Eating Disorders Essay

Question 1

eating disorders intro

Answer 1

With the medias devotion to the unrealistic portrayals of body image and societies preoccupation with food and dieting it is not under that this aspect of human behaviour is subject to disorder

Question 2

anorexia - diagnostic criteria

Answer 2

• restriction of food that leads to very low body weight (significantly below normal
• intense fear of weight gain or repeated behaviours that interfere with weight gain
• body image disturbance

Question 3

anorexia - two subtypes

Answer 3

• restricting type; weight loss achieved by severely limiting food intake
• binge eating and purging type

Question 4

anorexia - prevalence (3)

Answer 4

• 10 times more frequent in women
• typically begins in early to mid teens
• often after an episode of dieting or life stress

Question 5

anorexia - consequences (5)

Answer 5

self starvation and laxative use can cause

• low blood pressure and heart rate
• bone mass declines
• kidney and gastro intestinal problems
• changes in hormones
• sudden death

Question 6

anorexia - prognosis

Answer 6

• 50 - 70% recover
• recovery can take 6-7 years
• relapses are common
• life threatening in that 3 - 5 % die
• suicide

Question 7

Bulimia - diagnostic criteria

Answer 7

• recurrent episode of binge eating
• recurrent compensatory behaviours to prevent weight gain (vomiting)
• body shape and weight are extremely important for self evaluation

Question 8

difference between bulimia and anorexia

Answer 8

people with anorexia loss a tremendous amount of weight whereas people with bulimia do not

Question 9

bulimia - bingeing characteristics

Answer 9

• typically occurs in secret, triggered by stress and the negative emotions they arouse
• continue until uncomfortably full
• followed by feelings of discomfort,disgust, and fear of weight gain, leads to inappropriate compensatory behaviour (purging)

Question 10

bulimia prevalence (3)

Answer 10

• 90% are women
• begins in adolescence
• comorbid with depression, anxiety, and substance abuse

Question 11

bulimia - consequences

Answer 11

frequent purging can cause

• potassium depletion
• loss of dental enamel
• tearing of stomach and throat tissue
• menstrual irregularities
• death

Question 12

bulimia - prognosis

Answer 12

• 75% recover
• early intervention linked to better prognosis
• those who binge and vomit, and have comorbid substance use and depression have poorer prognosis

Question 13

binge eating disorder - diagnostic criteria

Answer 13

recurrent binge eating episodes including at least three of the following
- eating more quickly than usual
- eating until over full
- eating large amounts even if not hungry
- eating along due to embarrassment
- feeling bad
no compensatory behaviour is present

Question 14

binge eating - characteristics (4)

Answer 14

• distinguished from anorexia and bulimia by the absence of weight loss (anorexia) and absence of compensatory behaviour (bulimia)
• most often people with binge eating disorder are obese
• not all people who are obese meet the criteria for binge eating disorder
• comorbid with several disorders including mood disorder, anxiety, ADHD, conduct disorder, and substance use

Question 15

binge eating - prevalence

Answer 15

• risk factors in crude; childhood obesity, critical comments about weight, previous weight loss attempts, negative self concept, depression, and childhood abuse
• more prevalent than anorexia and bulimia
• more common in women

Question 16

binge eating - consequences

Answer 16

Many are likely associated with obesity, including 
- type 2 diabetes 
- cardiovascular problems
- chronic back pain 
some are independent from obesity
- sleep problems
- anxiety
- depression

Question 17

binge eating - prognosis

Answer 17

• Perhaps because it is a newer diagnosis, fewer studies have assessed the prognosis of binge eating disorder. Research so far suggests between 25 - 82% recover
• conflicting finding regarding the duration from between 4 - 14 years

Question 18

Ethology of ED - genetic factors

Answer 18

• run in families, with first-degree relatives of those with an eating disorder more likely to develop the disorder themselves than others
• all genetic studies are consistent with the possibility that genes play a role in eating disorders but studies showing how the genetic factors interact are needed

Question 19

Ethology of ED - neurobiological factors

Answer 19

• findings on the role of serotonin in anorexia are mixed, may play a role in bulimia and binge eating
• dopamine may play a role in restricted eating, linking it to the brains rewards system can help account for how bingeing that is part of bulimia and binge eating influence the dopamine system

Question 20

Ethology of ED - sociocultrul factors

Answer 20

• societies preoccupation with thinness linked to dieting which precedes the development of eating disorders
• media portrayals of thin women, linked to increase in body dissatisfaction which precedes eating disorders

Question 21

ED treatment - medication

Answer 21

• not well studies, limited evidence

- some benefit to bulimia but not anorexia or binge eating

Question 22

ED treatment - therapy

Answer 22

Cognitive behaviour therapy (CBT)

• most effective treatment for eating disorders is CBT
• involves changing beliefs and thinking about thinness, being overweight, dieting and restriction of food
• overall goal to establish normal eating patterns

Question 23

ED preventative interventions

Answer 23

• psychoeducational approach; focuses on educating children and adolescents about eating disorders
• risk factor approach; focuses on helping children and adolescents resist or reject sociocultural pressures to be thin
• de-emphasising sociocultural influences; focus on identifying people with known risk factors and intervening