Eating Disorders in Children and Adolescents Essay

Childhood corpulency has become a recurring piece in the news today. A miscellanea of issues has been discussed regarding the cause of this popular issue. fierceness is placed on pargonnts, culture, school meals, and a number of other factors leading to obesity. Children and adolescents ar non blind to the caution placed on obesity among them and their peers. If the thin bodies of magazines, TV and media werent enough, children now have to face the approximate realities of statistics that be constantly broadcasted in the news. This being the case, many another(prenominal) children and adolescents have unquestionable unwellnessy means to all get thin or block thin. Many struggle with alimentation disorders. ingest disorders involve a variety of descriptions of unhealthy patterns of eating. All of them involve some abnormal pattern of eating, including not eating. No matter the type or term given the disorder, they equal a serious situation and are a mental health concer n. Two of the more well-known types of eating disorders are anorexia nervosa and bulimia. Both are common among youth.Anorexia Nervosa DescriptionSometimes just being normal in size is not what an individual sees as normal in him self. Anorexia nervosa is an eating disorder in which being thin is not the only issue. It is characterized by starving oneself. Signs include a body weight of less than lxxxv percent the normal body weight for that specific height and bestride 3 consecutive absences of a menstrual cycle and an abnormally brawny fear of gaining weight (e.g., feeding Dis. n.d., para. 12). A more common external sign of anorexia is the intense fear of gaining weight. The youth may repeatedly show up verbally his desire to be thin, his belief that he is fat or overweight, and a generally twisted view of own size or weight. All of this is typically coupled with an already thin body size. use of goods and services of laxatives in addition to severely limiting fare intake is commonly seen.Anorexia Nervosa CauseThe cause of anorexia is not one specific factor. It is widely concur that many issues combine to lead to its phylogenesis. These include complaisant, cultural, psychological, and biological concerns. The social occasion of neurotransmitters in anorexia is researched today. Serotonin is a neurotransmitter known to affect appetite control, sexual and social conduct, stress responses, and modal value and modulates feeding by producing the sensation of fullness or satiety (Rome, 2003, p.100). A decrease in this neurotransmitter flowerpot be indicatory of anorexia. There are also some indications of genetic factors involved in causing anorexia. Having a family member who suffers or has suffered from anorexia can predispose a child to development. There are now multiple case-control studies designed to look into the familiality of eating disorders, which demonstrate a higher rate of Anorexia nervosa in relatives of probands with anorexia n ervosa (Rome, 2003, p 101). binge-eating syndrome DescriptionAnother eating disorder common among children and adolescents is bulimia. bulimia can actually be a subtype of anorexia. It is characterized by bingeing on food then purging the food via induced retch. The bingeing is considered uncontrolled and the person typically ingests much larger than normal amounts of food, sometimes secretively. Then, within an hour or two of eating, the person purges the food. This is usually done by self-induced vomiting however, the vomiting is typically seen with misuse of laxatives, urine-producing medications, and enemas. All of these enable the individual to purge herself of the of late ingested large quantities of food.These binges occur at least twice a calendar week for three months or may occur as often as several times a day (e.g., Eating Dis. n.d., para. 23). As a subtype of anorexia, the bulimic person is abnormally underweight. Being underweight, however, is not a necessity of the bulimic diagnosis. In fact, the average bulimic is of normal weight, but sees self as being overweight. Other common attitudes associated with bulimia include peak exercise, secretive or abnormal eating habits or rituals, and irregular or absent menstrual cycles. Both bulimia and anorexia are commonly seen in individuals already suffering from anxiety and/or depression (e.g. Eating Dis. n.d., para. 29).Bulimia CauseAs with Anorexia nervosa, a specific cause for bulimia is not known. Several factors, however, are thought to increase the likelihood of this disorder many of these are similar to those of anorexia nervosa. Cultural and social influences on appearance and size, family problems, and mood disorders all have an effect on the development of bulimia. Gender plays a large role as well. The majority of youth suffering from two bulimia and anorexia nervosa, although more so with bulimia, are females (Fisher, 1995, p. 431). The same case adopt cited in the familial causes of a norexia nervosa indicates that having a family member who has previously been diagnosed with bulimia can also predispose an individual to the same behavior.TreatmentAlthough Anorexia nervosa and Bulimia are two separate identifiable diagnoses, the treatments of these physical and mental disorders are similar. Physicians offset analyze the individuals specific overall health and achievable contributing factors. The primary care doctor is the necessary authority to either treat or recommend for treatment. Possible physical effects such(prenominal) as malnutrition and dental issues are treated as needed. The mental and psychological treatment varies according to the childs specific needs. Individual and family therapy, behavior modification, and cognitive therapy can all be used.Focus primarily tends toward the development of adequate coping skills, positive body image, and positive self-talk. Frequently, mood stabilizers are prescribed in conjunction with one-on-one therapy (Rome, 2 003, p. 104). The family plays a key role in treating children and adolescents most significantly by the fact that parents and adult figures in the childs life control and direct the routine of tell child. In cases of severely physically compromised children, monitoring of vital signs, nutrition, and electrolyte balance by trained healthcare professionals may be necessary (Fischer, 1995, p. 435).ConclusionEating disorders are spread across both adults and youth. As increasing attention is given the issue of childhood obesityand as the media continues to push the predilection for abnormally thin figures in beautythe youth will suffer. They desire unhealthy means to be what culture, family, and society says is normal, accepted. Bulimia and anorexia nervosa are the closure of these issues and remain common eating disorders among children and adolescents. These disorders, however, can be diagnosed and treated. Most grave to the treatment of any disorder affecting children and adole scents is the role of parents or guardians.ReferencesEating disorders in children and adolescents (n.d.) In Eating Disorders. Retrieved from http//www.lpch.org/diseasehealthinfo/healthlibrary/growth/eatdis.html. Ellen S. Rome, MD, Seth Ammerman, MD, et al. Children and adolescents with eating disorders the advance of the art. Pediatrics. 2003 111 98-108. Fisher M. Golden NH, Katzman DK, et al. Eating disorders in adolescents a background paper. boyish Health. 1995 16 420-437.