Eating disorders (ADD) are increasingly common pathologies, especially among adolescents and young adults. The three main syndromic forms (anorexia nervosa, bulimia, overeating) concern in total nearly 10% of the population. There are more limited data on other atypical AITs, but the total prevalence of ATS can reach nearly 20% of the population.
Anorexia nervosa:
This eating disorder causes a significant decrease in appetite, observed mainly in young girls and women aged 15 to 25. Anorexia can reveal a large number of diseases, ranging from simple fatigue to gastric cancer, via viral hepatitis or tuberculosis, etc. Anorexia nervosa (AM) is the syndrome characterized by the progressive restriction of food, unconsciously voluntary, resulting in a total loss of appetite.
In anorexia nervosa, we often talk about the triad of 3 A: Anorexia, Weight loss, Amenorrhea (disappearance of rules). The consequences can be serious, with persistent sequelae such as osteoporosis, hypercholesterolemia, bradycardia and hypotension, constipation or even edema.
What are the signs of anorexia nervosa disorders?
The sign that worries those around them or doctors in the first place is the dramatic weight loss associated with the fact that the person claims that everything is fine, refuses to recognize their weight loss, or at least its seriousness, and does not admit it. worry about his health. The anorexic person does not see himself thin, and even most often, sees himself too fat.
- Amenorrhea: undernutrition leads to the loss of periods
- Insomnia, hair loss, permanent fatigue, feeling cold
- Discomfort and drops in blood pressure
- A particularly intense school or professional activity
- Taking diuretics, a tendency to potomania, taking laxatives, vomiting, taking thyroid extracts or even deliberately omitting insulin in diabetics are dangerous strategies to try to lose even more weight
- The withdrawal into oneself, depression, self-inflicted injuries or even suicidal tendencies …
- The drastic weight loss linked to refusal of food with the ensuing weight loss
- Disturbed perception of body image
We distinguish pure restrictive anorexia and phenomenological variations where the consumption of food is accompanied by vomiting or other forms of evacuation (laxatives or hyperactivity).
Bulimia :
This eating disorder manifests itself in the form of impulses, also called “crises”, which the bulimic person cannot resist. In general, binge eating attacks appear as a result of stress. Despite all his efforts to resist, the patient finally gave in, feeling as though he was losing all control.
The bulimia attack results in typical behaviors:
- It begins with a feeling of compulsive, uncontrollable hunger and an agonizing urge to eat.
- It almost always takes place outside of meals and in secret
- During the crisis, the bulimic person eats quickly, without being able to stop, large quantities of food (all those at hand)
- Most often, these foods are neither cooked nor prepared and are most often high in calories (fatty and sweet). The goal is not to have fun by eating what you like, but really to “fill up”
- After the crisis, the bulimic person feels a sense of unease, remorse and self-loathing
In almost half of the cases, the bulimic person induces vomiting to fight against the gain of weight and to stop the heaviness of the stomach. She feels relieved and tired.
Sometimes another bulimic attack soon follows the first.
What are the signs of bulimia disorder?
The hallmark of bulimia is the repetition of “binge eating”. The bulimia attack can be rapid or on the contrary last several hours.
- Swelling of the parotid glands, cracked fingers, due to vomiting
- Oral lesions
- Hypokalaemia (low potassium) which can lead to heart problems
- An almost permanent fear of putting on weight
- The repetition of diets
Apart from seizures, people with bulimia are very careful not to gain weight: they restrict their diet, may have recourse to laxatives, diuretics or practice intense physical activity. She is therefore rarely obese, even though her weight fluctuates by a few kilograms per week.
Overeating:
Binge eating is manifested by recurrent episodes of binge eating with loss of control over eating behavior but without association with compensatory behaviors. The person experiences an irrepressible and uncontrolled sensation of hunger forcing him to take large amounts of food in a short time with the feeling of not being able to stop.
What are the signs of binge eating disorder?
- Binge eating has happened at least once a week for 3 months
- Each episode of “bulimia” is accompanied by at least 3 of the following points:
- The person eats at full speed:
- until you experience a painful feeling of stomach distension
- and a lot in the absence of a feeling of hunger
- alone because she is embarrassed by her behavior
- The person eats at full speed:
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- She feels depressed and guilty after eating
- The person is in pain in the face of this state of which he is aware
- She does not have compensatory behaviors as in bulimia
The severity of binge eating is determined by the weekly frequency of the episodes.
It is possible to cure eating disorders even if the course is often long and fluctuating. This healing is favored by early treatment. Indeed, it allows to reduce the physical and psychological suffering of the patient and his relatives. This early management also prevents progression to a chronic form (where symptoms persist for more than five years) as well as relapses or the onset of complications.
