Eating disorders are psychiatric illnesses that damage a person's physical and mental health and reduce their overall quality of life - relationships, work and personal development are affected.

In eating disorders, the connection with one's own body is disrupted, which leads to extremely problematic eating behavior. Overemphasis is placed on weight and body shape, underweight is idealized, and various methods are used to lose weight or prevent weight gain.

During their lifetime, approximately 8% of women and 2% of men will develop an eating disorder. Eating disorders occur in any population, regardless of gender, age, ethnicity or socioeconomic status. However, they most often occur in girls and young women.

The term "eating disorder" is often mistakenly used as a synonym for selective eating disorder, since both involve disordered eating. However, their causes are different: an eating disorder is caused by a desire to control weight, while in a selective eating disorder, eating certain foods causes anxiety or fear.

Other eating disorders

Anorexia, bulimia and binge eating disorder are three of the most common and well-known eating disorders. However, often not all of the symptoms of a person with an eating disorder correspond to one specific disorder. In such cases, these disorders are called “atypical” or “other eating disorders.” There is a common myth that in such cases the course of the disease is milder and treatment is taken more lightly. However, this is erroneous, since the name of the disease indicates only its diagnostic criteria, and not its severity or course.

Causes of eating disorders

There is never one single reason for the development of eating disorders. These are complex diseases in the development of which a combination of many factors plays an important role. Genetic, biological and environmental factors always play a role. Modern social attitudes, including diet culture and the cult of thinness, contribute to the development of psychological vulnerability, which can become a fertile environment for the development of eating disorders. It is likely for the same reasons that higher rates of eating disorders are observed in sports in which weight is a major concern and in appearance-oriented professions. However, it should be emphasized that viewing social networks or playing certain sports does not contribute to the development of the disease. There are many factors involved in the development of the disease that are usually beyond a person's control. However, it is often more practical and even more important to identify disease-sustaining factors, since changing them is associated with better treatment outcomes.