An eating disorder is a mental disorder defined by abnormal eating behaviors that negatively affect a persons physical or mental health. Only one eating disorder can be diagnosed at a given time. Types of eating disorders include binge eating disorder, where the patient eats a large amount in a short period of time; anorexia nervosa, where the person has an intense fear of gaining weight and restricts food or overexercises to manage this fear; bulimia nervosa, where individuals eat a large quantity (binging) then try to rid themselves of the food (purging); pica, where the patient eats non-food items; rumination syndrome, where the patient regurgitates undigested or minimally digested food; avoidant/restrictive food intake disorder (ARFID), where people have a reduced or selective food intake due to some psychological reasons (see below); and a group of other specified feeding or eating disorders. Anxiety disorders, depression and substance abuse are common among people with eating disorders. These disorders do not include obesity. People often experience comorbidity between an eating disorder and OCD. It is estimated 20-60% of patients with an ED have a history of OCD.The causes of eating disorders are not clear, although both biological and environmental factors appear to play a role. Cultural idealization of thinness is believed to contribute to some eating disorders. Individuals who have experienced sexual abuse are also more likely to develop eating disorders. Some disorders such as pica and rumination disorder occur more often in people with intellectual disabilities.Treatment can be effective for many eating disorders.
According to social comparison theory, young women have a tendency to compare their appearance to others, which can result in a negative view of their own bodies and altering of eating behaviors, that in turn can develop disordered eating behaviors.When body parts are isolated and displayed in the media as objects to be looked at, it is called objectification, and women are affected most by this phenomenon. Objectification increases self-objectification, where women judge their own body parts as a mean of praise and pleasure for others. There is a significant link between self-objectification, body dissatisfaction, and disordered eating, as the beauty ideal is altered through social media.Although eating disorders are typically under diagnosed in people of color, they still experience eating disorders in great numbers. It is thought that the stress that those of color face in the United States from being multiply marginalized may contribute to their rates of eating disorders. Eating disorders, for these women, may be a response to environmental stressors such as racism, abuse and poverty. African perspective
In the majority of many African communities, thinness is generally not seen as an ideal body type and most pressure to attain a slim figure may stem from influence or exposure to Western culture and ideology. Traditional African cultural ideals are reflected in the practice of some health professionals; in Ghana, pharmacists sell appetite stimulants to women who desire to, as Ghanaians stated, "grow fat". Girls are told that if they wish to find a partner and birth children they must gain weight.