One of the most common misconception about eating disorders are that they only affect women. According to a survey done by self magazine and the University of NorthCarolina, 65% of American women between the ages of 25 and 45 have reported taking part in unhealthy eating behaviors. There are however men (1 in 3 men) who are also affected by eating disorder. The purpose of writing this article is to inform others about eating disorders and break the stereotypes that make it hard to talk about. Let us check out the different types of eating disorders.

  1. AVOIDANT OR RESTRICTIVE FOOD INTAKE DISORDER.

According to Alina Petra, a registered dietitian, people with this kind of eating disorder under- eat due to a lack of interest in food or intent distaste for how certain foods look, smell or taste. People suffering from this type of disorder may reduce in weight or experience nutritional deficiency due to eating not more than is expected for maintaining a diet that is healthy.

  • ANOREXIA NERVOSA.

People with this type of eating disorder are determined to keep their body image perfect. They prefer to stay in control by limiting calorie amount intake in order to acquire their perfect body shape. People with anorexia nervosa have a hard time recognizing even when they are severely underweight. These people adapt a distorted self-perception and have dangerously high expectations as they are driven by their obsessive compulsive behaviors.

  • BULIMIA NERVOSA.

Bulimia nervosa is a type of eating disorder where individuals engage themselves with large amount of foods and shortly after they make themselves purge. Purging gives them a sense of relief and similar to anorexia disorder, this helps them feel like they are in control of their own bodies. People with this type of eating disorder might be able to maintain their normal body weight and thus might be hard for them to be noticed by other people.

  • BINGE EATING DISORDER.

People with this type of eating disorder consume a large amount of food on a daily basis. They often exceed the suggested calories intake and are usually overweight or obese. People with binge eating disorders often feel ashamed of themselves and do not feel in control of their bodies.  People with this type of eating disorder can be in the risk of developing heart diseases and diabetes if they do not seek for treatment.

  • PICA.

Individuals affected by Pica eating disorder consume items that are not considered as foods such as rocks and paper. Researchers say that it can be influenced by factors such as stress and low socio- economic status although the causes of it are not known. Pica is reported alongside nutritional deficiency more often. Like any consumption of non- food items, pica has the risk of infections and poisoning.

  • NOCTURNAL SLEEP- RELATED EATING DISORDER.

This type of eating disorder takes place when individuals eat in their sleep unknowingly. They may roam in their kitchen cabinets. Some people have been spotted eating very strange food combinations such as hot dogs dipped in peanut butter. This type of eating disorder affects 1- 3% of the world’s general population.

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