The 10 most common eating disorders

What are the main eating disorders and what are their characteristics?

We live in a society where physique is a priority, where we are valued for our physical appearance.

We are continually exposed to a media that uses advertising to establish certain canons about what is beautiful and what is not, also promoted by the world of catwalks, which often show an unrealistic image of women, and also of men.

Physique and appearance: a pathogenic preoccupation

All this has caused concern for physical appearance to be one of the great scourges of modern times.. Although this fixation on beauty used to be attributed as something more common in women, the truth is that there are also many men who are concerned about the marker on the scale or the proportion of their features.

What are the most common eating disorders?

This obsession with physical attractiveness can become a serious problem for our mental and physical health, especially when it comes to eating disorders. Today we will see what are the main eating disorders and what are their main characteristics and the dangers they pose to our health.

Anorexia nervosa

The anorexia nervosa is characterized by an abrupt and important loss of weightThis underweight is the effect of a pathological behavior of the affected person, who carries out a meticulous control of the weight. This low weight is the effect of a pathological behavior of the affected person, who performs a meticulous control in food intake, for fear of gaining weight and a severe distortion of their body image, associated with low self-esteem.

People suffering from anorexia eat very little and use certain rituals and mechanisms to avoid gaining weight. They consume only a few foods, which causes a significant deficit of vitamins, minerals and macronutrients, which ends up seriously affecting their physical health.

It is a disorder closely associated with an obsession for the physique and a slim figure. They may stop eating, take certain remedies to reduce their appetite or use laxatives to lose weight quickly. This eating disorder is usually suffered by adolescent women, although in recent times there has been an increase in cases of adult women and even men with this condition.

• A little more information: "Anorexia could have a genetic origin".

Bulimia nervosa

The bulimia nervosa is an eating disorder that is characterized by frequent binge eating.. During these crises, bulimic individuals eat a large amount of food in an uncontrolled manner, and subsequently perform purging rituals to avoid gaining weight. These can be provoking vomiting, exercising for many hours, not eating or the use of Diuretics and laxatives.

This disease is also more common in women than in men, and usually debuts during adolescence. The person suffering from bulimia is fully aware that his or her eating behavior is pathological.

The causes of bulimia have been studied in depth and yet there are no clear conclusions. It is often said that there are genetic, psychological, familial and/or cultural factors that may make some individuals more prone than others.

• Learn more: "Bulimia nervosa: the disorder of binge eating and vomiting".

3. Orthorexia

The orthorexia is an eating disorder that is affecting more and more people. orthorexia is characterized by a pathological obsession with healthy eating. They are people who choose very carefully the food they are going to eat, they have a meticulous control over the components of everything they eat and on the preparation of food.

This obsession can lead to a really unhealthy control over ingredients, cooking methods... It is often said that people who develop orthorexia are people who start to become obsessed with food little by little. In the early stages, they may avoid eating foods such as red meat or sugars, and gradually expand their 'manias'.

• Learn more: "Orthorexia, the obsession with healthy foods".

4. Vigorexia

The vigorexia is a disorder that not only involves an imbalance in eating behavior, but also muscular dysmorphia, also known as Adonis syndrome or reverse anorexia. Vigorexia is the obsession with showing off huge muscles and a strong physique.

In this obsession, the affected person is afraid of looking too weak or too thin, and for that reason they exercise their body in gyms in order to increase muscle mass. In addition, they take supplements such as proteins and anabolic agents to help them become more and more muscular.

5. Permarexia

The permarexia is an eating disorder that has emerged recently, and is starting to worry health authorities. permarexia is the obsession to follow diets and diets permanently..

People affected with this eating disorder are continuously following strict diets to lose weight, have bad habits and irrational eating behaviors. Permarexia itself is not considered a disorder, but it is considered a risk behavior that can be the prelude to serious diseases such as bulimia or anorexia.

6. Potomania

It is important to stay well hydrated, and drinking water is one of those universal recommendations that we all try to comply with. Drink two liters of water a day, as the doctor prescribes.

Being hydrated makes our skin healthier, and facilitates digestion and fat loss, but there are people who push the limits of this practice. And yes, drinking a lot of water is a pernicious habit for our health. This excessive consumption of liquid is often called potomania or hydrolexia, and it is a dietary maladjustment that consists of drinking a lot of water, even though we are not thirsty..

Drinking too much water can put our organic functions at risk, since it saturates the function of our kidneys and alters the normal components of the blood, among other things.

7. Pregorexia

The pregorexia is an eating disorder that is typical of some pregnant women. These women in a state of good hope stop eating what is necessary for the fetus to develop without problems, and often go on diets and very intense sports routines in order to maintain a slim figure. in order to maintain a slim figure.

This disorder, similar to anorexia (although less severe), is suffered by women who, being pregnant, have an intense fear of gaining weight during the nine months of pregnancy. This is biologically impossible and can put the health of the baby on the way at risk.

It has been extensively studied that women who suffer from pregorexia have a history of anorexia. But it also happens, sometimes, that women who develop pregorexia end up suffering from anorexia.

Other factors that could cause pregorexia are perfectionism, emotional instability and low self-esteem.

• Learn more: "Pregorexia: pregnant women who do not want to gain weight".

8. Pica

The pica is an eating disorder that affects some children. It is characterized by the uncontrollable desire of the little ones of the house to ingest substances or objects that are not nutritious, such as dirt, ants, baking soda, glue, insects, paper, small pieces of plastic or wood...It is characterized by the irrepressible desire of children to ingest substances or objects that are not nutritious, such as dirt, ants, baking soda, glue, insects, paper, small pieces of plastic or wood... All these are objects and things that, in principle, have no nutritional value and that, probably, it is not advisable to ingest.

Pica is linked to children with cognitive difficulties and other developmental disorders.

9. Manorexia

The manorexia is an eating disorder that bears some similarities to anorexia and vigorexia. Manorexia is sometimes referred to as "male anorexia," although this is a simplification, since it has symptoms of its own. People suffering from this disorder are genuinely afraid of gaining weight, and this leads them to exercise their body excessively and to always be following diets and and to be always following unhealthy diets and fasting.

It is a disease that has been particularly prevalent in men working in the fashion industry and in sports where a very light figure is required, such as horse racing.

10. Drunkorexia

The drunkorexiaalso known as ebriorexia, is an eating disorder that has been on the rise among adolescents and young adults. It is the the practice of giving up food to counteract the excess calories produced by large amounts of alcohol and alcoholic beverages. they consume for several days.

Drunkorexia is a terribly bad habit for a person's psychological and physical health, as it is somewhere between anorexia nervosa and alcohol addiction.

Bibliographical references:

• American Psychiatric Association -APA- (2014). DSM-5. Diagnostic and statistical manual of mental disorders. Madrid: Panamericana.
• National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (2004). Eating disorders: care interventions in the treatment and management of anorexia nervosa, bulimia nervosa and related eating disorders. London: National Institute for Health and Care Excellence.
• Rosen, D.S. (2003). Identifying and treating eating disorders. Pediatrics;111: pp. 204 - 211.
• Rueda, J. G. (2006). Eating disorders in men: four clinical subtypes. Revista Colombiana de Psiquiatría, 35(3), 352-361.
• Stoppler, M.C. (2008). Drunkorexia, manorexia, diabulimia: New eating disorders. MedicineNet.