PSYC 2030U Lecture Notes - Lecture 3: Bulimia Nervosa, Acid Erosion, Salivary Gland
Chapter 8 – Sleep-Wake Disorders
Fact or Fiction
1.) Can familial influences affect one’s likelihood of developing an ED?
a. Yes
2.) Bulimia is characterized by episodes of binging and purging
a. True
3.) The BMIs of anorexia and bulimia are roughly the same
a. False, anorexia sufferers are underweight since they eat very minimal food
b. Bulimics try to lose weight but have typically normal or above average
BMI levels.
4.) No successful therapies currently exist to treat eating disorders
a. False - CBT focuses on distorted evaluation of body shape and weight
and the attempts to control weight.
5.) Are eating disorders culturally specific?
a. Yes
Eating Disorders
- Overwhelming drive to be thin
- 20% die as a result of their disorder
- Suicide attempts are common in ED’s
- Increased prevalence of dieting and preoccupation with the body
Bulimia Nervosa
- Most common on university campuses
- When vomiting, can provide relief from anxiety guilt and tension that
accompanies binges
- Eating larger amount of food than most people would eat
- Laxatives – more women are impulsive who use these
- Activity levels rise before the development of AN
- Vomiting reduces 50% of total calories consumed, have little effect
Medical Consequences
- Salivary gland enlargement – puffy face
- Dental enamel erosion
- Electrolye imbalance
- Cardiac arrhythmias
- Renal failure
Associated psychological disorders
- 75% of BN patients presented with anxiety disorder
- Depression can follow bulimia
Anorexia Nervosa
- So successful at losing weight that they are in danger
- Proud of their diets and their control and do not see it as an illness
- Bulimic people are more or less secretive
Clinical Description
- BN is more common than AN
- Diet to limit caloric intake
- Binge-purging type – rely on purging
o Relatively smaller amounts of food than BN
o Purge more consistently
Medical Consequences
- Amenorrhea
- Dry skin brittle nails
- Lanugo – hair of limbs and cheeks
Associated Psychological disorders
- OCD can occur frequently as well as anxiety and other mood disorders
Binge-Eating Disorder
- Better response to treatment
- Crossing over to bulimia is very common with individuals with BED
- Same concerns about shape and weight with BN and AN
Statistics
- 16-19 years of age for BN
- Strongest predictors of persistence were a history of childhood obesity and a
overemphasis on being thin
- AN tend to maintain a low BMI for a long time – continue to restrict their eating
and is more resistant to treatment
Cross-cultural considerations
- Block adolescent girls have less body dissatisfaction fewer weight concerns and a
more positive body image
Developmental Considerations
- 9 years of age, 20% of girls tried to lose weight
Causes of ED
Social Dimensions
- Dieting
- Girls who watched 8 or more hours of TV a week
- Pressures of peers and society
- Adolescent girls simply tend to choose friends who already share attitudes
towards body image concerns
- Girls who dieted were 8 times more likely to develop an ED
o Can face a greater risk of obesity than those who did not diet
o Broken diet can lead to a binge in women who chronically restrict their
diets
- Dietary Restraint
o 1950’s that long-term dieting can cause preoccupation with food
- Family influences
Biological dimensions
- Genetic component
- Hypothalamus and other NT systems – serotonergic system particularly
- Impulsivity and binge-eating
- “Activity anorexia” excessive physical activity leads to a loss of appetite.
Document Summary
Can familial influences affect one"s likelihood of developing an ed: yes. Bulimia is characterized by episodes of binging and purging: true. The bmis of anorexia and bulimia are roughly the same: false, anorexia sufferers are underweight since they eat very minimal food, bulimics try to lose weight but have typically normal or above average. No successful therapies currently exist to treat eating disorders: false - cbt focuses on distorted evaluation of body shape and weight and the attempts to control weight. 20% die as a result of their disorder. Increased prevalence of dieting and preoccupation with the body. When vomiting, can provide relief from anxiety guilt and tension that accompanies binges. Eating larger amount of food than most people would eat. Laxatives more women are impulsive who use these. Activity levels rise before the development of an. Vomiting reduces 50% of total calories consumed, have little effect. 75% of bn patients presented with anxiety disorder.
