| 5 Strange Eating Disorders Most of us are familiar with certain eating disorders. Anorexia and bulimia are the major focus in the media and most commonly covered in health classes / modeling workshops. However, there are a group of eating disorders that have little-to-nothing to do with body image, weight, and, in some cases, eating. And while these disorders may be incredibly rare they are also much more dangerous than what we are familiar with when we think of eating disorders. 1. Orthorexia Nervosa Have you ever heard the saying "too much of a good thing is a bad thing?" Apparently that's true. Orthorexia nervos is characterized as an unhealthy obsession with health food. Originally coined in 1997, the name itself means "correct appetite." Those who are diagnosed with the disorder will eat only foods that they deem as being healthy, choosing to avoid those which contain fats, artificial sugars, preservatives and the like. This severely limits the foods that someone can eat and often times leads to an unhealthy diet which can in turn lead to malnutrition or death.
However, the disorder is seen as controversial in the medical world because it hasn't been sufficiently proven to actually exist. Because of its similarities with obsessive-compulsive eating, orthorexia nervosa has yet to be officially recognized as a medical condition. Given its status it also has no means of official diagnosis and medical practitioners must rely on their own observations and the honesty of their patients. Steven Bratman, who first recognized the disorder, proposes a list of questions as a means of diagnosis, focusing on how much time the patient plan meals and if they feel that their diet has stifled them socially. 2. Night Eating Syndrome As anyone who has ever taken sixth-grade health class (or anyone who still wet the bed in 6th grade) can tell you, your body functions differently at night.. As the day wears on and you begin to fatigue, certain processes like your metabolism begin to slow down. With an ever-so creative title like Night Eating Syndrome, this disorder is characterized by a pattern of nighttime binge eating. Sometimes shortened to NES, patients with the disorder may also have higher rates of depression and lower self-esteem as a result of guilt and potential health problems.  Eating disorder. Patterns in NES may be skipping breakfast and going for hours without eating after waking up in the morning, eating a quarter of the days calories after dinner, suffering from anxiety, or having trouble sleeping in general. A diagnosis may also be made if multiple trips to a food source occur nightly. If left unchecked, NES can lead to excessive weight gain and diabetes. If the patient feels a sense of addiction, they can be treated chemically. However, much like Orthorexia Nervosa, medical professionals are reluctant to acknowledge NES as an actual condition and many believe it to be a part of other, better defined disorders, or part of a spectrum. 3. Muscle Dysmorphia Sometimes called reverse anerexia nervosa, muscle dymorphia is the obsession that one isn't muscular enough to meet their own or someone else's standard of fitness, believing his or herself to be too skinny. Often times they are of average build or better and regardless of how much muscle mass they gain, they are not satisfied. In some cases a patient will repeat negative descriptions of their body, so much so that it affects their mental health and may cause depression.  A very sad man. Signs of muscle dysmorphia are obsessions with mirrors while hating one's own reflection, frequently comparing themselves to other people, becoming upset or angry if they miss a workout or meal, or taking steroids. In the most extreme cases, patients may also inject fluid to create and enhance the appearance of muscles (which can be potentially fatal if injected incorrectly). The disorder primarily occurs in males during their teen years and is believed to be caused by negative treatment such as bullying. While not a technical term wannarexia is most commonly used to describe people who want to become anorexic but are not diagnosed as such. Their desire isn't to have the disorder but to be considered by others to have it, essentially lumping them into the group of anorexics. Wannarexics achieve their goal by occasional or crash diets to achieve an underweight appearance and do so as a means to fit in with the specific social group or to be seen as cool. Wannarexia has no means of diagnosis and is found to affect teenage girls more than any other age group.
4. Wannarexia While not a technical term wannarexia is most commonly used to describe people who want to become anorexic but are not diagnosed as such. Their desire isn't to have the disorder but to be considered by others to have it, essentially lumping them into the group of anorexics. Wannarexics achieve their goal by occasional or crash diets to achieve an underweight appearance and do so as a means to fit in with the specific social group or to be seen as cool. Wannarexia has no means of diagnosis and is found to affect teenage girls more than any other age group.  Pictures of anorexia are actually pretty unsettling, so here's that pie again. Wannarexics are often rejected by organized groups of anorexics (termed as "pro-Ana") for what they see as a lack of dedication to the anorexic lifestyle or for minimizing the seriousness of the disorder itself. Wannarexics mistakenly believe that having the disorder is a matter of choice and is not a medical issue.. Because it lacks a diagnosis, wannarexia isn't specified as any one eating disorder and is instead labeled as Eating Disorder Not Otherwise Specified. Because wannarexics look to achieve a certain weight loss goal they are much more likely to become either bored or satisfied with their appearance and give up before causing severe damage to themselves. 5. Nocturnal Sleep Related Eating Disorder Much like NES, NSRED is both a sleeping and eating disorder. Unlike NES it is actually classified as an eating disorder because of its unique characteristics. Those with NSRED eat while they are asleep; they will get out of bed two to three hours after falling asleep and travel to wherever food might be in their home, after which binge eating ensues. With age comes a frequency in these nightly trips. What's more, case studies have revealed that the food eaten during NSRED can be strange, sometimes non-food substances like wood, metal, glue, or foil. There's also a tendency to combine unlikely items, such as butter and cigarettes.
Another distinction from NES is the manner in which the food is eaten. Though not true for every case, doctors have observed that those with NSRED may eat in a way that is fast and reckless that could potentially harm them or others who may be nearby. Because they aren't fully awake they are generally messy and may not cook their food, leading to the consumption of raw meat. Though diagnosis of the disorder can be easily made, potential patients could go their entire lives without ever realizing what they are doing at night. | ||
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