Eating Disorders Flashcards
What do eating disorders include?
- Anorexia Nervosa (AN)
- Bulimia Nervosa (BN)
- Binge-Eat Disorder (BED)
- Other Specified Feeding or Eating Disorder (OSFED)
- All characterized by weight and food preoccupation
What is the Body Mass Index?
The BMI is a measure of body fat based on weight and height. It is weight divided height (adjusted for age/sex)
-Underweight: <18.5
-Normal weight: 18.5-24.9
-Overweight: 25-29.9
-Obesity: BMI of 30 or greater
It is not a perfect measure
Prevalence of ED?
In Canadian Universities:
1% of cis men have a diagnosed ED
9% of cis women
18% of trans/gender non-conforming
What is Anorexia Nervosa?
It is dramatic, dangerous levels of weight loss not explainable by a particular medical condition. Anorexia on its own means lack of appetite but the word nervosa implies that it is caused by a nervous disorder
What is diagnostic criteria of anorexia nervosa?
-Restriction of energy intake relative to requirements leading to significant low body weight in context of age, sex, developmental trajectory and physical health
-Intense fear of gaining weight or of becoming fat
-Distorted perception of body shape/weight, undue influence of body shape on self-esteem, or persistent lack of recognition of seriousness of current low body weight
What is the prevalence of AN?
- Prevalence of AN is could be as low as 0.3%
-10:1 female to male ratio
-Experience of trauma is predisposing factor
What are some AN features ?
-Choose odd food combinations
-fixate on one part of one or another body part
-self esteem is closely tied to their body
-Acknowledge being thing but do not acknowledge health problems
What are some consequences of starvation?
-Dry skin, brittle hair or nails, sensitivity to cold temperatures, osteoporosis and lanugo, and wasting of muscle and bone
-Cessation of the menstrual cycle (amenorrhea)
What region in brain is seen to be involved in body image?
Certain regions of the parietal lobe, damage to this region can develop a number of unusual conditions. Dysfunction in right parietal lobe has been associated with hatred of left side of body and desire to amputate healthy limbs on that side.
What happens in brain when a person sees their own body in pictures?
It increases activity in parietal lobe but this feature is missing in individuals with AN
What is ghrelin?
A hormone that is associated with hunger, it spikes before an individual eats a tasty meal. Circulating ghrelin levels are very high in patients with AN, expected due to their perpetual state of hunger, but individuals with AN are ghrelin resistant.
What is bulimia?
Comes from greek word bous- “ox” and limos “hunger” it implies ravenous ox like hunger (caused by nervous disorders
What are the hallmarks of bulimia?
-eating larger amounts iof food than most of people would typically consume under similar circumstances
-Attempting to compensate for excess food intake either through purging or exercise
What are the sybtypes of Bulimia nervosa?
-Purging subtype: where individuals attempt to rid their digestive systems of excess food by vomiting, or through laxatives
-Nonpurging subtypes: individuals attempt to compensate for excess food by exercising, or fasting (rare subtype)
What are bulimia nervosa diagnostic features?
-Eating in a discrete amount of time an amount of food that is larger than what similar people would eat in similar time or circumstances
-Sense of lack of control over eating during the episode
-recurrent inappropriate compensatory behaviours in order to prevent weight gain
-This binge eating and compensatory behaviours occur on average at least once a week for 3 month
-Self evaluation is unduly influence by body shape and weight
