“It seems to me that our three basic needs for food and security and love, are so entwined that we cannot think of one without the other” M.K.Fisher

When does a bad eating habit become disordered eating?

Eating problems usually start out with the common wish to lose weight. Often people go through a period of intensive dieting where they overeat or become obsessed with weight. This is usually short-lived. However, a short-lived bout of food control becomes disordered eating when the eating behaviour is no longer used to maintain or reduce weight (although on the surface or consciously, it may appear to be). An eating habit becomes disordered eating when the primary need it satisfies is psychological and not because of physical hunger; she/he eats for reasons unrelated to physiological needs. Food use may temporarily block out painful feelings, calm anxiety or enable a feeling of control. For this reason an eating disorder cannot be ‘treated’ by a dietitian alone, you have to see a psychologist or/and a psychiatrist as well. Types of eating disorders:

• Anorexia Nervosa
• Bulimia Nervosa
• Binge Eating Disorder
• Other Feeding and Eating Disorders
• Night Eating Syndrome
• Body Dysmorphic Disorder
• Childhood Onset Eating Disorder

Factors associated with eating disorders:

• Anxiety, Depression and EDs
• Associated Substance Abuse
• Associated Personality Disorders
• Eating Disorders and Diabetes Mellitus