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Gingerbread More and more children and adults are suffering from eating disorders
Pathological eating behavior in the form of anorexia, eating-crushing addiction or disproportionate eating attacks has to be treated much more often today than in the past six years, the number of cases has increased enormously. The IKK Südwest reports alarming increases in the clinical pictures of bulimia and binge eating disorders - in both children and adults. The IKK nutrition expert says: "The massive increase worries us". She speaks of an actual addiction, which must be treated as such.
More and more people need medical care because of disturbed eating habits. This is stated by the IKK Südwest for its distribution areas Hesse, Rhineland-Palatinate and Saarland. Since 2010, the number of cases of eating disorders has increased by 15%. The major contributors to the disease are anorexia, bulimia and binge eating disorders. More detailed descriptions of the different diseases can be found here.
Overweight resulting from the craving for food has many health risks such as hypertension and diabetes. (Image: Creativa Images / fotolia.com) Alarming is the increase in children, here the IKK southwest has determined a significant plus in the diagnoses bulimia (+ 33%) and binge eating disorder (+ 13%). Saarland children are affected by bulimia two and a half times as often as six years ago, an increase of 138% (2010: 13 cases, 2016: 31 cases). In Hesse, the increase is 81% (2010: 12, 2016: 19), in Rhineland-Palatinate the number of cases remains almost constant (2010: 42, 2016 43). In almost all cases, it is young girls who are on average 15 years old.
In Rhineland-Palatinate, it appears that regular eating episodes are on the rise in children: here, the number of binge eating cases has increased threefold (+ 188%) since 2010 (2010: 9, 2016: 26), while the numbers in Hesse (-33%, 2010: 9, 2016: 6) and Saarland (-87%, 2010: 8, 2016: 1) have significantly reduced.
Overall, the feeding attacks have grown significantly in adulthood. Almost 50% more cases are registered here than they were six years ago. This is particularly clear in Rhineland-Palatinate, where the increase is 82% (2010: 194, 2016: 354). In Saarland, it is 59% (2010: 39, 2016: 62), in Hesse even minus 25% (2010: 113, 2016: 84). At least 40% of all those afflicted with feeding attacks are women in their early 40s. But 22% more insured suffer from anorexia than in 2010, and the change in Saarland (+ 50%) and in Hessen (+ 35%), while in Rhineland-Palatinate the number of cases remains constant (481 cases in 2016).
"The massive increase in illnesses in children and adults worries us," says Marie-Louise Conen, health consultant IKK Southwest, "in this area, there is still considerable research needs. The causes are certainly stress, but also the oversupply of cheap addictive substances such as processed foods and high-sugar foods as well as the influence of the media on body image ".
She also points out that the diseases under investigation are actually addictive, and should be treated as "not confused with greed or desire." Those affected would often be stigmatized and would have little chance of social support the IKK expert. In professional circles for a few years on the relationship "food and addiction" (and also "non-food and addiction") discussed.
This also means that a certain predisposition to an addiction has to be present: "Obesity due to" binge eating "has nothing to do with normal overweight due to lack of exercise, bad eating and stress. But you should not assume that every 14-year-old, who is on a diet, immediately becomes anorexic. "The alpha and omega is a cautious approach to each other and a watchful eye:" People who suffer from this disease, need medical and therapeutic care. "
Binge Eating Disorder is an eating disorder in which there are periodic food cravings with loss of conscious control over eating behavior. In contrast to bulimia, no countermeasures are taken afterwards, so that in the longer term mostly obesity is the result. Since 2013, the binge eating disorder in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM) as a separate disease and from 2018 it should also appear in the ICD (International Classification of Diseases).
bulimia- Derived from the Greek "bous" (ox) and "limos" (hunger) means bulimia in the literal translation ox hunger, colloquially one speaks of Ess-Brech-addiction. Bulimia has long been considered a variant of anorexia until it was recognized in 1980 by the American Psychiatric Association as an independent disease. Estimates assume that there are around 600,000 bulimia sufferers in Germany, most of them between 15 and 35 years old and female. Stewardesses, models and ballet dancers seem to be particularly often affected.
anorexia
Anorexia nervosa - the Greek origin of the German term anorexia-means as much as "nerve-related lack of desire". This term is misleading, because the craving, the physical and mental hunger, is particularly large in anorexia. So great that sufferers of anorexia him almost at all costs and deny. Anorexics have thus taken a different approach in dealing with their unfulfilled desire than bulimic or obese. (Source: The Johanniter, sb)