Wiseman 1

Ashtyn Wiseman

Burr

English 2010

9 April 2018

Eating Disorders: The Health Consequences

“Over eight million Americans have an eating disorder” (TEDxTalks). Because of

statistics like this everyone should be informed about the health consequences that are associated

with different types of eating disorders, particularly Binge Eating Disorder, Anorexia Nervosa,

and Bulimia Nervosa. These are the three most common types of eating disorders. An eating

disorder is a mental disorder that distorts the way you see your body and therefore leads to

unhealthy eating patterns. Binge Eating Disorder is when an individual eats more than they

should. They have episodes where they cannot control the amount of foods that they are eating.

These episodes happen at least once a day for three months to be considered Binge Eating

Disorder. Anorexia Nervosa is basically starving your body. People with Anorexia eat nothing or

little to nothing. They restrict the calories that they are taking in to a very minimal amount.

Bulimia Nervosa is similar to Binge Eating Disorder in the fact that they binge and eat more than

they should but with Bulimia the person then feels guilty about it and they Purge. The purging

can take place in multiple different forms, some of those are self-induced vomiting, laxative use

and abuse, and over exercising. Eating disorders are a lot more harmful than many people think.

An eating disorder does not just cause someone to lose weight, there are much more serious

consequences involved. All three of these disorders have some extremely serious health

consequences that follow along with them and can eventually lead to death if not taken care of
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before it gets too serious. Binge Eating Disorder, Anorexia Nervosa, and Bulimia Nervosa all

share some of the same health consequences but they also all have health consequences that are

specific to each individual disorder.

With all eating disorders there comes to be problems involving all of the systems of the

body. Many people are unaware of this because they think it is simply someone losing weight

when really it causes damage to the brian, the heart, and every other organ in the body. There are

many of the same health complications in Binge Eating, Anorexia, and Bulimia. According to

the article “Medical Complications in Adolescents with Anorexia Nervosa: A Review of the

Literature” by Debra K. Katzman, “One third of the deaths in adults with eating disorders are

due to cardiac complications” (52). This is because the heart has to be strong and healthy to be

fully functioning. When lacking essential nutrients the walls of the heart start to deteriorate and it

loses mass. This is a very serious issue because there is a very high chance of heart failure

associated. Another major issue that all three of these disorders share affects only women and

this is infertility and menstrual cycle changes. The weight change, the malnutrition, and the

deficiencies of many vitamins and minerals disturbs the hormones of the body. Hormone

imbalance in the body and can throw off a woman’s reproductive system. There is a great chance

of menstrual cycle irregularities and even complete loss of the menstrual cycle. If a woman still

is having a period it will be very hard for her to become pregnant because the body is not healthy

enough to handle that kind of stress. Although it will be very difficult, it is possible to become

pregnant but then issues with the pregnancy such as having a miscarriage become a very

prominent issue. The last major health problem that can be seen in all eating disorders is

depression. This is because when a person has an eating disorder they usually do not feel
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comfortable with their bodies and they feel as if their bodies are the reason why the are not

accepted by other people. This difficult on the brains of these individuals and they are not happy.

They start to feel isolated and the depression only worsens the extent of the disorder. With the

depression comes an increased risk for suicide. In the article “Eating Disorders Have Serious

Medical Complications and We Have the Expertise to Respond” by The Center for Eating

Disorders it says, “Suicide accounts for as many as 1/3 of the deaths related to eating disorders”

(Par. 4). Between cardiac complications and suicide it accounts for two thirds of the deaths

associated with eating disorders. This is a very sad and scary statistic. There are so many people

dying from complications and depression that can be prevented if everyone is informed and

knows about the horrors of an eating disorder.

Binge Eating disorder has medical complications that follow it that are not included with

other disorders. Binge eating disorder is a major problem worldwide. “The eating disorder that

the biggest majority of my recovery group was dealing with was Binge Eating Disorder” (Tate).

The most common eating disorder is Binge Eating and it has many life threatening health side

effects that connect with it. The scariest problem is that there is a chance of the stomach

rupturing from the excessive eating. The rupturing of the stomach is a very fatal complication.

This is a problem for those with Binge Eating Disorder because when a binge episode is taking

place the person is stuffing themselves with food to the point way past fullness and this stretches

the stomach out. When they continue eating and the stomach can no longer hold anymore food it

ruptures and is a very serious consequence. Another big thing that can occur from having Binge

Eating Disorder is Type II Diabetes Mellitus. This happens because over time of bingeing the

body becomes resistant to Insulin, a hormone produced by the Pancreas. When a person becomes
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Insulin resistant their body cannot make enough Insulin to keep their blood glucose at a healthy

level. Diabetes takes a lot of time and effort to manage and maintain. The biggest thing

associated with Binge Eating Disorder is Insomnia. There are multiple reasons why this can

follow along with Binge Eating Disorder. One reason for this is that if a person tries going to

sleep when they are beyond the point of full it makes it very hard to fall asleep and once asleep it

is then very hard for that person to stay asleep. The second reason why it causes Insomnia is

because a person with Binge Eating Disorder is up in the night to eat without anyone knowing. In

the article "Binge Eating: The Hidden Disease" by Alison Jenkins she states, “Shame,

embarrassment and addiction cause sufferers to hide food throughout the house and car, to get up

in the night to binge uncontrollably when everyone is asleep or to steal food when no one is

looking” (19). People with Binge Eating Disorder are so self conscious about eating that they try

and do it in secret. This adds more problems especially with sleeping because they are now not

sleeping and overeating even more because it is not just during the day but also all through the

night.

