The Eating Disorder Spectrum -- From Pregorexia to Drunkorexia
No one is immune to an eating disorder.
In a society that prizes thinness, conditions like anorexia and bulimia cut across race, color, gender and socioeconomic constraints. They're defined by extreme emotions, attitudes and behaviors surrounding weight and food issues, and the National Eating Disorders Association reports roughly 30 million Americans will suffer from one at some point in their life. As we mark National Eating Disorders Awareness Week, we take a look at the different types of eating disorders people are struggling with today.
Anorexia nervosa
One of the most known eating disorders, anorexia is characterized by the relentless pursuit of thinness -- and an unwillingness to maintain a normal or healthy weight. Warning signs include dramatic weight loss, refusal to eat certain foods, a fixation on calories and fat grams, a rigid exercise regimen and withdrawal from the friends and activities a person once enjoyed. Anorexia can lead to heart problems, brittle bones, kidney failure, hair loss and, in severe cases, death.
Bulimia
Bulimia is characterized by a cycle of binging followed by self-induced vomiting, according to the National Eating Disorders Association. Signs include frequent trips to the bathroom after meals, the smell of vomit, the presence of laxative or diuretic packages and stained teeth. The recurring binge-and-purge cycles can cause dangerous electrolyte and chemical imbalances in the body that affect major organs like the heart.
Binge eating disorder
This condition is characterized by frequent episodes of consuming large amounts of food -- without behaviors to prevent weight gain, like self-induced vomiting. Last year, it received an official diagnosis in the fifth edition of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders. Binge eaters are often overweight or obese, and the disorder can lead to health problems such as high blood pressure, high cholesterol levels, heart disease and diabetes mellitus.
Manorexia
Roughly 10 million men will suffer from a clinically significant eating disorder -- such as anorexia, bulimia or binge eating disorder -- at some point in their life. And a relatively small percentage actually seeks treatment. "There's an additional stigma with men, which makes it harder for them to come in for help," says Ken Weiner, an assistant clinical professor of psychiatry at the University of Colorado School of Medicine.
Drunkorexia
Eat less, drink more. So goes the thought process of those who suffer from drunkorexia -- or restricting food calories in order to drink without fear of gaining weight. This type of eating disorder is particularly dangerous, Weiner says: "For all intents and purposes, they're like skid-row alcoholics -- very poor nutrition combined with alcoholism." He adds that, among other health complications, drunkorexia can cause liver damage.
Orthorexia nervosa
Eating right taken to an extreme is orthorexia -- and the condition seems to be spreading. Someone might, for example, wipe out whole categories of food one by one; first anything with additives, then maybe nonorganic produce. The term orthorexia was coined in 1996 by physician Steven Bratman, who described it as a "fixation on righteous eating." It can wreak serious damage on the health of someone trapped in the obsession.
Pregorexia
It's not a formally recognized medical diagnosis, but pregorexia refers to increasingly common eating disorder behaviors during pregnancy -- such as intense dieting and exercise, or binging and purging. Research suggests that 30 percent of American women don't gain enough weight during pregnancy, though not all are necessarily suffering from such a disorder. Weiner recalls needing to contact social services to report one pregnant patient: "She was refusing to eat during her pregnancy, so we had to treat her involuntarily to force her to eat enough to feed the fetus," he says.
Eating disorders in middle age
Research suggests that eating disorders are increasingly affecting middle-aged women, who often face unique emotional and physical issues. Some may be struggling with a deepening fear of aging; others may be adjusting to an empty nest, going through a divorce or dealing with a parent's death. Typically, these women also dealt with eating disorders earlier in life -- and now, they're flaring back up again. Some treatment facilities, like The Renfrew Center, have specific programs geared toward these patients; in Renfrew's case, it's called "30-something and beyond."
