Anorexia
This eating disorder often occurs as a result of anxiety about personal body shape and causes sufferers to keep their weight as low as possible. This can be achieved by vomiting, exercising excessively or restricting the amount of food consumed. Anorexia nervosa can be extremely difficult to diagnose as sufferers often try extremely hard to hide their condition. Physically, individuals with anorexia are excessively underweight and often experience issues with their skin as well as hair loss. Females are more commonly effected by the condition than males and behavioural traits to be watchful of include leaving the table immediately after eating to vomit, avoiding social gatherings where food is served, use of weight-loss drugs, an obsession over body image and signs of light-headedness or dizziness.
Bulimia
As with anorexia, bulimia is a mental disorder where sufferers restrict the amount of food they consume. The difference is that people with the condition will also eat excessively or binge eat, before purging the body of the food, either through vomiting or by using laxatives. The most obvious sign that someone has bulimia is frequent visits to the bathroom immediately after eating. Sufferers also tend to be obsessed by their appearance and their body weight. One physical sign to be vigilant of is scarred knuckles, which result from frequent forced vomiting.
Binge eating
This condition, if left untreated, can have serious health implications, causing complications such as obesity, cardiovascular disease and diabetes. As the name implies, binge eating is characterised by eating to excess at an unusually high speed. The condition is often linked to depression and anxiety and an individual may choose to binge eat alone, to hide the shame or embarrassment of the behaviour. Binge eaters often have special foods that they buy in excessive quantities as a form of self-reward. Typically, this leads to feelings of guilt or disgust. What’s important is that people who binge eat aren’t necessarily suffering from the condition, so it’s imperative to seek advice from a professional for accurate diagnosis.
