Page 170 - Encyclopedia of Nursing Research

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self-esteem, and anxiety and stress become
Eating DisorDErs intense and cumulative in nature, food may
be used in a dysfunctional manner resulting
in serious and life-threatening forms of eat-
There is a plethora of studies related to eating ing disorders (Cyr, 2008).
disorder with women between the ages of An estimated 8 million Americans are
13 and 25 years. Conversely, there is a pau- living with some form of eating disorder;
city of these same studies with women older 7 million of whom are women. Only 30%
than 25 years. Eating disorder includes dis- to 40% of people recover from eating dis-
eases such as anorexia nervosa, bulimia ner- orders, and of 1 in 10 people who actually
vosa, overeating, and binging; however, only receive treatment, 80% do not obtain the
anorexia nervosa and bulimia are examined support needed to maintain recovery. The
in relation to women older than 25 years. documented mortality rate indicates that
Because of the complexity, overlapping symp- 5% to 10% die within 10 years whereas 18%
toms, and persistent nature of eating disor- to 20% die within 20 years of being diag-
ders, very little is understood about adult nosed (South Carolina Department of Mental
women living with this health problem. As Health, 2010). Globally, the rate of occurrence
a result, these women suffer serious mental of eating disorders is rising at an alarming
and physical health consequences. Therefore, rate in Asia, Europe, the Middle East and
primary care providers need not only to be many other parts of the globe (Watters, 2010).
able to recognize the importance of identify- This rate, however, may be just the tip of the
ing and managing the signs and symptoms iceberg given the shame, stigma, and humil-
of eating disorders but also be able to use iation associated with this health problem
anticipatory guidance strategies and inter- (Vitale, Lotito, & Maglie, 2009). Although 95%
vention to prevent eating disorder among of eating disorders occur between the ages of
middle- to older-age adult women (Lapid 12 and 25 years (South Carolina Department
et al., 2010;Marcus, Bromberger, Wei, Brown, of Mental Health, 2010), more recently, the
& Kravitz, 2007; Midlarsky & Nitzburg, 2008; disorder is now being recognized in women
Mond, Myers, Crosby, Hay, & Mitchell, 2010). 30 years and older (Carr & Kaplan, 2010).
Hence, this entry aims to define and review Historically, eating disorders were believed
the incidence and prevalence rates of eating to only affect middle- to upper-class White
disorders, to identify the most common phys- women (Robert-McComb, 2001); however,
ical signs and symptoms, and to describe recent studies (Budd, 2007; Fernandes, Crow,
potential intervention strategies for treating Thuras, & Peterson, 2010) found that eat-
and preventing eating disorders among eth- ing disorders are on the rise among various
nically diverse women. racial and ethnic groups as well as different
Although the appetite center is under social positions.
the control of the hypothalamus, culture and Two of the most common presentations
environment play an integral role in an indi- of eating disorders are anorexia nervosa and
vidual’s attitudes toward and use of food. bulimia nervosa. One half to one percent
When women experience consistently low of the U.S. population has been diagnosed