Most people believe that eating disorders are due to a person’s lifestyle choice which determines what they eat and how much they decide to eat. But in reality, it has nothing to do with that but is a result of their faulty eating behaviors caused by a combination of factors. Individuals across all age groups, but in particular adolescents and young adults are prone to eating disorders due to multi-faceted reasons. An unhealthy idea of their own body coupled with low self-esteem and inadequate support can lead to harmful eating habits such as binge-eating or compulsive monitoring of calories consumed. Such behavior over time turns into obsessions which further feed into the disorder.

If an eating disorder is left untreated, it can be fatal for the person as it can lead to starvation, heart attack, and severe dehydration among other problems. Eating disorders such as anorexia nervosa, bulimia nervosa, and binge-eating disorder all can have varied causes and manifest in different ways but can be deadly if not caught in time.

Anorexia nervosa:
People with this medical condition usually identify themselves as overweight, while in reality, they are severely underweight to the point of being anorexic. They feel the need to weigh themselves all the time, restrict their food intake and consume very small quantities of only certain foods. This condition has the highest mortality rate out of all mental illnesses. Anorexia can have debilitating effects on the individual such as brain damage, multi-organ failure, bone loss, heart problems, and infertility.

Bulimia nervosa:
People with this medical condition have a different type of compulsion. In this, they have reoccurring and frequent episodes of consuming an unwarranted quantity of food. This period of binge eating is followed by compensatory actions for their overeating including forceful vomiting, abuse of laxatives, exercising excessively and periods of fasting. Or it can be a combination of any of these put together. Although people with this disorder appear on the outside to be normal and healthy, they can face gastrointestinal issues, dehydration, and heart difficulties.

Binge-eating disorder:
People with this medical condition have no control whatsoever over their eating habits. Contrary to bulimia, periods of binge-eating are not proceeded by exercising excessively or fasting. Hence people suffering from this condition are often overweight and obese.

Treatment
People with eating disorders are at a higher risk of suicide and other complications, as the conditions are accompanied by other mental disorders like depression and anxiety in most individuals.

According to National Institute of Mental Health of the United States, a federal research agency, their studies have pointed out that eating disorders are a result of a complex interaction of biological, psychological, behavioral and genetic factors. This is why, treatment plans need to include medical care and monitoring, nutritional counseling, medication and psychotherapy or a combination of these. All of these are aimed at bringing about adequate nutrition, restoring weight to a healthy level and stopping episodes of binge eating. With sufficient treatment and support, a full recovery from eating disorders is possible.