Eating Disorder is a condition that includes self-basic, cynical musings and emotions about body weight, food and dietary patterns that disturb typical body operations and day by day exercises. Most dietary issues revolve around concentrating a lot on your weight, body shape and food, prompting risky eating practices (Agras & Apple, 2008). These practices can altogether affect your body's capacity to get satisfactory nutrients from the diet you choose. The most well-known dietary problems are anorexia nervosa, bulimia nervosa and voraciously consuming food issue. Eating disorders, among other recognized disorders is the most fatal, considering that it is harmful to both mental and biological operations of the body (Costin, 2007).
Studies indicate that 56% of all reported cases of eating disorders are caused by biological factors which are inherited from parents (Nationaleatingdisorders.org, 2016). According to the research, people who have a member of their nuclear family with anorexia nervosa are twelve times more likely to develop the same condition that a person who comes from a family that has no such history (Eating Disorders | Psychology Today, 2016). Bulimia nervosa is less biologically transferred as a person hailing from a family with the condition has close to four times the chance of developing the condition than a person from a family with o history of the same.
Eating disorders may cause several changes in the body, some of which may have fatal consequences. One of the reported changes is the disruption in neurotransmitter behavior and structural changes and abnormal activities during anorexic states (Munsch & Beglinger, 2005). Low blood sugar consequentially stimulates the body to reduce the heart rate and hence the slow distribution of oxygen in the body. Lack of sufficient flow of oxygen in the brains, in turn, causes a weakened response in the brain regions that are part of reward circuitry and hence causing a shrink in the overall size of the brains, including both gray and white matter.
Neurotransmitters are important channels that are used to transfer messages from the brains to the nervous system, and they significantly contribute to our eating habits (Peters & Langemann, 2010). The receptors, on the other hand, are the premeditated to be stimulated by a given type of neurotransmitter. Serotine is a neurotransmitter that affects sleep, eating habits, muscle movement and temperature regulation depending on the specific receptor that is activated. Serotine is the neurotransmitter that is responsible for the controlling the feeling of being full or wanting to have more food (Munsch & Beglinger, 2005). The body makes sugars from starches, through a multi-step procedure, into tryptophan. Tryptophan is then used to make serotonin, which is to an extent in charge of the regulation of appetite, making a feeling of satiation, and managing feelings and judgment.
The absence of serotine or low levels of the neurotransmitter in the body may mean that the boy is not able to communicate the need for eating more food (Peters & Langemann, 2010). After being treated for bulimia nervosa, patients still exhibit low levels of serotine despite the levels of other brain chemicals, including dopamine and norepinephrine were normal (Schwartz, 2004). The treatment of Bulimia nervosa using Prozac, a medicine that seeks to stimulate increment of serotine in the brains is a more long-term solution to the problem, and it helps in increasing appetite in patients.
Studies have delved into the biological impacts of anorexia nervosa, finding that there are changes in the way brains operates in thactivation of the need for food when hungry (Walsh & Cameron, 2005). The hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) pivot has been proposed as a focal part of dysregulation in youthful anorexia nervosa. The HPA pivot is a multifaceted set of direct impacts and response associations among three endocrine organs, namely the hypothalamus, the Amygdala and the pituitary organ (Scutti, 2013). In the Hypothalamus, the most essential thing is the level of glucose in the blood. At the point when the levels of glucose are low, the liver sends signals to the hypothalamus particularly, the lateral hypothalamus that the levels are low, thus triggering the habits one has when the need for food arises. If the hypothalamus is not able to receive the message that the blood sugar is low, or one has a habit of suppressing hunger when low blood sugar is reported, essential body operations may fail and consequentially causing death.
In a study to examine the response of human brains for people with anorexia nervosa and those without the condition, results show that there are major differences in the response in their brains (Walsh & Cameron, 2005). The study reports that patients with anorexia nervosa have the tendency to choose fewer foods rich in fat (Hill, 2016). The choices of food for anorexia nervosa patients are influenced by the activation of the dorsal striatum which controls the habits that people have (Nationaleatingdisorders.org, 2016). This explains the relationship between activation of dorsal striatum and binging on food, as individuals with the condition tend to form a habit of suppressing the message and hence making them prone to health hazards associated with low blood sugar.
In conclusion, both biological and psychological factors affect the eating habits that may eventually cause death. Lack of the neurotransmitters serotine in the body is one of the reasons why people may lack the motivation to eat at all. The choices of food for Anorexia Nervosa patients are swayed by the instigation of the dorsal striatum which controls the habits that people have, where the patients are more likely to suppress appetite. Studies show that most fatalities from psychological disorders result from eating disorders, therefore, the need to have people with the disorder treated.
References
Agras, W., & Apple, R. (2008). Overcoming your eating disorder. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
Costin, C. (2007). The eating disorder sourcebook. New York: McGraw-Hill.
Eating Disorders | Psychology Today. (2016). Psychologytoday.com. Retrieved 17 March 2016, from https://www.psychologytoday.com/conditions/eating-disorders
Hill, L. (2016). Eating Disorders from the Inside Out: Laura Hill at TEDxColumbus.. YouTube. Retrieved 17 March 2016, from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UEysOExcwrE
Munsch, S., & Beglinger, C. (2005). Obesity and binge eating disorder. Basel: Karger.
Nationaleatingdisorders.org,. (2016). Factors That May Contribute to Eating Disorders | National Eating Disorders Association. Nationaleatingdisorders.org. Retrieved 17 March 2016, from https://www.nationaleatingdisorders.org/factors-may-contribute-eating-disorders
Peters, A., & Langemann, D. (2010). Stress and eating behaviour. F1000 Biology Reports. http://dx.doi.org/10.3410/b2-13
Schwartz, G. (2004). Biology of Eating Behavior in Obesity. Obesity Research, 12(S11), 102S-106S. http://dx.doi.org/10.1038/oby.2004.274
Scutti, S. (2013). Brain Size Linked To Eating Disorders: Anorexics Have More Brain Volume. Medical Daily. Retrieved 17 March 2016, from http://www.medicaldaily.com/brain-size-linked-eating-disorders-anorexics-have-more-white-matter-and-gray-matter-253933
Walsh, B., & Cameron, V. (2005). An Eating Disorder. Oxford University Press.
Walsh, B., & Cameron, V. (2005). If your adolescent has an eating disorder. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
