Medical Complications of Anorexia Nervosa: 

Low heart rate, low body temperature, low blood pressure, irregular heartbeat

Slowed digestion causing pain, early fullness, nausea, bloating and constipation

Hepatitis of starvation, liver failure

Loss of period in females, low testosterone in males, infertility

Bone marrow suppression, anemia

Bone loss and osteoporosis

Thyroid abnormalities, low blood sugar

Brain atrophy, cognitive difficulty

Dry skin, hair loss, lanugo hair growth

Aspiration pneumonia, respiratory failure

High risk for refeeding syndrome, a potentially deadly complication of injudicious refeeding

Medical Complications of Bulimia Nervosa:  

Dental erosion and infections, parotid gland swelling

Esophageal rupture

Gastroesophageal reflux (GERD), constipation

Low potassium, low sodium

Severe edema or fluid overload

Dehydration, fainting

Irregular heartbeat

Seizures

For Treatment:

First know the red flags. Red flags that may indicate an eating disorder include:  Skipping meals

Making excuses for not eating

Eating only a few certain “safe” foods, usually those low in fat and calories

Adopting rigid meal or eating rituals, such as cutting food into tiny pieces or spitting food out after chewing

Cooking elaborate meals for others, but refusing to eat them themselves

Collecting recipes

Withdrawing from normal social activities

Persistent worry or complaining about being fat

A distorted body image, such as complaining about being fat despite being underweight

Not wanting to eat in public

Frequent checking in the mirror for perceived flaws

Wearing baggy or layered clothing

Repeatedly eating large amounts of sweet or high-fat foods

Use of syrup of ipecac, laxatives, the over-the-counter weight-loss drug orlistat (Alli), or over-the-counter drugs that can cause fluid loss, such as menstrual symptom relief medications

Use of dietary supplements or herbal products for weight loss

Food hoarding

Leaving during meals to use the toilet

Eating in secret

When to see a doctor

Because of its powerful pull, an eating disorder can be difficult to manage or overcome by yourself. Eating disorders can virtually take over your life. You may think about food all the time, spend hours agonizing over what to eat and exercise to exhaustion. You may feel ashamed, sad, hopeless, drained, irritable and anxious. You may also have a host of physical problems because of your eating disorder, such as irregular heartbeats, fatigue, and bowel or menstrual troubles. If you’re experiencing any of these problems, or if you think you may have an eating disorder, seek medical help.

Urging a loved one to seek treatment

Unfortunately, many people with eating disorders resist treatment. If you have a loved one you’re worried about, urge him or her to talk to a doctor. Even if your loved one isn’t ready to acknowledge having an issue with food, you may be able to open the door by expressing concern and a desire to listen. If you’re concerned your child may have an eating disorder, contact his or her doctor about your concerns. You can get a referral to qualified mental health providers for treatment.

Keep in mind, however, that in children it’s sometimes hard to tell what’s an eating disorder and what’s simply a whim, a new fad, or experimentation with a vegetarian diet or other eating styles. In addition, many girls and sometimes boys go on diets to lose weight, but stop dieting after a short time. If you’re a parent or guardian, be careful not to mistake occasional dieting with an eating disorder. On the other hand, be alert for eating patterns and beliefs that may signal unhealthy behavior, as well as peer pressure that may trigger eating disorders.

“Anorexia nervosa and bulimia nervosa are the most common clinically recognized eating disorders. Those with anorexia skip meals, adopt highly restrictive and unhealthy diets, obsess over thinness and food, and present abnormal eating habits or rituals.

Bulimia presents itself in the form of binging, or overeating, followed by purging, often either by vomiting or using laxatives.”

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Anorexia Nervosa

Anorexia Nervosa is characterized by the refusal to eat. It can affect anyone of any gender or age but disproportionately affects young women in their late teens and early twenties.

According to the most current edition of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-IV) there are four diagnostic criteria that must be present to achieve having Anorexia Nervosa. First a person must refuse to maintain body weight over a minimal normal weight for age and height or have a failure to make expected weight gain during a defined period of growth, resulting in a body weight 15% lower than expected. Second, the person must experience intense fear of gaining weight or becoming fat, even though underweight. Third, the person must have a disturbance in the way his or her body weight, size, or shape is experienced and also experience undue influence of body weight, or shape on self-evaluation, or denial of the seriousness of the current body weight. Finally, amenorrhea must be present. Amenorrhe is the absence of at least three consecutive menstrual cycles when otherwise expected to occur.  This eating disorder affects 0.4-percent of adolescents and young women. However it is estimated that more than 4-percent of all women will struggle with anorexia nervosa over the course of their lifetime.

Bulimia Nervosa

Bulimia Nervosa is characterized by cyclical bingeing and purging episodes. Bingeing is defined as the consumption of more food than most other people would eat in a similar circumstance over a discrete period of time accompanied by a sense of lack of control over the food consumption.

Bulimia Nervosa exists when bingeing and compensatory behaviors occur on average 2 times weekly or more for a period of at least 3 months, when the behaviors are not exclusively those of Anorexia Nervosa, and when self-evaluation is unduly influenced by body shape or weight. Those with Bulimia are often very concerned about gaining weight and intensely fear getting fat.

People with Bulimia may engage in a variety of either purging or non-purging behaviors such as vomiting, using laxatives, using diuretics, using enemas, fasting, or exercising excessively. Bulimic bingeing and purging cycles are often conducted in secret because of the shame and disgust associated with the process.

Bulimia nervosa is an eating disorder affects 1.3-percent of adolescents and young women. An additional 0.7-percent of older women will develop this disorder over the course of their life.

Learn tomorrow the other eating disorders.  Eating Disorders is this week’s National Awareness Topic!