Eating Disorders

Illnesses in which the victim becomes obsessed with food and their body weight. People who suffer with eating disorders have an extremely distorted body image; they feel "fat" and see themselves as overweight despite the fact that they may be so malnourished that they are near death. 95% who suffer from an eating disorder are women between the ages of 12-25. People with eating disorders tend to be perfectionists who suffer from low self-esteem and are extremely critical of themselves. There are two disorders.

  1. Anorexia Nervosa - Victims starve themselves to death. Psychiatrists diagnose anorexia when a patient weighs at least 15% less than expected. People with anorexia do not maintain a normal weight because they refuse to eat enough, often exercise obsessively, and sometimes use laxatives or force themselves to vomit as well.
  2. Bulimia Nervosa - "Binge" eating then "purging" is often used to describe this illness. Bulimia differs from anorexia because bulimic's have sever eating binges at least twice a week for three months in a row. Bulimic's often eat so much they forget to chew their food. Victims often binge behind closed doors, and their binges end only when they are interrupted by another person, they fall asleep, or their stomach hurts from over extension. At that point either or the fear of weight gain prompt the bulimic to purge by making themselves throw up, using a laxative, or taking a diuretic.

Resources

Academy for Eating Disorders (AED)
6728 Old McLean Village Drive
McLean, VA 22101
(703) 556-9222
Email: aed@degnon.org
URL: http://www.aedweb.org

American Psychiatric Association (APA)
1000 Wilson Boulevard, Suite 1825
Arlington, VA 22209-3901
(703) 907-7300
URL: http://www.psych.org/index.cfm

American Psychological Association (APA)
750 1st Street, NE
Washington, DC 20002-4242
(202) 336-5510
Toll Free (800) 374-2721
URL: http://www.apa.org

Harvard Eating Disorders Center
WACC 725
15 Parkman Street
Boston, MA 02114
(617) 236-7766
Email: info@hedc.org
URL: http//:www.hedc.org

International Association of Eating Disorders Professionals (IAEDP)
P.O. Box 1295
Pekin, IL 61555-1295
(309) 346-3341
Toll Free (800) 800-8126
Email: iaedpmembers@earthlink.net

National Association of Anorexia Nervosa and Associated Disorders (ANAD)
PO Box 7
Highland Park, IL 60035
(847) 831-3438
Email: anad20@aol.com
URL: http://www.anad.org

National Eating Disorders Association (NEDA)
603 Stewart Street, Suite 803
Seattle, WA 98101
(206) 382-3587
(800) 931-2337 Hotline
Email: info@NationalEatingDisorders.org
URL: http://www.nationaleatingdisorders.org

Center for the Study of Anorexia and Bulimia
1 W. 91st Street
New York, NY 10024
(212) 595-3449

The Alliance for Eating Disorders Awareness
P.O. Box 13155
North Palm Beach, FL 33408-3155
(561) 841-0900
(866) 662-1235 Toll-free
Email: info@eatingdisorderinfo.org
www.eatingdisorderinfo.org

National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH)
Eatings Disorders Program
Building 10, Room 35231
Bethesda, MD 20892
(301) 492-1891
http://www.nimh.nih.gov/publicat/eatingdisorders.cfm

American Anorexia/Bulimia Association, Inc.
293 Central Park West, Suite I R
New York, NY 10024
(212) 501-8351

Anorexia Nervosa and Related Eating Disorders (ANRED)
PO Box 5102
Eugene, OR 97405
(541) 344-1144
www.anred.com