Young adults in America have been struggling with a variety of mental illnesses. Eating disorders, which have caused more deaths than any other mental illness suffered by people throughout the United States, are one of the most prevalent (ANAD, 2016). There are over 30 million people suffering from this disease and the numbers keep growing. The definition of eating disorders needs to be understood before any other aspect can be understood.
What Are Eating Disorders Multiple different definitions of the term eating disorder exist, but most are the same general idea. Dictionary.com defines the term as “any of several patterns of severely disturbed eating behavior”(2016), while Encyclopedia Britannica simply states that eating disorders are …show more content…
Those three types are anorexia nervosa, bulimia nervosa, and binge-eating disorder. (NIMH, 2016) Anorexia nervosa is usually found in teenage girl and is generally characterized by extreme weight loss and fear of weight gain. (Latzer and Tzischinsky, 2011) Bulimia nervosa is more common in adults than teens and children, but is still a growing risk for adolescents. A person with bulimia will binge eat and then try to over-compensate by taking extreme measures like over-exercising and induced vomiting. Binge-Eating disorder can start at early ages and is essentially when a person loses control of how much is eaten or eats excessively. (Latzer and Tzischinsky, …show more content…
The environment people are subjected to, the genetics people are born with, and the chemical imbalances that brains have developed are all biological factors that can be the cause of eating disorders. Several different environmental and genetic factors contribute to the problem. People who have a relative, particularly a close relative, who is suffering from an eating disorder are more likely to develop one than someone who doesn’t. Certain genetic factors and risk alleles are also culprits. This can be shown from studies of twins who have both developed eating disorders (Mazzeo and Bulik, n.d.) Another biological factor that is known to cause disordered eating is chemical imbalances in the brain. Such imbalances include increased levels of dopamine and unusual levels of serotonin. Since eating, weight, and impulse control are all associated with the chemical dopamine, if the dopamine level is altered anorexia and bulimia can occur. The chemical serotonin also has a large effect on how people respond to the world around them. People with eating disorders tend to especially have an increased presence of both of these chemicals that affect the brain in several different ways (Boyles,
What Are Eating Disorders Multiple different definitions of the term eating disorder exist, but most are the same general idea. Dictionary.com defines the term as “any of several patterns of severely disturbed eating behavior”(2016), while Encyclopedia Britannica simply states that eating disorders are …show more content…
Those three types are anorexia nervosa, bulimia nervosa, and binge-eating disorder. (NIMH, 2016) Anorexia nervosa is usually found in teenage girl and is generally characterized by extreme weight loss and fear of weight gain. (Latzer and Tzischinsky, 2011) Bulimia nervosa is more common in adults than teens and children, but is still a growing risk for adolescents. A person with bulimia will binge eat and then try to over-compensate by taking extreme measures like over-exercising and induced vomiting. Binge-Eating disorder can start at early ages and is essentially when a person loses control of how much is eaten or eats excessively. (Latzer and Tzischinsky, …show more content…
The environment people are subjected to, the genetics people are born with, and the chemical imbalances that brains have developed are all biological factors that can be the cause of eating disorders. Several different environmental and genetic factors contribute to the problem. People who have a relative, particularly a close relative, who is suffering from an eating disorder are more likely to develop one than someone who doesn’t. Certain genetic factors and risk alleles are also culprits. This can be shown from studies of twins who have both developed eating disorders (Mazzeo and Bulik, n.d.) Another biological factor that is known to cause disordered eating is chemical imbalances in the brain. Such imbalances include increased levels of dopamine and unusual levels of serotonin. Since eating, weight, and impulse control are all associated with the chemical dopamine, if the dopamine level is altered anorexia and bulimia can occur. The chemical serotonin also has a large effect on how people respond to the world around them. People with eating disorders tend to especially have an increased presence of both of these chemicals that affect the brain in several different ways (Boyles,