Why is it important to learn about eating disorders?

Eating disorders have the highest mortality rate of any mental health illness. Eating disorders are unique among mental health disorders in that they manifest in physical health complications, which can lead to serious and life-threatening illnesses such as diabetes, cancer, organ failure and even death if not treated.

Did you know facts about eating disorders?

The Facts

• 30 million people in the U.S. have an eating disorder.
• 95 percent of people with eating disorders are between the ages 12 and 25.
• Eating disorders have the HIGHEST risk of death of any mental illness.
• Eating disorders affect all genders, all races and every ethnic group.

What should teens know about eating disorders?

Early consequences of teen eating disorders Be alert for eating patterns and beliefs that might signal unhealthy behavior. Some red flags that might indicate an eating disorder include: Extreme weight loss or not making expected developmental weight gain. Frequently skipping meals or refusing to eat.

What are 2 facts about eating disorders?

What weight is extreme anorexia?

Extreme anorexia nervosa (AN) is defined as a BMI < 15 kg/m2 in those meeting DSM-5 diagnostic criteria for AN. However, the frequency of medical complications specific to those meeting this greatest amount of weight loss is unknown.

What are the worst symptoms of anorexia?

Physical Symptoms of End-Stage Anorexia:

• Unable to regulate body temperature (always feeling cold or hot)
• Constipation.
• Frequent urination during the night.
• Delayed puberty or loss of menstrual cycle (amenorrhea)
• Fainting.
• Irregular heartbeat.
• Seizures.
• Numbness/tingling in hands or feet.

What are the most common myths about eating disorders?

The most common myth that people talked about was the idea that eating disorders were only about weight and appearance. People had come across unhelpful ideas that people with eating problems were always underweight and obsessed by their appearance; or that people with eating disorders could only be “skinny”, “emotional teenage girls”.

Why are eating disorders so hard to recognise?

The idea that eating disorders were about wanting to lose weight, and looking a certain way, made it harder for some people to realise that they might have an eating problem. Maria had always thought that eating disorders affected “silly girls who fussed about their appearance”.

Why don’t doctors take men’s eating disorder symptoms seriously?

Some believed that doctors didn’t take them as seriously or diagnose them as readily as they would do a woman with the same symptoms. Men pointed out that much of the information about eating disorder symptoms could be alienating as it focused on periods, female hormones and fertility (ability to have children).

Are eating disorders a woman’s disease?

However, community-based epidemiological studies (such as Adult Psychiatric Morbidity Survey, 2007) suggest that as many as 25\% of people with an eating disorder are male (National Institute for Health and Care Excellence – NICE May 2017). Despite this, people still commonly think of eating disorders as “a woman’s illness”, as Andrew put it.