There are two disorders that most people will instantly recognise by name. Anorexia nervosa is a form of self-starvation. Bulimia nervosa occurs when a person engages in repeated cycles of binge-eating followed by harmful actions such as starvation, self-induced vomiting, laxative abuse or excessive exercising. These are psychiatric illnesses centred on the consumption of food.
Two more common eating disorders are binge-eating disorder and atypical eating disorders. Binge-eating disorder resembles bulimia but sufferers don’t undertake the compensatory behaviours to prevent weight gain. An atypical eating disorder occurs when individuals are controlled by fears when eating, such as that of choking; or undertake unusual behaviours, such as chewing and then spitting out their food.