Have you ever eaten something you’re not supposed to either accidentally, out of curiosity, or for some other reason? Something that was not meant to be eaten at all? Believe it or not, eating things that are not meant to be eaten, which can also be called nonfoods, on a daily basis or because of an obsession has been diagnosed as an eating disorder called pica. The word pica in Latin translates into magpie. This term was most likely coined because of the bird’s peculiar eating behaviors. Magpies have no preference for foods and/or nonfoods, and would eat anything it found interesting. Humans however, are slightly more picky compared to a magpie, as they only crave one specific type of nonfood when they have pica. It isn’t stated when exactly pica was first recognized by the medical community as an illness, as by the 16th century to the 20th century it was still regarded as a symptom, instead of an individual disorder.
The exact cause of pica is not known, but there are a number of theories that might explain this kind of obsession and behaviour. Nutritional deficiencies like iron or zinc may trigger specific cravings, although the craved items generally do not make up for the lacking minerals. People who diet sometimes tries to calm their hunger by eating non-food items, which do not contain any carbohydrates, fiber, fat, or other important parts for a healthy diet, but still acquire a feeling of fullness. Children who live in poverty and are deprived from food will sometimes be so desperate for nutrition that they will start eating anything they find, like dirt and clay, which are most commonly found in poor areas. When in the process of pregnancy, some women may start craving foods, and every so often, nonfoods, but this is ...
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...for curing or preventing pica, and there is evidence that medications for behavioural problems in children can be helpful in treating pica. In severe cases, surgery will be required for those who have eaten metal or lead objects, to remove those items from the digestive tract before the materials have been absorbed into the body. These approaches to treating pica are not very effective, but a bit more research into the brain will certainly improve the current methods.
In conclusion, pica, just like all other disorders, may seem like no big deal in the beginning, but it will most likely be considered as an important issue in the near future. Just like all other disorders, all it takes is determination, time, and a course of action, and the human race will once again marvel the universe with its ability to overcome even the sneakiest and hardest to cure of diseases.
The authors explain that a “fear of fatness” and desire to be thin in order to appear normal in our society can cause anorexia nervosa, where a person purposely starves themselves, losing considerable weight. This is known as visual and behavioral deviation. Bulimic people binge eat and then force themselves to vomit. They usually don’t lose an alarming amount of
Pica is, for the most part, defined as the desire to consume non-nutritive substances. However, it can also cover an abnormal appetite for food ingredients and sometimes even the mouthing of substances of a non-nutritional nature as well. Though in order for this behavior to be considered pica, it must occur for an amount of time equal to or greater than one month at an age where it would be considered developmentally inappropriate, which would be greater than 18-24 months old. Unfortunately there are no known causes of pica so it’s virtually impossible to get a full grasp on the disorder but there have been some hypotheses as to why it occurs.
Binge Eating Disorder also known as Compulsive Eating Disorder, is a disorder in which a person uses food to deal with their stress and other negative emotions. A person affected from Binge Eating Disorder will secretly and compulsively overeat large amounts of food even if they were not hungry at all. During a Bingeing Episode, it could last several hours or all day, and can be reoccurring several times in one week. Often the foods that are consumed are “comfort foods” such as cookies, chips, candy, etc. Aside from the disorder there are its symptoms, who is affected, age of onset, causes, potential treatment methodology, and several resources for help. (Smith, Segal, and J. Segal; February 2014)
Until the causes of disorders are found it will always be a guess on how
...dealing with and treating individuals who suffer from them. Over the next few years technology will help us begin to learn more about them and we can then learn more efficient ways of dealing with these disorders. Not only do these disorders have a harmful effect on the individuals who suffer from them, but everyone around them they are affecting as well. That is why these disorders have such a damaging effect on people’s lives. Hopefully one day we know enough about these disorders to prevent them from happening in the first place.
Pica is the ingestion of nonnutritive items for an amount of time longer than a month, which is out of place for the person 's developmental age, not culturally practiced to consume that item, and involves clinical attention (Hagopian, Rooker, and Rolider, 2011). Because of the definition, pica is known as a feeding problem, nutritional deficiency, and/or an obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) (Bryant-Waugh, Markham, Kreipe, and Walsh, 2010). Pica is a self-injurious behavior that can cause high-risk medical issues, including parasites, led poisoning, intestinal blockage, and surgery from a blockage (Ferreri, 2006). Sturmey & Didden (2014) define the term "self-injurious behavior" as intentional harm to one 's body that is severe enough to damage tissue without the help from another person. There are less dangerous health risks that can be associated with pica that include nutritional deficiencies, oral and/or dental problems, irritable bowels, enlarged colon and constipation (Call, Simmions, Mevers, and Alvarez, 2015). This eating behavior continues to occur because of automatic reinforcement (Sturmey & Didden, 2014).