Anorexia Nervosa too has its’ own health consequences that come with it. One of those is

the chance of getting Osteoporosis. This is a disease that affects the density of the bones and

makes them weaker and more susceptible of breaking. In “Eating Disorders Kill” by Victoria

Eating Disorder Peer Support for Adults it is stated that, “​Calcium, vitamin D, magnesium and

other vitamins and minerals are crucial in the formation and maintenance of healthy bones” (3).

A person with Anorexia typical is deficient in many vitamins and minerals because they are not

intaking the right amount of food and therefore are not getting the nutrients they need. This can

be very damaging to the bones and make them very brittle. Another major complication that
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develops in those with Anorexia is the breakdown of the many major organs. According to

“​Health Consequences” by National Eating Disorders Association, “Consuming fewer calories

than you need means that the body breaks down its own tissue to use for fuel. Muscles are some

of the first organs broken down, and the most important muscle in the body is the heart” (Par. 3).

The break down of organs even if it is just one organ will cause many others to also shut down.

If the heart is one of the first things to be broken down then that means that there will not be as

much blood flow throughout the whole body and there is possible risk for heart failure. The most

common health consequence that is seen with Anorexia is when the body grows extra hair to

compensate for the loss of body fat. This new hair is called lanugo this is like the hair that is all

over newborn babies. It is very soft and fine and is to help keep the body warm when the internal

temperature drops from all of the weight that has been lost from starvation.

Bulimia Nervosa also has some medical problems that are attached with it. Dehydration

and electrolyte imbalance is the main issue in Bulimia and can be present with all forms or

puring. By all purging methods fluid is being lost somehow, whether it is being thrown up or

sweated out, there is fluid loss. This loss of fluids can cause dehydration. Dehydration will

eventually lead to kidney failure, but it also throws off the electrolyte balance. Electrolyte

imbalance is defined as “dangerous levels of sodium, calcium, potassium and other minerals”

(The Center Par. 10). By ‘dangerous levels” they are referring to very lows levels. When purging

these minerals are lost and if not replaced it can cause very harmful damage to the body,

including heart failure and even death. One of the complications that is only present in the

purging where continual vomit is an issue and is not quite as common but can be life threatening

is that the esophagus can rupture due to the constant self induced vomiting. The acidity in the
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throw up eventually wears away at the lining of the esophagus and causes it to get so weak that it

will then rupture and most often times death occurs from this complication. Another issue only

caused by throwing up as a way of purging is that there are many dental related issues. In the

article “Bulimia: Medical Complications" by Philip S. Mehler he states, “The most obvious oral

health disorder seen in bulimia is tooth enamel erosion (perimyolysis)” (671). This is the most

common because it is caused by the acidity of the vomit touching the teeth over and over again.

The wearing away of the enamel is not good because that is the protective covering on the

outside of the tooth. If it all gets

worn away the teeth become very

sensitive and more likely to get

decay. Dental work would need to

be done to save the teeth and it

would be very costly.

The image to the left is an

infographic that shows three major

health consequences of the three

eating disorders discussed in this

paper. It shows Anorexia, Bulimia,

and then Binge Eating Disorder.

Along with talking about three

health side effects it also shows a

few little images to go along with

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each one. These pictures all connect to the health consequence in some way such as, a bone for

Osteoporosis in Anorexia and a tooth representing the dental problems that follow Bulimia.

All eating disorders come with a price to pay. The scariest and most common eating

disorders are Binge Eating Disorder, Anorexia Nervosa, and Bulimia Nervosa. Although these

disorders are very different from each other they do have some of the same health consequences

associated with them. Each one also has its’ own complications that are special to them. Every

eating disorder is very harmful to the body in many ways and can even lead to death in one way

or another. Choosing a life with an eating disorder is a very risky thing to do. There are so many

things that can go wrong and it is never known what is going to happen until it has already

happened.
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Works Cited

Jenkins, Alison. "Binge Eating: The Hidden Disease." Primary Health Care, vol. 17, no. 4, May

2007, pp. 19-21. EBSCOhost, search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=aph&A

N= 25116803&site=ehost-live.

Katzman, Debra K. “Medical Complications in Adolescents with Anorexia Nervosa: A Review

of the Literature.” Wiley Online Library, Wiley Periodicals Inc, 2005, onlinelibrary.wiley

.com/doi/pdf/10.1002/eat.20118.

Mehler, Philip S., et al. "Bulimia: Medical Complications." Journal of Women's Health

(15409996), vol. 13, no. 6, July 2004, pp. 668-675. EBSCOhost, search.ebsco

host.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=aph&AN=14436726&site=ehost-live.

National Eating Disorders Association. “Health Consequences.” National Eating Disorders

Association, 22 Feb. 2018, ​www.nationaleatingdisorders.org/health-consequences​.

Tate, Jennifer. Phone Interview. 13 April 2018.

TEDxTalks. “Eating Disorders.” YouTube, YouTube, 2 June 2016, www.youtube.com/watch?v=

q3HfDJhdyJk.

The Center for Eating Disorders. “Eating Disorders Have Serious Medical Complications and

We Have the Expertise to Respond.” The Center for Eating Disorders, Sheppard Pratt

Health System, 2015, eatingdisorder.org/eating-disorder-information/medical-

complications/.

Victoria Eating Disorder Peer Support for Adults. “Eating Disorders Kill.” Victoria Eating

Disorder Peer Support for Adults, www.edpeersupportvictoria.com/new-page/#.