I Eat, Therefore, I’m Okay. (Or Are You?)

When we hear of eating disorders, we always envision a teenage girl with bone-thin body who resists the very idea of food. Or maybe what comes into mind is a slender girl throwing up her dinner inside a dark toilet. But let’s face it–it’s very seldom that we suspect normal-weighing and normal-looking people to have eating disorders.
The fact is that anybody can have an eating disorder. Teenage girls comprise the population most commonly affected by anorexia, bulimia, and binge eating, but this does not mean that these disorders cannot occur to males and older people as well. A recent study even showed instances of anorexic five-year-olds. Eating disorders can happen to anyone, regardless of their age and gender.
Another misconception in eating disorders is that people think only those who do not eat anything has anorexia nervosa. On the contrary, if a person consumes very small calories than what is needed, that is already considered as anorexia. Those people who suffer from bulimia and binge eating actually consume foods, but they are still considered to have eating disorders. Therefore, eating disorders are more than what meets the eye.