Il March 15th in Italy it is the day dedicated to raising awareness of food disorders, from which more than 3 million people suffer, especially the very young. The three most common eating disorders are: anoressia, bulimia e binge eating and together they represent the second cause of death of adolescents after road accidents. The age of onset of problems with food in recent years has decreased to the point of reaching in some cases 8-11 years oldbefore pubertal development, but there are also patients aged 40-50 and beyond.
Here are some features of the most common eating disorders.
Anorexia
L’nervous anorexia it is of psychological origin and is characterized by the progressive refusal of food which can go as far as compromising vital functions. People suffering from anorexia have an intense fear of gaining weight and they have the distorted perception of your body image. Many people with anorexia consider themselves overweight, even when they are hungry or severely malnourished. Food restriction behaviors can be accompanied by episodes of binge eating, self-induced vomiting, excessive exerciseimproper use of drugs laxatives and diuretics. As related and initial health problems, menstruation disappears in women, stubborn constipation is also often constant. In the more advanced stages of the disease, which can last for years, the onset of infectious forms is easy, as the body is very debilitated. Finally, malnutrition can compromise various organs and lead to cardiac risk.
Bulimia
Bulimia nervosa is characterized by binges (eating large quantities of food in a short time, together with the feeling of loss of control over this behavior) followed by “compensatory” actions such as self-induced vomitingil fasting and/or excessive exercise. Unlike anorexia nervosa, people with bulimia can fall into the range normal for their weightbut like people with anorexia, they often fear gaining weight, desperately want to lose weight, and are deeply dissatisfied with their body size and shape.
Binge eating
Binge eating disorder (or “binge eating”, in English) is characterized by recurrent episodes of uncontrolled feeding during which a person feels a loss of control and marked discomfort with their eating. Unlike bulimia nervosa, binge eating episodes are not followed by compensatory behaviors. As a result, people with binge eating disorder are often overweight or obese.
Who to contact
When you suspect you have an eating disorder, the first thing to do is contact your general practitioner or pediatrician. Doctors will give an indication not for a single specialist, but for a dedicated center to eating disorders. They are multi-specialist clinics, because these disorders need a medical team work: when there is a diagnosis, therapy requires at least a doctor, a psychiatrist and a nutritionist.
To locate the services in the area, consult the national map (just updated to 2023) on the website www.disturbialimentarionline.it or call Green number «SOS DA» 800 180 969.
To date, the mapping of the treatment centers includes 126 structures throughout the national territory, of which 112 of the National Health Service and 14 of the accredited Private: 63 centers in the North (of which 20 in Emilia Romagna), 23 in Central Italy and 40 between the South and the Islands.