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What is an Eating Disorder?
All the definitions.
Ten to fifteen percent of American adults suffer from an eating disorder. People are clinically diagnosed with an eating disorder, or they can be self-diagnosed and still have a significant problem. So what is an eating disorder? Let’s breakdown it down.
Merriam Webster defines an eating disorder as “any of several psychological disorders (such as anorexia nervosa or bulimia) characterized by serious disturbances of eating behavior.” I would define it as any behavior around food that interferes with a healthy life.
Anorexia nervosa, binge eating disorder, and bulimia nervosa are the most common. Other eating disorders include pica, rumination eating disorder, avoidant/restrictive food intake disorder, purging disorder, night eating syndrome, and orthorexia. Let’s dive into each.
Anorexia Nervosa.
One of the most common eating disorders, anorexia nervosa is characterized as excessive worrying about gaining weight and calorie intake; excessive exercise can accompany this disorder. Anorexia can result in…
