Eating Disorders in the General Population

Eating disorders are generally nearly impossible to pick up on until they have entered a state of disastrous un-health. People with eating disorders do not advertise, and in fact spend a great deal of time hiding the problem from those around them. Eating disorders are terrifying not only to those who watch from the side line, but those who experience their tremendous power that sucks their self, their goals, their dreams, and their honest emotions into a world of deception and self loathing. There are more eating disorders in the world than are recognized by the medical community. Anorexia and bulimia have received ample attention when compared to other eating disorders, but over eating, binge eating (which is not identical to bulimia), and compulsive reactive eating are lingering on the radar of the medical community.

By basic and simple definition, although there is nothing simple about eating disorders, anorexia is the denial of the intake of food. Bulimia is a cycle which the individual eats dramatically and unremittingly and then intentionally regurgitates the food. Bulimia can also reflect an anorexic in forced treatment that may eat small amounts and then intentionally regurgitate the food as a method of returning to the "empty" feeling they are accustomed to. Overeating compulsively is a private affair, which the overeater will use food to drown out their emotions and eat incessantly and continuously. Binge eating is similar to bulimia with a little bit of anorexic tendencies. Binge eating refers to someone who is typically very health conscious about what they eat until they experience stress. Stress entices them to over eat and go on an eating binge and some will regurgitate the food while others will follow it with an anorexic stint. Compulsive reactive eating fits into this same category and just goes by a different name,