Common Types Of Eating Disorders

Overweight individuals are more at risk of health issues. These include high blood pressure, heart disease, diabetes, and even cancer. However, sometimes individuals can take eating healthy to the extreme. Many individuals suffer from eating disorders, which are recognized as mental illnesses. Eating disorders are not the same thing as trying to follow a healthy diet. Every eating disorder has been linked with serious health concerns, both physical as well as mental. There is also a high mortality rate with certain eating disorders.

This is why everyone with an eating disorder needs treatment. This often comes from an eating disorder recovery center or another acute center for eating disorders. Some patients may even find their doctors recommend online eating disorder therapy in addition to in-person visits. In all cases, however, it is important to know the common types of eating disorders.

Anorexia Nervosa

The most common type of eating disorder is called anorexia nervosa. Anorexia is the most physically recognizable eating disorder. This is because patients suffering from it often deal with extreme weight loss due to a distorted body image. That said, individuals with larger bodies can still have anorexia. This eating disorder typically first appears during an individual’s adolescence. Women are the most at risk of developing anorexia, though men can also suffer from it.

Iconic symptoms of anorexia include severe weight loss, fainting, constantly feeling cold, acid reflux, abdominal cramps, erosion of tooth enamel, brittle nails, thinning hair, yellow skin, and fine body hair. They will also often comment on feeling fat even if they are a healthy weight and have been losing weight recently. Refusing to eat in front of others and giving excuses such as they are not hungry or have already eaten is also common. When they do eat, they will have severe restrictions as to what they will eat. Anorexia patients also obsessively count calories.

Get the details on another common eating disorder that restricts food intake next.