Chapter 11: Eating Disorders Flashcards
How can OT help people with mental health problems?
To treat these problems, therapists choose activities that help people learn to engage in and cope with daily life.
What is pica?
The label for behavior involved in eating nonfood.
Examples: dirt, coins, articles of clothing, etc.
Often occurs in context of a developmental disability.
Pregnant women also have relatively high rates related to food cravings.
Prevalence: unclear
What are some concerns with pica?
Possible intestinal obstruction or laceration.
Long term = associated nutritional deficits and chronic damage to the alimentary system.
What is the etiology of pica?
In developmental delay, pica may emerge as an automatically reinforced behavior. This behavior may meet unspecified needs, which encourages the individual to continue.
Considered a normal behavior in infants and toddlers.
Has some elements in common with other eating disorders and with OCD.
What is rumination disorder?
Prevalence: unknown
Relatively rare and occurs most frequently in infants.
Occasionally adults are diagnosed—typically in those with ID.
Diagnostic criteria: repeated regurgitation over at least 1 month.
The only specifier is whether the condition is in remission; must be distinguished from medical conditions that might explain the symptoms (such as anorexia or bulimia).
May result in failure to thrive, anemia, and other medical conditions that may affect the infant’s developmental progress; Treatment is largely behavioral.
What is anorexia nervosa?
Often associated w/ disturbances of body image–perception that one is distressingly large despite obvious thinness.
Disorder in which persons refuse to maintain a minimally normal weight, intensely fear gaining weight, and significantly misinterpret their body and its shape.
Anorexia nervosa is characterized by what 3 essential criteria?
Self-induced starvation to a significant degree
Relentless drive for thinness or a morbid fear of fatness
Presence of medical signs and symptoms resulting from starvation
What is the epidemiology of anorexia?
More prevalent in females than males.
Most common onset age: mid-teens (14-18 years).
Most often among those w/ higher socioeconomic status.
Most frequent in developed countries.
Greatest frequency among young women in professions requiring thinness (such as modeling and ballet).
What is the psychological etiology of eating disorders?
typically lack a sense of autonomy and selfhood; self-starvation may be an effort to gain validation as a unique and special person
What is the psychoanalytical etiology of anorexia?
projective identification process involved in interactions between pt and family
Oral desires are greedy.
The desires are projectivity disavowed.
What are some common behaviors of people with anorexia?
These individuals exhibit peculiar behavior about food. They hide food all over the house and frequently carry large quantities of candies in their pockets and purses.
During meals, they try to dispose of food in napkins or hide it in pockets. Cut meat into small pieces and spend a great deal of time rearranging the pieces on plate. If confronted, they deny it being unusual or flatly refuse to discuss.
What are physical signs of anorexia?
Usually present for medical attention when weight loss becomes apparent.
Physical signs: hypothermia, dependent edema, bradycardia, hypotension, and lanugo appear, and various metabolic changes. Some females with amenorrhea. Others concerned with hypokalemic alkalosis (tooth loss) from vomiting and purgative and diuretic use.
