing or licking nonfood items or foods containing no nutrition. These can include such things as chalk, paper, plaster, paint chips, baking soda, starch, glue, rust, ice, coffee grounds, and cigarette ashes. These individuals cannot tell the difference between food and nonfood items.
• Eating Disorders Not Other Specified (EDNOS) - It can refer to a number of disorders. It can refer to a female who suffers for anorexia but still has her period, someone who may be at a healthy weigh, but who has anorexic thought patterns and behaviors, it can mean the sufferer equally participates in some anorexic as well as bulimic behaviors (sometimes referred to a purge-type anorexia), or to any combination of Eating Disorder behaviors which do not directly put them in a separate category.

Bulimia Nervosa

Bulimia Nervosa is an eating disorder where a person will binge eat and then purge the food. Binge eating is stuffing yourself with fatty and unhealthy foods very quickly until you get so full you get sick. Purging is when after you have eaten as much as you possibly can you stick something down your throat to trigger your gag reflex so you vomit everything you have just eaten. When doing this bulimics usually use their pointer or middle finger to trigger their reflex. When this is done regularly they will have soars on their knuckles from rubbing against their teeth and their fingers will have soars from all the stomach acid that comes up with the vomit. Sometimes they will use tooth brushes to avoid the noticeable soars on their hands. There are many symptoms of bulimia. There checks and salivary glands will be swollen. The enamel on their teeth will chip away. They will have the soars on their hands. There gag reflex will be acting up constantly. They will have weight fluctuations and will most likely not be very skinny due to the intake of calories. Bulimics aren’t usually as strong willed as anorexics are. They still feel as though they need food is some way. No matter how long the food stays in their body.

Anorexia Nervosa

Anorexia Nervosa is an eating disorder. It is where someone, usually a young female, will starve herself, abuse diet pills and laxatives, keep a food journal, count calories and exercise to the point of near death. It usually occurs in teenage females, but has been reported in males, and can go throughout their whole life undetected. Sufferers of anorexia are often so skinny you can see their bones. Their often cold and pale. This is because the blood has a hard time getting through the body due to such a low weight. They almost always wear baggy clothes to hide there "fat" and so that no one can detect how skinny they actually are. Their hair will be thin and lifeless and a lot of times fall out. Scientist have found a link between genetics and anorexia and they think part of it is hereditary. People suffering from anorexia feel as though food is poison and if you eat you will get fat and die of “the disease". Obesity. Some anorexics actually have panic attacks when near an overweight person. It sickens them. Without help 20% of people with anorexia die. 60% of anorexics recover with treatment. If you see a person that has these signs and symptoms you need to get them help. You could be saving their life.