What is the Role of Binging and Restricting In Eating Disorders?
Answering your FAQs for Eating Disorder Awareness Week 2023
Eating disorders are on the rise.
In honor of the National Eating Disorder Association's Eating Disorder Awareness Week, we’ve gathered common questions to shed light on this common and often misunderstood illness.
What is an eating disorder?
An eating disorder is a complex mental and physical illness that has serious health complications if not treated. People living with eating disorders struggle with the ability to self nourish, feel shame and have fears around food and weight gain. Often starts at a young age but can develop throughout the lifespan. Fortunately with proper support people suffering with eating disorders can achieve recovery and live life in food freedom. (1)
Who develops eating disorders?
Contrary to popular belief, people of all ages, genders, ethnicities, body sizes, professions and sexual orientations can have an eating disorder. The stereotype that only thin, white, upper class, cis, heterosexual females are affected makes it difficult for people who don’t fit that description to get help. This leads to a delay in accurate diagnoses and barriers to treatment, which can negatively affect one’s prognosis. (2)
What causes eating disorders to develop?
Eating disorders are not a personal choice or vanity. It’s not known for sure what causes people to have eating disorders, but evidence suggests a mix of biological, psychological and sociocultural factors play a role. (3)
Biological factors include genetic markers and the presence of eating disorders in other family members, while psychological factors include having anxiety, being a perfectionist and having obsessive tendencies.
The cultural “thin ideal,” negative attitudes toward those in larger bodies, and weight stigma are all examples of environmental factors.
Facebook and Instagram have also admitted that their platforms increase the risk of developing eating disorders, and photo editing and “thinspiration” encourage a toxic mindset around body image and the drive to do whatever possible to have an “ideal” body. (4)
The pandemic has also played a large role in the development of eating disorders, as factors like isolation and lack of structure in routine created the perfect storm for them to thrive. (2)
How do binging and restricting play a role in eating disorders?
There are many different types of eating disorders, and some feature both binging and restricting, while others only feature one. The most common forms of eating disorders are detailed below, and explain how binging and restricting play a role in each type.
What are the different types of eating disorders?
Anorexia Nervosa (AN) is a restrictive eating disorder which leads to a low body weight for someone’s age, gender, developmental trajectory and physical health. People with this eating disorder have a strong fear of gaining weight and take part in behaviors to prevent weight gain, such as excessive exercise or purging. (5)
“Atypical” Anorexia Nervosa (AAN) occurs in people who severely restrict food intake, have an intense fear of weight gain, and have distressing body image thoughts. However, they do not fall into the “underweight” category.
Avoidant-Restrictive Food Intake Disorder (ARFID) is characterized by people restricting food intake due to lack of interest in food, sensory sensitivities, or the fear of negative consequences around eating such as choking, vomiting or having an allergic reaction.
Binge Eating Disorder (BED) is when someone engages in recurrent episodes of eating large amounts of food. Usually the food is eaten very quickly until the person feels uncomfortably full. However, this disorder is not characterized by regular binging and restricting, as compensatory behaviors, such as purging or skipping meals, are not regularly used. This is the most common type of eating disorder in the US. (6)
Bulimia Nervosa (BN) is characterized by binging and restricting. After someone engages in binge eating, they use compensatory behaviors like vomiting, misusing laxatives, fasting or excessive exercise to avoid gaining weight. (5)
Orthorexia is the unhealthy obsession with healthy eating. People with this eating disorder take part in restrictive dieting to promote “health” and have strong fears about breaking food rules. Self worth, identity and body image are closely linked to following a “healthy” diet. (7)
What does recovery look like?
The first step in recovery is acknowledging that your behavior around food is problematic. It’s also important to surround yourself with people who support you, while knowing that relearning normal eating habits and healing your relationship with food is a lifelong journey.
Three broad areas of recovery identified by psychologists are:
Physical recovery, which includes treating the physical effects of an eating disorder, such as restoring weight, repleting hormone levels, and when applicable, restarting menstruation.
Behavioral recovery, which involves stopping or significantly decreasing binging and restricting as well as overexercise.
Psychological recovery, which is when the cognitive and emotional parts of the eating disorder, such as food rules, body image worries and perfectionism are addressed. (8)
Nutrition Support
There is so much information about eating disorders, and what is included in this article really only touches the tip of the iceberg. However, Jamie offers personalized nutrition support to people with a variety of health conditions, including those seeking recovery from disordered eating and eating disorders.
If you’re looking for nutrition support, click here to schedule a free consultation to explore your treatment options. Let’s create a nourishment plan together to reach your goals!
SOURCES:
What are Eating Disorders? Nationaleatingdisorders.org. Accessed February 14, 2023. https://www.nationaleatingdisorders.org/what-are-eating-disorders.
Bazzini M. Eating Disorder Cases Rose During the Pandemic, but They’ve been Costing Governments Billions for Decades. Theprojectheal.org. Accessed February 14, 2023. https://www.theprojectheal.org/blog/eating-disorder-cases-rose-during-the-pandemic.
Mehler PS, Anderson AE. Eating Disorders: A Guide to Medical Care and Complications. Eur. Eat. Disord. Rev. 2011;19(1):85-86. Doi:https://doi.org/10.1002/erv.1041
Wells G, Horwitz J, Seetharaman D. Facebook knows Instagram is Toxic for Teen Girls, Company Documents Show. Wsj.com. Published September 14, 2021. Accessed February 14, 2023. https://www.wsj.com/articles/facebook-knows-instagram-is-toxic-for-teen-girls-company-documents-show-11631620739
Sim L. Our Eating Disorders Blind Spot: Sex and Ethnic/Racial Disparities in Help-Seeking for Eating Disorders. Mayo Clin Proc. 2019;94(8):1398-1400. doi:10.1016/j.mayocp.2019.06.006
Binge Eating Disorder. Nationaleatingdisorders.org. Accessed February 14, 2023. https://www.nationaleatingdisorders.org/learn/by-eating-disorder/bed.
Dunn T, Bratman S. On Orthorexia Nervosa: A Review of the Literature and Proposed Diagnostic Criteria. Eat Behav. 2016;21:11-7. doi:10.1016/j.eatbeh.2015.12.006
Recovery and Relapse. Nationaleatingdisorders.org. Accessed February 14, 2023. https://www.nationaleatingdisorders.org/learn/general-information/recovery.
