When does dieting become obsessive?
Almost everyone dies at some point in their life. But for some people – mostly women – it goes much further than just lines. The consequences are serious and sometimes even fatal.
People with eating disorders are often very dissatisfied with their appearance. Even while in many cases they are already slim or even scrawny. Yet they continue to feel too fat. The causes are largely psychological.
Causes
Eating disorders are most common in young women. Teen magazines are full of slim models and you can’t ignore them in popular TV series. Many young girls therefore want to meet this social ideal. And in that they go far.
The social environment also has a major influence on the development of eating disorders. Major traumatic experiences and problems within the family can prevent someone from coping with emotions such as anger and sadness. This in turn can lead to an obsession with food.
Psychologically, the causes are different for every patient. But distorted body image, low self-esteem and extreme perfectionism are characteristic of people with eating disorders such as anorexia or bulimia nervosa.
Possible signals
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Wearing loose clothing.
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Often on the scale.
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Complain about the weight.
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Obsessive weight loss.
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Hyperactivity in combination with insomnia.
Forms
Anorexia
Literally, anorexia nervosa stands for ‘loss of appetite due to nervous causes’. This is misleading, because people with anorexia do not have a lack of appetite: they deliberately eat very little or not at all. Losing weight is a very big urge for them, which often becomes addictive. The thinner, the more anxious the anorexic patient will become about gaining weight again.
Bulimia
In bulimia, binge eating is the main focus. These eating kicks are often
alternating with times of little food. The binge eating is purely about eating, not about satisfying a feeling of hunger. After the uncontrolled eating, the bulimia patient wants to get rid of the food as quickly as possible. Often out of fear of gaining weight or out of guilt. They do this by deliberately inducing vomiting sessions, taking a lot of laxatives or fasting for a while.
Orthorexia
Orthorexia is an emerging eating disorder, in which patients are obsessed with healthy eating. Out of fear of illness or purely out of a sense of control, people with this disorder eat extremely healthy. They banish more and more, in their eyes, unhealthy foods and eventually get physical problems as a result.
