Eating disorders are conditions defined by abnormal eating habits that may involve either insufficient or excessive food intake to the detriment of an individual’s physical and mental health. Bulimia nervosa, anorexia nervosa and binge eating disorder are the most common forms of eating disorders.
Other types of eating disorders fall under the category of an eating disorder not otherwise specified. Additionally, food addiction is a new term that is beginning to be recognized in the field of eating disorder treatment.
Food addiction is strongly associated with binge eating. The idea that a person can be addicted to food has recently gotten more support from science because experiments in animals and humans show that, for some people, the same reward and pleasure centers of the brain that are triggered by addictive drugs like cocaine and heroin are also activated by food. This is especially true for highly palatable foods such as sugar, fat and salt.
Symptoms of Eating Disorders
Eating disorders include extreme emotions, attitudes, and behaviors surrounding weight and food issues. Eating disorders are serious emotional and physical problems that can have life-threatening consequences for females and males. The following information is a brief summary of the Eating Disorders described in the American Psychiatric Association’s Fifth Edition of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-5), published in 2013.
Anorexia Nervosa
- Inadequate food intake leading to a weight that is clearly too low.
- Intense fear of weight gain, obsession with weight and persistent behavior to prevent weight gain.
- Self-esteem overly related to body image.
- Inability to appreciate the severity of the situation.
- Binge-Eating/Purging Type involves binge eating and/or purging behaviors during the last three months.
- Restricting Type does not involve binge eating or purging.
Bulimia Nervosa
- Frequent episodes of consuming very large amount of food followed by behaviors to prevent weight gain, such as self-induced vomiting.
- A feeling of being out of control during the binge-eating episodes.
- Self-esteem overly related to body image.
Binge Eating Disorder
- Frequent episodes of consuming very large amounts of food but without behaviors to prevent weight gain, such as self-induced vomiting.
- A feeling of being out of control during the binge eating episodes.
- Feelings of strong shame or guilt regarding the binge eating.
- Indications that the binge eating is out of control, such as eating when not hungry, eating to the point of discomfort, or eating alone because of shame about the behavior.
Films With Characters Suffering From Eating Disorders
There have been a number of movies that have had characters who portrayed eating disorders. The following films contain a character with an eating disorder that depicts the condition in a realistic manner. Each film also provides a foundation for a good Cinema Therapy experience due to directorial style, character development, casting, and production quality. New releases will be added to the list below so return if this topic is of interest to you.
- La Grande Bouffe (1973)
- Girl, Interrupted (1999)
- The Best Little Girl in the World (1981)
- Kate’s Secret (1986)
- Superstar: The Karen Carpenter Story (1987)
- An Anorexic’s Tale: The Brief Life of Catherine (1988)
- The Karen Carpenter Story (1989)
- Fried Green Tomatoes (1991)
- For the Love of Nancy (1994)
- 301, 302 (1995)
- When Friendship Kills (1996)
- Dying to be Perfect: The Ellen Hart Pena Story (1996)
- Perfect Body (1997)
- A Girl is a Girl (1999)
- Cruel Intentions (1999)
- Requiem for a Dream (2000)
- Sharing the Secret (2000)
- Dying to Dance (2001)
- Hunger Point (2003)
- Thin (2006)
- To Be Fat Like Me (2007)
- Black Swan (2010)