1. Running head: EATING DISORDERS: CAUSES, SYMPTOMS AND TREATMENT
Eating Disorders: Causes, Symptoms and Treatment
Chantal Liu
Chuan Yuan University

2. EatingDisorders:Causes,Symptoms and Treatment
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Table of Contents
Eating Disorders: Causes, Symptoms and Treatment....................................................................... 1
Table of Contents ......................................................................................................................... 2
Introduction ................................................................................................................................ 3
Causes of Anorexia, Bulimia and Eating Disorder Not Otherwise Specified .................................... 3
Signs and Symptoms ................................................................................................................... 5
Treatments ................................................................................................................................. 6
Conclusion ................................................................................................................................. 7

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Introduction
Over the past few years, people have raised concerns about eating disorders, such as
bulimia and anorexia. A recent article on Mirror News showed that more that 1.6 million
people in the UK are affected by eating disorders. (Tessa Munt, 2013) The report said, “There
are more deaths from eating disorders than from other mental illness, and it is estimated that
10% of all sufferers die as a result of their condition.” Eating disorder is a fetal mental illness
and cannot be neglected. This paper investigates the causes, signs and treatment for eating
disorders.
Causes of Anorexia, Bulimia and Causes of Eating Disorder Not Otherwise Specified
There are three types of eating disorders: Anorexia, Bulimia and Eating Disorder Not
Otherwise Specified (EDNOS). Anorexia is a complicated condition that is resulted from
many factors, such as social, pressure, low self-esteem and feeling out of control. The images
of skinny models and celebrities are seen everywhere. The media idolized skinny figures and
implied success is associated with being thin. As a result, people start to develop distorted
body image, thinking they are not good enough if they are not thin (Smith and Segal, 2013).
Stress is one of the causes as well. According to Claire Mysko, an advisor to the National
Eating Disorder Association said, “People who struggle with eating disorders are often highly
prone to stress(Carolyn Gregore, 2013). Controlling diet is seen as a coping mechanism when
we feel overwhelmed or out-of control. An overachiever or perfectionists who get involved in

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school activities is a common anorexic person. Anorexia often affects female who are at the
age between fifteen to twenty years old. It is understandable because people who are at this
period encounter big transitions in life. They are faced with new environments, people,
different schedules and more challenging schoolwork.
On the other hand, Bulimia is caused by unhealthy dieting. Bulimic patients are trapped in
the cycle of binging and purging. When the anxiety of gaining weight set in, they start to
purge. After convincing themselves that vomiting can burn calories, they go into the first state
again, which is consuming a huge amount of calories in a short period of time. They always
tell themselves that it is the last time they binge and they could launch a new diet next time
but they have always failed to succeed. (Smith and Segal) The last type of eating disorder is
Eating Disorder Not Otherwise Specified (EDNOS). EDNOS is the combination of two
eating disorders, anorexia and bulimia, but the symptoms do not fully meet the criteria that
those eating disorders have. (National Alliance on Mental Illness, nd) For example, people
with EDNOS can still maintain an average weight while eating small amounts of food. Even
thought EDNOS patients do not meet the full criteria for bulimia and anorexia, it does not
mean their situation is not serious. In fact, it is the most common eating disorder (Battiste &
Effron, 2012).

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Signs and Symptoms
There are signs and symptoms that you can notice from eating disorders patients. Anorexic
people go on a diet even though they are below the average weight; deny the fact that they are
underweight; lie about eating habit, for example, saying that they have a big breakfast to
avoid lunch; are obsessed with food, such as watching cooking TV shows, studying calories
or storing food secretly; fear of gaining weight; restrain eating. One obvious physical sign
that can be observed is, of course, losing weight in a short time without reasons. Bulimic
people, however, cannot control their eating patterns like anorexic patients. The sings include:
eating privately, spending too much money on food, going on a supermarket run suddenly,
consuming large amounts of food within a couple of hours, overly exercising after eating
because they feel guilty to eat. Other physical sings are going to bathroom after every meal
and having red knuckles from sticking fingers down the throat. For EDNOS patients, they
have all the sings of the above two disorders, which include being sensitive about weight,
food and personal appearance; becoming less social; getting used to standing in front of the
mirror to check themselves. Having all these behaviors only leads to bad influences on the
whole body. Eating disorders patients can not concentrate on work or school; their mood
changes; lose hair; have heartache; do not have regular period; feel depressed and anxious.
(Smith and Segal, 2013) Eventually, the illness can lead to suicide. According to statics
from Increased Mortality in Bulimia Nervosa and Other Eating Disorders (Scott etla, 2009),

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eating disorders have the highest suicide rates among all the psychiatric illnesses.
Treatments
Mental illness can be cured, just like other mental illnesses. With right treatments, patients
can get their life back on track. The first and the most difficult thing for the patients to do is
admitting having the problem and talk to someone about it. It is very important to help your
loved ones if they have this kind of illness. There are several treatments for eating disorders,
such as group therapy, family and consulting. Group therapy is thought as a helpful way for
the patients. It can teach people about nutrition, outcomes of using diet pills, help them to
develop a healthy body image, control of their stress and loneliness. The purpose of sharing
stories is to help each other by giving advices on dealing with eating disorders. (Eating
Disorder Sourcebook, 1999) As a friend or a family member of eating disorder patients, the
first thing to do is to be understandable and considerable. Telling them, “You will die if you
do not eat healthy”, is not going to help them to recover or open up to you. A right way to do
is to show your concerns and be willing to listen to them. Do not give the patients too much
pressure by supervising them. The last, but not the least, is asking for a professional help
from a psychiatrist. Anorexia requires more clinic assistance from a clinic than bulimia does.
A psychiatrist will first try to figure out the triggers. Later on, the psychiatrist will ask about
your family and friends to get to know your personal life. At this point, you could have the
chance to talk about things that bother you- schoolwork, self-esteem, social life or family

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problems. This kind of therapy probably requires an hour every week. It can help you to
realize the underlying problems and the psychiatrist will find a way to help you to get through
it. For anorexia, patients need to go to a clinic and to be weighted on a schedule. Patients will
also be given eating advice and medication. Antidepressants medicines may be needed.
(Smith & Segal, 2013)
Conclusion
Eating disorders are not less important than other kinds of illness. Actually, eating
disorders can be a life-long battle for the patients. You can lessen the symptoms but might not
be able to recover entirely. However, having eating disorder is not something that people
should be ashamed of. Through self-realization of yourself by knowing weight can not define
a person, you can prevent yourself relapsing.

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Reference
Gregoire, C(2013). 6 Things You Need To Know About Stress & Eating Disorders, The
Huff Post
Smith,M&Segal,J (2013) Anorexia Nervosa :Signs, Symptoms, Causes, and Treatment
National Alliance on Mental Illness (n.d.), Eating Disorder Not Otherwise Specified
(EDNOS)
Costin, Carolyn(1999). Eating Disorder Sourcebook. Los Angeles (CA): Lowell (p.155)
Scott J. Crow, M.D.; Carol B. Peterson, Ph.D.; Sonja A. Swanson, Sc.M.; Nancy C.
Raymond, M.D.; Sheila Specker, M.D.; Elke D. Eckert, M.D.; James E. Mitchell, M.D.
Increased Mortality in Bulimia Nervosa and Other Eating Disorders. The American
Journal of Psychiatry.VOL.166,No.12