- Wednesday, January 25, 2012, 6 p.m. - Yampa Valley Medical
Center, 1024 Central Park Drive, Steamboat Springs Eating
disorders are serious and complicated mental illnesses with
significant and, at times, life-threatening physical and
psychological consequences, regardless of the individual’s
weight. The spectrum of eating disorders includes anorexia
nervosa, bulimia nervosa, binge eating disorder and eating
disorders not otherwise specified. Anorexia involves a distorted
body image with a fear of and refusal to gain weight resulting
in severe eating restrictions and dramatic weight loss. In
contrast, patients with bulimia may not lose weight but engage
in frequent binge eating followed by attempts to get rid of the
food through self-induced vomiting, laxatives, diuretics or
exercise. Anorexia nervosa carries the highest mortality rate of
any psychiatric disorder. In females ages 15 to 24, anorexia
causes 12 times more deaths than all other causes. Anorexia is
considered to be the third most common chronic i