How common are Eating Disorders?!

How common are Eating Disorders?

How common are they, are what are the main symptoms of someone with an Eating disorder?

Many thanks!

4 weeks ago
ren, i wasnt making a joke about it, it was a genuine question!

There are a number of different eating disorders.
Anorexia Nervosa affects up to 1% of the population at some time or other, and 85-90% of cases are females aged 11-35. Symptoms are:
-Very fast weight loss, or maintenance of an extremely low body weight. Refusal to maintain a BMI higher than 17 means a person is techincally anorexic.
-Very low calorie intake, ranging from zero to 1200.
-Very high activity level, e.g. runs 10 miles a day, despite not enjoying it.
-Keeps exercising even in illness and foul weather.
-Preoccupation with food and body weight, e.g. daily weighing.
-Usually, these are very concientious students/ workers.
-Often cook for others, without eating any themselves.
-May occasionally eat a small amount of food, but then forces vomiting.
-Growth of fine hair to keep the body warm.
-Excessive sensitivity to cold, eg. keeping sweatshirts on a hot day.
-In women, loss of menstrual period.
Bulimia Nervosa affects 3% of people in their lifetime, again mainly women and girls. Symptoms:
-Large binges (more than is normally eaten and up to 5000+ calories/ sitting) followed by purging in the form of laxatives, forced vomiting, enemas, and/ or excessive excersise. Some may also chew and spit.
-Bulimics may also be underweight despite binges, because of lack of absorption of nutrients.
-Others may be normal weight or even overweight, depending on the effectiveness of the purging method chosen.
-Often insist on exercising even in bad weather and when ill.
-Also normally very concientious students.
-precoccupation with food and bodyweight.
-Would invariably like to be thinner and have low self esteem.
-Often, binges occur during times of high emotional stress.
Compulsive binge eating disorder (statistics are harder to define, but this effects up to 10% of the population, and may even be the main cause of obesity):
-These people binge on large amounts of food, but don't attempt to purge.
-Victims of this decide instead to punish themselves the next day, by eating very little.
-Usually, the cycle still results in a positive energy balance, hence the weight gain.
-Low self esteem.
-Binges normally occur in times of high emotional stress, e.g. anger, boredome, loneliness and sadness.
-Extreme guilt after binging and sense of worthlessness, because of failure to lose weight.