Eating Disorder

Eating disorders are significant mental conditions which are related to persistent eating behaviours which have an adverse effect on an individual’s physical health, emotions & ability to perform in day to day activities. There are different types of eating disorders:
Anorexia nervosa: eating disorder characterised by an unusually low body weight, extreme fear of putting on weight, and a distorted impression of weight. Individuals suffering from anorexia use extreme methods to control their weight gain, which often significantly disrupts their health and life activities for e.g, overly exercising, consuming laxatives or dietary aid, puking post eating, and self-starving.
Bulimia nervosa: Individuals with bulimia nervosa suffer have episodes of purging & binge eating and feel lack of control over eating. During those episodes, individual consumes lot of food quickly and then tries to burn off the extra calories using unhealthy methods for e.g., individual might force oneself to vomit, overexert while working out, or use other techniques like laxative, to get rid of the calories out of fear of feeling ashamed, guilty and gaining weight as a result of overeating.

Avoidant/restrictive food intake disorder: Individuals suffering from avoidant/restrictive food intake disorder experience lack of interest in food, avoid food with particular sensory qualities, such as colour, texture, smell, or taste, or worry about the results of eating, such as choking fear, you fail to achieve your basic daily nutritional requirements. Food is not avoided out of concern for putting on weight.
Rumination disorder: Repeatedly and persistently regurgitating food after eating is a symptom of rumination disorder, which is not related to a medical illness or another eating disorder such anorexia, bulimia, or binge-eating disorder. Without feeling nausea or gagging, food is brought back up into the mouth, and regurgitation may not be deliberate. If the food is spit out or if the person eats much less to stop the behaviour, the problem may cause malnutrition. Rumination disorder may be more prevalent in young children or those who have an intellectual handicap.
Binge-eating disorder: Individuals with binge-eating disorder are characterised by eating way too much food and lacking control over eating. Even when one doesn’t feel hungry they consume too much food in a short period of time or may continue eating even long after one is uncomfortably full. After consumption of a large amount of food, individuals might feel guilty, disgusted or ashamed but there are no unhealthy methods used to reduce weight like seen in bulimia or anorexia eating disorder.