Eating Disorders Trivia Quiz

Answer: Weighing themselves repeatedly

Anorexia nervosa, often called just "anorexia", is a disease where the patient has an intense desire for a low weight, and will do almost anything to get that thin. Once that thin, however, anorexics usually want to become more thin, leading towards a downward spiral of dangerous crash dieting.

Answer: Allergies

People with anorexia also often have reduced bone density, brittle hair, dry skin, kidney failure, low blood pressure, and more. Oftentimes, patients with anorexia are hospitalized until they reach a normal weight.

Answer: All ages and genders

Eating disorders have no limits on where they can begin. There have been cases where a child as young as eight will stop eating and start exercising excessively, to lose weight. Although roughly 90% of anorexics and bulimics are female, males can have the same illnesses. Also, over 8,000,000 people in the United States alone may have an eating disorder.

Answer: False

Bulimia is an illness, similar to anorexia, where the patient will not eat for a period of time, then eat quite a bit, and then throw it up, in an attempt to lose weight. It is called "binging and purging". They also sometimes use laxatives or diet pills while they are crash dieting. Despite this behavior, bulimics are usually of normal weight.

Answer: False

People with eating disorders can die. As a matter of fact, if the illness goes untreated, fifteen percent of people with anorexia or bulimia will die. Those who go untreated will abuse their bodies until they die of other causes. People with eating disorders are often more prone to suicide or suicidal thoughts than one without an eating disorder, so if they do not starve themselves to death, they could kill themselves in another way, intentionally.

Answer: Sometimes

Researchers at the University of California and the University of Pittsburgh have found evidence that both anorexia and bulimia can be hereditary. Their studies showed that anorexia occurred more often when there was a relative that had been anorexic. Even though bulimia seems to occur oftentimes without a family history, it too can be hereditary.

The studies involved identical twins that were raised apart, in different environments, that both fell into the trap of eating disorders.

Answer: Yes

The answer is "yes", simply because those with eating disorders often have depression, anxiety, Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD), amongst other things. People with eating disorders oftentimes obsessively count calories - people with OCD are obsessive over certain things, such as washing their hands.

They are terrified of gaining weight, and are often depressed if they do, or think they ate too much.

Answer: How much time the person spends buying clothes

When a person is diagnosed with an eating disorder, physicians normally pay attention to how much the person weighs, how much the person eats, how much the person exercises, and the person's outlook on their weight.

When a woman is anorexic, she will often have shorter, fewer, or even no menstrual cycles.

Answer: It varies according to the disorder

People with anorexia may be hospitalized until they become a healthy weight. Once the patient is at a healthier weight, they usually go through individual psychotherapy and perhaps family therapy. There are also self-help groups that have proven to be beneficial.

Bulimia is treated by antidepressant medications, and nutrition counseling. Behavioral therapy is also common.

Answer: Talk to them about it

You should pull your friend aside and gently ask him/her about it. Let him/her know that you genuinely care about them, and that you are willing to help them in any way possible. Your friend may be in denial they they even have an eating disorder, as so many people with eating disorders are. Offer to go to a counselor or doctor with your friend, and be supportive in any way you can.

If you think that you are suffering from an eating disorder, please tell someone close to you that you trust right now. It is very important.

Thank you for playing my quiz - I hope you learned a lot!