Eating disorders are relatively common and affect up to 2% of women and approximately 0.8% of men. They are characterized by a persistent disturbance of eating patterns that leads to poor physical and/or psychological health. Anorexia, bulimia, binge- eating disorder, or avoidant food intake disorder are eating disorders.
The complexity of eating disorders is probably due to the fact that they are influenced by multiple factors. Like eating patterns, that are influenced by environmental, biological, cultural and psychological factors. Disordered eating patterns can be caused by feelings of distress, anxiety or concern about body shape or weight. A person with an eating disorder may have started out just eating smaller or larger amounts of food than usual. But at some point, the urge to eat less or more can compulsevely spiral out and can become impossible to control and stop.
Eating disorders are likely to appear during adolescence or early adulthood. Since those with these disorders tend to hide these eating behaviors, parents or family generally discover the problem when it has already been installed a long time ago. Recognizing these eating disorders as real and treatable diseases is critically important as they can cause a wide range of physical health complications, including serious heart conditions and kidney failure, that can lead to death.