...Environmental Factors and Biochemistry Combine to Cause Eating Disorders." Healthy Place. Healthy Place, 2011. Web. 13 Oct 2011. .
Emotions - Emotional changes can prompt emotional eating. This includes boredom, anger, depression and loneliness.
Many psychological disorders, like depression and anxiety, are the reason why someone abuses food or does not eat enough of it. According to Arnold, most patients with anorexia do not understand that they are sick, and they think it is normal for them to not eat. Anorexia patients have developed a tolerance to their addiction of not eating, so they think it is okay to keep starving themselves and that it causes no harm, not realizing that they are in desperate need for medical attention and therapy. Arnold also states that parents are not encouraged to challenge their kids eating disorders, she says that it can cause extreme anxiety, making the eating problem worse. Also in the article, Arnold tells a story of how a woman had to turn to anorexia to cope with family issues, stating that her mom was too controlling and she was too afraid to grow up. It is common that someone would turn to something harmful to help cope with things and take their mind off it. In the article “Obesity and Its Relationship to Addictions: Is Overeating a Form of Addictive Behavior?” the authors would agree with Arnold that addictions to food can come from mental disorders. According the the article, overeating can be related to addiction to drugs and alcohol in the way that
Staring themselves in the mirror judging every angle of their feature, constantly tracking every calorie intake. Up to 30 million people of all ages suffer from an eating disorder, anorexia, bulimia, and binge eating disorder in the U.S. Eating disorders are illness that interrupt a person`s eating behavior (ANAD). People with eating disorders become obsessed with food, body weight and shape. The most common eating disorders are anorexia, bulimia, and binge eating. The most rare eating disorder is Pica. Anorexics may criticize themselves for being overweight, even if they are thin. People with bulimia nervosa have frequent timings of eating unusually large quantities of food and feeling guilt after. Pica deals with people who eat non food items such as lead, dirt, and paper. In America certain people believe
Have you ever wondered why an organic task such as eating turned into such an emotional experience? For what reason do people choose to associate feeling better with eating certain foods? We have identified certain foods with fondness since we were children. Food is like a reward. You get in a fight with a friend at school and when you come home, you don’t race to tell your parents what happened, you go for the tub of ice cream instead to make yourself feel better.
A pica may be eaten in many different forms. Callahan (2013: 164) suggests the idea of eating dirt for children and even for people later in life as most foods have traces of dirt in it. He explains the trend of toddlers consuming dirt and in western cultures it being looked down on. People who consume large amounts of non-food items are often referred to as diseased or abnormal. To be labelled as diseased for eating dirt it is defined that you must consume more than 50 grams of dirt per day. The idea of non-food items being consumed as abnormal behaviour is expressed further by Sharma (2011: 2375) who explains the case of an elderly dementia patient eating her own feces and she was admitted to a hospital because it is an abnormal and possibly sickening action. This is a type of pica because the non-food item has no nutrition value and is considered very abnormal to eat. In most societies around the world eating feces is abnormal due to the health concerns behind it. Piazza (2002: 235) explains a variety of picas that mentally handicapped girls are consuming such as: car keys, rocks, sticks, rubber gloves, batteries, plastic, fabric, soap, fece...
Such emotions that can cause harm to an individual is depression and sadness. When an individual overconsumes food, the individual may express such emotions that causes harm to their health. Becoming addicted to food can harm the life of an individual as the emotions that are express from overconsuming food can easily affect their daily life. Such experience is normally shown in the life of a teen who loves food but chooses to ignore the consequences that comes along with the
Compulsive eaters consume food to comfort and soothe wounded feelings that they are dealing with. Many magazine models influence a woman’s minds into believing that you have to look a certain way. The exact definition is an irresistible impulse to act, regardless of the rationality of the motivation. The category has adapted a new name over the years: binge eating. The victim tends to eat even when they are not at all hungry. The person may eat impulsively or maybe even continuously. Although the compulsive eater will realize that their behavior is abnormal, but they seem powerless to stop it. The compulsive eater is different from a bulimic person, because they do not try to purge themselves by vomiting or using a laxative (Moe 14).
Worldwide more than one billion people are overweight and more than eight-million people suffer from eating disorders (Adriaanse, Ridder, Evers 1; Smith 9). Most people aren’t extremely fit. Everyone has some problem with food, to an extent. For most people the problems are under control, but this is not the case for everyone. Unhealthy relationships with food can have serious consequences.