EATING disorders are increasing in prevalence globally, especially among teenagers and young adults in western societies such as Jamaica. Despite the serious and sometimes even fatal nature of these disorders, however, they sometimes go undetected and untreated in many people due to several factors, including limited knowledge of the conditions.

Dr Brian Kazaara is a psychiatrist at Jamaica’s public psychiatric healthcare facility, Bellevue Hospital, and he shared some insight into the group of conditions with Your Health Your Wealth during Eating Disorder Awareness Week, which is observed globally in the first week of March each year.

“An eating disorder is a chronic eating problem that affects how someone eats and absorbs food,” Dr Kazaara shared. “These disorders negatively impact the person’s physical health, as well as how they think, feel, and relates to themselves and others.

“People with these disorders may be extremely concerned about their body weight and shape. Though it is not necessarily uncommon for someone to be concerned about their weight and shape, persons with these conditions are extremely preoccupied with theirs,” he added.

Dr Kazaara said three of the most common eating disorders are anorexia nervosa, bulimia nervosa and binge-eating disorder (BED).

“People affected by anorexia nervosa limit their food intake, which leads to very low body weight,” he shared. “To be diagnosed with anorexia nervosa one must be objectively underweight. Despite being very thin, people with this condition still have intense fears of gaining weight or being fat. They usually have body image issues, which cause them to think they are overweight when they are not, and to be in denial of the fact that they are unhealthily underweight.”

He explained that people diagnosed with bulimia nervosa often eat a huge amount of food in a short period of time.

“When they eat like this, they often say they feel like they are out of control. After these episodes of bulk eating they will engage in purging behaviour, such as making themselves vomit or using chemicals to make themselves defecate excessively.”

The third condition, binge-eating disorder, is similar to bulimia nervosa.

“People with binge-eating disorder eat huge amounts of food but do not engage in purging behaviour. They often feel like they cannot control their eating and feel guilty or ashamed about it,” Dr Kazaara distinguished.

The psychiatrist outlined some of the early signs that someone who is struggling with an eating disorder may exhibit.

“You may notice that the person is eating a lot more or a lot less than what would be normally expected; that they talk excessively about their weight or body shape; and that they make frequent bathroom visits during or after meals,” he said.

He cautioned that eating disorders can lead to serious health troubles such as malnutrition and heart problems, and are often related to other mental conditions such as depression or anxiety.

“These medical issues should be attended to by medical professionals, and the interventions can be lifesaving,” he said.

He shared that medications may be used in the treatment of eating disorders and any other coexisting mental health conditions that patients may have, and that ‘talk’ therapy can be useful in helping people learn healthy eating habits, restore their weight to a normal range, and control binge-eating and purging habits. These therapy sessions may also include family therapy and other types of group therapy.

Dr Kazaara encouraged people who live with and care for people with eating disorder to be as supportive as possible in helping them to manage the conditions, and helping them access medical assistance if needed.

“Empathise with the person and listen keenly,” he encouraged. “Try to refrain from criticising their eating habits and commenting on their weight or body shape.”

The doctor added that in medical emergencies, including those that may arise from eating disorders, people should visit their closest general hospital.

People experiencing mental health crises may also visit their local mental health clinic, or go to Bellevue Hospital’s emergency room at 16 ½ Windward Road in Kingston. They may also call the National Mental Health Helpline at 888-639-5433 (888-NEW-LIFE) to speak with a trained counsellor.