Eating Disorders A Life Threatening Mental Illness Essay

There are 70 million individuals around the world and over 14 million Americans who are affected by eating disorders; of those 14 million Americans in the United States 200,000 live in Minnesota. According to the United States Census Bureau there are 5.4 million people living in Minnesota. Eating disorders are a big problem considering that 4 out of 100 people have an eating disorder, just in Minnesota. There are three main eating disorders: anorexia nervosa, bulimia nervosa, and binge eating. Although doctors still don’t fully understand what causes eating disorders, the disorder can affect someones body and mind years after getting over an eating disorder (Eating Disorder). An eating disorder is a life-threatening mental illness†¦show more content†¦Ã¢â‚¬Å"During an average binge, you may consume from 3,000 to 5,000 calories in one short hour. After it ends, panic sets in and you turn to drastic measures to â€Å"undo† the binge, such as taking ex-lax, inducing vomiting, or going for a ten-mile run. And all the while, you feel increasingly out of control† (Smith, Melinda. Bulimia). The final eating disorder discussed in this paper is binge eating. Binge eating disorder is known as overeating or a period of uncontrollable eating. Binge eating is becoming more and more common here in america because of the large quantities of food sold daily. Although, binge eaters do not purge after eating, they still feel shame or guilt after eating like a bulimic (Anorexia, Nervosa). Characteristics of anorexia are dieting despite being thin and having an obsession with caloric intake as well as fat grams. An anorexic person often pretends to eat or will lie about their intake of meals because of their belief of being overweight. With all of the food restrictions many problems occur in the body and outside of the body. Some of these risks include the drastic change in brain chemistry that makes it difficult for them to think correctly, decrease in memory, fainting, or they may become sad, moody, irritable, or depressed. Other changes would include, hair may become thin and brittle, skin is dry and easily bruises, they get cold easily, and nails often get brittle. However those are not the most dangerous risks. If one is anorexic,Show MoreRelatedMental Illness is not an Adjective to Describe People821 Words   |  3 PagesMental illness is the largest health problem that is generally viewed as least important or least impacting. My generation has a bad habi t of using mental illnesses as adjectives; she’s so bipolar or that’s retarded. What people dont understand is that mental illness is one of the largest leading health problem in America. Mental illness is an ever growing problem that affects all types of people all across the world. 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