Understanding Eating Disorders: An Analysis of Types, Psychological Factors, Common Patterns, Myths, & Treatment 

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In This Blog, You’ll Learn:

 ✅ What eating disorders are and how they affect daily life
✅ Psychological factors of eating disorders
✅ Common patterns of eating disorders
✅ Types of eating disorders
✅ Myths vs. facts about eating disorders
✅ How therapy helps with eating disorders

What Are Eating Disorders and Why Does It Matter?

Eating Disorders are more than just overeating- it’s a complex disorder that does involve overeating an uncomfortably large amount of food. But it also captures restrictions of food intake, unhealthy body weight to the point of the development of physical harm or illnesses, on top of the mental health and social impact. 

Even though eating disorders are recognized by the DSM as having significant behavioral components, these disorders can increase an individual’s chances of comorbidity with other mental health issues. This includes substance abuse, depression, and anxiety, while also heightening the risk of suicide. From an emotional perspective, these disorders introduce low self-esteem, feelings of loneliness or helplessness, and overall distressing emotions  that become difficult to cope with.

What Eating Disorders Are There? 

There are four main types of Eating Disorders, excluding childhood eating disorders that are typical for children or adolescents. The Eating Disorders that are listed below have an age of onset of 12 to 25 years of age. But this doesn’t mean someone can’t fall outside of this range. 

1. Anorexia Nervosa

Has three sets of criteria that an individual has to meet: 

1. Restricting/Not getting enough energy intake sufficient for your body, or significant weight loss (according to the DSM-5-TR, significant weight loss is represented by a BMI 17). 
2. Intense fear of gaining weight or becoming fat, or engaging in behavior that limits weight gain (e.g., overly exercising, fasting). 
3. Body Image Disturbance: misperception of the body, body shape, overly influences self-evaluation, or lack of recognition of the seriousness of the current low weight.  

→ For a diagnosis, Anorexia Nervosa has two types: 

• Anorexia Nervosa Restrictive Type; 
• In the past 3 months, no recurrent binge eating or purging episodes. 
• Weight loss due to behaviors that limit weight gain, like overexercising, fasting, or dieting. 
• Anorexia Nervosa Binge Eating/Purging Type; 
• In the past 3 months, recurrent episodes of binge eating or purging.
  

2. Bulimia Nervosa

Five sets of criteria: 

1. Recurrent binge eating; 
2. A discrete period of eating an uncomfortably large amount of food 
3. Perceived lack of control during binge eating 
4. Engage in Compensatory Behaviors; 
5. E.g., Vomiting, Usage of laxatives, excessive exercise, Fasting, Enemas, diuretics, etc. 
6. Criteria A and B must occur at least once per week, for at least 3 months. 
7. Self-evaluation is unduly influenced by body shape and weight; 
8. Those with Bulimia usually fall within a normal weight or slightly overweight BMI. 
9. Does not have Anorexia Nervosa 

3. Binge Eating Disorder

1. Recurrent Binge Eating 
2. Binges associated with 3 or more of these: 
3. Rapid Eating 
4. Eating till uncomfortably full 
5. Eating large amounts of food even when not hungry 
6. Eating alone because of embarrassment about the amount of food 
7. After a binge, feel disgust, depression, and/or guilt 
8. Distressed about bingeing 
9. Frequency: Binge at least 1 time per week on average, for at least 3 months 
10. No recurrent compensatory behaviors

4. Other Specified Feeding or Eating Disorder (OSFED)

When an individual doesn’t meet the criteria for any eating disorder, but their symptoms are still causing dysfunction and need treatment, clinicians give them this diagnosis. Types: 

1. Atypical Anorexia = Meet all criteria for Anorexia, but weight is still above the normal range of BMI. 
2. Bulimia Nervosa subtype or Binge Eating Disorder subtype  = meets the criteria for either Bulimia or Binge Eating Disorder, except for frequency criteria. 
3. Purging Disorder = Individual only engages in purging behavior, but no binge eating. 
4. Night Eating Syndrome = recurrent night eating, which is not considered part of Binge Eating Disorder. 

Psychological Factors of Eating Disorders

There are many questions surrounding the factors that contribute to eating disorders. This leads people to question: Where do eating disorders start?, Are eating disorders genetic?, How do eating disorders affect the brain?, etc. 

Sociocultural Factors

•  Representation of body shapes has evolved through time with the “ideal body” being put on the front pages of magazines, television, social media, and more.
• With this culture, especially in the US, body shaming has grown, coming from both peers and sometimes even family. 

Psychodynamic Factors

• Psychoanalyst Hilde Bruch developed a psychodynamic theory on eating disorders, claiming that it was due to negative relations between daughter and mother that led to disturbances: 
• Ego deficiencies are when an individual has low independence due to a lack of control. 
• Perceptual disturbances where the individual has trouble perceiving and interpreting their internal cues concerning hunger. 

Cognitive Factors

• Negative beliefs about body shape and weight become “core pathology”. For example, 
• Judge themselves disproportionately, which drives the other symptoms of eating disorders. 

Behavioral Factors

• Genetic Linkage: Relatives of eating disorder patients are 6 times more likely to develop an eating disorder themselves.
• Overlap with brain circuits: E.g., Reward Pathways regulates our drive to eat, and our Habit Formation Circuitry can develop the habit of binge eating behavior. 
• Some evidence of hypothalamic dysfunction. Specifically, an imbalance in the lateral hypothalamus produces hunger & the ventromedial hypothalamus reduces hunger sensations.