Introduction

"Eating" is a very important self-regulation activity, which provides the human body with required sources of nutrition and energy. Once out of balance, it will affect the body and mind.

Eating disorders are most common in upper-middle-class young women. Due to the influence of Western aesthetics, the growing trend in the number of cases year by year in recent years is noteworthy.

Types

1. Anorexia nervosa: People with anorexia limit intake of calories required by the body, resulting in less than the minimum normal weight for their age, sex, development and physical health. They have strong fear of weight gain and refuse to maintain their weight at or above the minimum normal weight for their age and height, leading to their weight less than 85% of the expected value, with women having no menstruation for at least three consecutive menstrual cycles.
2. Bulimia nervosa: The patient eats more food than most people can eat for a period of time, feels uncontrolled in eating behavior, uncontrollable in excessive eating behavior, pays persistent excessive attention to their body shape and weight, and has repeated improper compensatory actions to avoid weight gain, such as self-induced vomiting, using laxatives or diuretics, fasting or excessive exercise.

Symptoms

1. Physical aspect: Endocrine system disorders, severe malnutrition and death.
2. Mental aspect: Anxiety, compulsion, avoidance of conflict, depression, etc.
3. Comorbidity: Tooth erosion, esophageal laceration, hypokalemia, sudden death due to arrhythmia.

Treatment

1. Nutritional stability: The patient's nutritional stability is the most important.
2. Exercise: The focus of patient exercise should be on physical health, not calorie reduction.
3. Cognitive behavioral therapy: Patients should be asked to monitor and record their thoughts and feelings about eating, body shape and food.
4. Body/mind image management: People with eating disorders place a premium on appearance, believing that appearance directly defines their self-worth. Cognitive behavioral therapy is effective, as is dance and exercise therapy, which creates pleasant physical experience and promotes physical and mental integration, clarifies physical boundaries, and adjusts negative feelings about the body.
5. Family involvement: Family members should be involved at the beginning of treatment.
6. Group therapy and medication: Many group therapy models are applied in patients with eating disorders. Group intervention, authentic experimentation, support, and peer communication are essential therapeutic factors. Antidepressants may be helpful to patients with depression, mood swings or irritability, and compulsive thinking about food or obesity. In the treatment of bulimia, studies have shown that antidepressants are effective in most patients.