Eating disorders Anorexia nervosa - PowerPoint Presentation

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Eating disorders

Anorexia nervosa

Bulimia nervosa

Inanition

Cachexia

Pica

Anorexia nervosa

The expression anorexia describes

loss of appetite

Anorexia nervosa can be defined as ‘the relentless pursuit of thinness through self-starvation, even unto death’

patient commonly has a fear of obesity and consciously pursues its avoidance

An obsessive and perfectionist need for control appears to be universal and this gets channeled into avoidance of feeding.

People with anorexia have a distorted perception of their body and tend to judge themselves as larger than they are objectively.

Anorexia nervosa is a serious condition

In approximately 10% of diagnosed cases, complications from starvation result in death, and there is a high rate of suicide among anorexics

Bulimia nervosa

Anorexia nervosa is related to bulimia nervosa.

Bulimia nervosa is a disorder characterized by periods of not eating interrupted by

bingeing

(eating huge amounts of food in short periods of time) followed by efforts to immediately eliminate the consumed calories from the body by voluntary purging (vomiting); by excessive use of laxatives, enemas, or diuretics; or by extreme exercise.

Bulimics may be obese or of normal weight.

If they are underweight, they are diagnosed as

bingeing anorexics.

Relation between Anorexia and Bulimia

Are anorexia nervosa and bulimia nervosa really different disorders, as current convention dictates?

The answer to this question depends on one s perspective.

From the perspective of a physician, it is important to distinguish between these disorders because starvation produces different health problems than does repeated bingeing and purging.

For example, anorexics often require treatment for

reduced metabolism,

bradycardia

(slow heart rate),

hypotension (low blood pressure),

hypothermia (low body temperature),

and anemia (deficiency of red blood cells)

In contrast, bulimics often require treatment for irritation and inflammation of the esophagus, vitamin and mineral deficiencies, electrolyte imbalance, dehydration, and acid reflux.

Although anorexia and bulimia nervosa may seem like very different disorders from a physicians perspective, scientists often find it more appropriate to view them as variations of the same disorder.

According to this view, both anorexia and bulimia begin with an obsession about body image and slimness and extreme efforts to lose weight.

Both anorexics and bulimics attempt to lose weight by strict dieting, but bulimics are less capable of controlling their appetites and thus enter into a cycle of starvation, bingeing, and purging

The following are other similarities that support the view that anorexia and bulimia are variants of the same disorder

Both anorexics and bulimics tend to have distorted body images, seeing themselves as much fatter and less attractive than they are in reality

Anorexia and bulimia show the same pattern of distribution in the population.

Both anorexia and bulimia are highly correlated with obsessive-compulsive disorder and depression

Neither disorder responds well to existing therapies. Short-term improvements are common, but relapse is usual

Inanition

Inanition is the opposite of obesity and is characterized by extreme weight loss.

It can be caused by inadequate availability of food or by

pathophysiological

conditions that greatly decrease the desire for food, including psychogenic disturbances, hypothalamic abnormalities, and factors released from peripheral tissues.

In many instances, especially in those with serious diseases such as cancer, the reduced desire for food may be associated with increased energy expenditure, causing serious weight loss

Cachexia

Cachexia

is a metabolic disorder of increased energy expenditure leading to weight loss greater than that caused by reduced food intake alone.

Anorexia

and

cachexia

often occur together in many types of cancer or in the “

wasting syndrome

” observed in patients with acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS) and chronic inflammatory disorders.

Almost

all types of cancer cause both anorexia and

cachexia

, and more than half of cancer patients develop

anorexia-

cachexia

syndrome

during the course of their disease.

Central

neural and peripheral factors are believed to contribute to cancer-induced anorexia and

cachexia

.

Picca

Pica is a

compulsive eating disorder

in which people eat nonfood items.

Dirt, clay, and flaking paint are the most common items eaten.

Less common items include glue, hair, cigarette ashes, and feces.

The disorder is more common in children, affecting 10% to 30% of young children ages 1 to 6.

It can also occur in children and adults with intellectual and developmental disabilities, such as 

autism.

On rare occasions, pregnant women crave strange, nonfood items.

For these women, pica often involves eating dirt and may be related to an iron and zinc deficiency.

Symptoms of pica

Stomach upset.

Stomach pain.

Blood in the stool (which may be a sign of an ulcer that developed from eating nonfood items).

Bowel problems (such as 

constipation

 or diarrhea).

Causes of

picca

There’s no single cause of pica.

In some cases, a deficiency in 

iron

, 

zinc

, or another nutrient may be associated with pica. For example, 

anemia

, usually from iron deficiency, may be the underlying cause of pica in pregnant women.

unusual cravings may be a sign that your body is trying to replenish low nutrient levels.

People with certain mental health conditions, such as 

schizophrenia

 and 

obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD)

, may develop pica as a coping mechanism.

Some people may even enjoy and crave the textures or flavors of certain nonfood items.

In some cultures, eating clay is an accepted behavior. This form of pica is called

geophagia

.

Dieting and 

malnourishment

 can both lead to pica. In these cases, eating nonfood items may help you feel full.

Frohlich’s

syndrome

It is a rare childhood metabolic disorder characterized by obesity, growth retardation, and retarded development of the genital organs.

It is usually associated with

tumours

of the hypothalamus, causing increased appetite and depressed secretion of

gonadotropin

.

The disease is named for 

Alfred

Fröhlich

, the Austrian neurologist who first described its typical pattern.