Üsküdar University Faculty of Health Sciences Nutrition and Dietetics Department Lecturer Funda Tuncer shared important information about the symptoms and effects of common eating disorders.
Stating that individuals with eating disorders can be harmed due to the abnormal situation they experience in physical, emotional and social terms, experts emphasize that excessive weight loss can cause dangerous health problems. Experts point out that if eating disorders are not treated, serious health problems such as weakening of bones, fragility of hair and nails, muscle wasting, weakness, chronic depression, and recurrent anxiety can occur, and they state that psychotherapy should be applied simultaneously in their treatment, along with a nutrition program.
Üsküdar University Faculty of Health Sciences Nutrition and Dietetics Department Lecturer Funda Tuncer shared important information about the symptoms and effects of common eating disorders.
Eating disorders affect daily life
Instructor Funda Tuncer stated that eating disorders are a chronic disease group characterized by behavioral changes developed against thoughts and feelings about food or eating behavior, leading to insufficient or excessive food consumption. may be harmed due to the abnormal situation in which they live physically, emotionally and socially. Because of this disease, eating behavior affects a large part of the daily life of individuals. In addition, it is worth mentioning that eating behavior is of great importance, as some disease groups can be fatal and cause serious organ damage.” said.
Necessary steps should be taken for unsuccessful products
Tuncer stated that eating disorders are classified as anorexia nervosa, blumia nervosa, binge eating disorder, pica, unspecified eating disorders and other eating disorders according to DSM 5, the Diagnosis Book in Mental Diseases, created by the American Psychiatric Association. It is the two disease group that is the most common among the group of patients and includes mental symptoms and serious physical problems together. He said and explained the types of eating disorders as follows:
Anorexia nervosa is defined as one of the most difficult psychiatric diseases to treat. In this disease group, which usually occurs during adolescence, individuals are afraid of gaining weight due to their negative body image. For this reason, they try to stay slim by limiting their food intake or by purging behaviors such as fasting, excessive exercise or drug use. Anorexia nervosa is characterized by extremely low body weight and severe dietary restrictions and a rejection of a healthy body weight. In this group of patients, there is a distorted perception of their own body and body weight. With such a low body weight, women with this disease do not have menstruation.
In Blumiya nervosa, patients gain weight as a result of excessive and uncontrolled eating. Later, the patient exhibits inappropriate compensatory behaviors such as vomiting, excessive exercise, and use of laxative or diuretic drugs in order to stop the weight gain. Individuals repeat their compensatory attack behaviors in different periods as a result of this uncontrolled eating and weight gain.
In binge eating disorder, just as in blumia nervosa, individuals lose control of their eating and consume excessive amounts of food. However, compensatory behaviors do not occur after weight gain in this eating disorder group.
In Pika, on the other hand, non-nutritive material such as paper, hair, paint, soap, ash, clay is consumed continuously for at least one month. Although this disease is more common in children, it can be seen in any age group.
Excessive weight loss has dangerous consequences
Lecturer Funda Tuncer emphasized that excessive weight loss in patients with eating disorders can cause dangerous health problems and continued as follows:
“Untreated, weakening of the bones, brittle hair and nails, dry skin, muscle wasting, weakness, severe constipation, brain damage and infertility can occur. In more advanced cases, multiple organ failure can be seen and can even cause death of individuals. Although the body weight is not very low in Blumiya nervosa, diseases such as menstrual irregularity, constipation, reflux, edema, kidney dysfunction, muscle weakness, fatigue, and heart rhythm disorder can be encountered due to the presence of restrictive and compensatory inappropriate behaviors. In addition to physical findings, psychological problems can also be seen in these individuals. We can say that chronic depression, recurrent anxiety symptoms, alcohol and cigarette addiction often accompany the existing disease.”
A multidisciplinary approach is required in treatment
Emphasizing the need for an interdisciplinary study involving psychiatrists, psychologists and dietitians, as well as endocrinologists, cardiologists, nephrologists, gastroenterologists and orthopedists for the treatment of other diseases caused by eating disorders, Tuncer said, “The aims of treatment in eating disorders are to bring the individual to a healthy body weight, to eat To provide treatment for the diseases caused by the eating disorder, to treat the psychological problems that cause the development of eating disorder and to change the behaviors that cause the eating disorder. The aim of nutrition therapy in this disease group is to change the emotions and thoughts of individuals with eating disorders towards food. The main goal in patients with eating disorders who have an extremely low weight is to bring the individuals to a healthy body weight and to replace the nutritional elements that are deficient due to the disease. said.
Nutrition therapy and psychotherapy should be applied simultaneously
Stating that close follow-up is provided with a planned individual nutrition program in eating disorders, Tuncer said, “In addition, food consumption is recorded in order to develop healthy eating behaviors. Then, the importance that the individual attaches to food is reduced by nutritional counseling and psychotherapy. In this context, nutrition education is given in order to change the thoughts of individuals towards foods. The patient should receive psychotherapy simultaneously with nutritional therapy. In addition, the support of the family and social environment is very important during the treatment process.” he said.
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