Is an illness that causes serious problems to your everyday diet such as eating extremely small amounts of food or severely overeating and that affects all aspects of each sufferer's lifeEating disorders frequently appear during the teen years or young adulthood but can appear during childhood or later in life.

70 millions of people worldwide suffer an eating disorder14 millions of them occur in America Eating disorders have the highest mortality rate of all mental illnesses

Is characterized by:EXTREME THINNESSINTENSE FEAR OF GAINING WEIGHTEXTREMELY RESTRICTED EATING Food and weight control become obsessionsThey see themselves as overweight even when they are underweight

They are checking their weight several times during the daySome of them recuperate with treatment after only one episode. However others can have relapses*Relapse /rlps/: to fall again in the illness People with anorexia have 18% more probabilities to die earlier than people of similar age in normal conditions

There are other symptoms that can appear over time:THINNING OF THE BONES (osteoporisis)LOW BLOOD PRESURE, SLOW BREATHINGBRAIN DAMAGEWEAK HAIR AND NAILSDAMAGE TO THE STRUCTURE AND FUCTION OF THE HEART

ANEMIA, MUSCLE WASTING AND WEAKNESSGROWTH OF FINE HAIR ALL OVER THE BODY (LANUGO)DRY AND YELLOWISH SKINLACK OF MENSTRUATION

Fasting /fst/ abstain from food

Frequent episodes of eating large amounts of food followed by forced vomiting, excessive use of laxative, fasting, excessive combination or a combination of these behaviorsThey fear gaining weightThey want desperatly to lose weight

Bulimic behavior is done secretly because they feel disgust and shameThe behavior of eating and purging can happen anywhere several times a week or a dayThey are unhappy with their body size and shape

A bulimic person can develop these symptoms:INFLAMED AND SORE THROATDecay /dke/ deteriorateRUSSELLS SIGNDECAYING TEETH AS A RESULT OF EXPOSURE TO STOMACH ACIDGASTROINTESTINAL PROBLEMSSEVERE DEHYDRATION

Binge /bnd/ an episode of excessive eating or drinkingIs an EDNOS (Eating Disorders Not Otherwise Specified)People lose control over his eating. These periods of binge eating are not followed by purging, fasting or excessive exercise.In fact, these people tend to be obese.These people have a higher risk for developing cardiovascular diseaseThey experience guilt, shame and distress

1 in 10 cases of these disorders involve males. Recent studies are indicating that the real figure could be that up to 25% of people with eating disorders are male.Particularly, in anorexia, one in four children who suffer an eating disorders is a boy. Their symptoms are similar to females. But can have muscle dysmorphia (bigorexia) that is characterized by an extreme concern with becoming more muscular

PSYCHOLOGICAL FACTORS Panic disorderPhobias DepressionAnxiety StressPERSONALITY AND CHARACTER FACTORS Low self-esteemPerfectionism Approval seekingDependency

HOME AND SCHOOL FACTORS Parents behaviours Comments made by classmatesINTERPERSONAL FACTORS Troubled personal relationships Difficulty expressing emotions and feelingsHistory of being ridiculed based on size or weightHistory of physical or sexual abuse

CULTURAL FACTORS Cultural pressures that glorify thinness or muscularity Media: TV, Magazines

I am not gorgeous, I am very far from perfection. Sometimes in the morning when I wake up, I look in the mirror and I look fat. I also do not like my legs

Treatment plans are adapted to individual needs and include one or more of this treatments:Individual, group, family psychotherapyMedical care and monitoringNutritional counseling*MedicationsCounsel /kansl/ A person who gives advice.Some patients can need to be hospitalized to treat problems caused by malnutrition or to ensure they eat enough

ANOREXIAGive back the person to a healthy weightTreating the psychological problems related to the eating disorderMaudsley therapy: parents of adolescents with anorexia assume responsibility for feeding their child.BULIMIAEliminate or reduce binge eating and purging behaviors.Cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT)Fluoxitine (prozac): the only medication approved by the U.S Food and Drug Administration (FDA)BINGE EATINGCBTFluoxitine and other antidepressants

SCOFF questionnarie:

Do you make yourselfSick because you feel uncomfortably full?Do you worry that you have lostControl over how much you eat?Have you recently lost more thanOne stone (6 kilograms) in three months?Do you believe yourself to beFat when others say you are too thin?Would you say thatFood dominates your life?If you answer yes to two or more of these questions, you can have an eating disorder.