Eating disorders can lead to a range of serious health risks, affecting almost every system in the body. Some of the key risks include:
- Nutritional Deficiencies: When the body doesn’t get enough food or the right nutrients, it can lead to deficiencies in vitamins, minerals, and other essential nutrients. This can affect energy levels, immune function, and overall health.
- Heart Problems: Starvation or extreme dieting can cause the heart to become weak or irregular, leading to risks such as slow heart rate (bradycardia), low blood pressure, or even heart failure in severe cases.
- Bone Health: Malnutrition can cause bones to become weak and brittle, increasing the risk of fractures or osteoporosis (thinning bones), especially if eating disorders persist over a long period.
- Kidney Damage: Dehydration or purging behaviors, like vomiting or excessive use of laxatives, can lead to kidney problems, including kidney failure in severe cases.
- Hormonal Imbalance: Eating disorders can disrupt hormone levels, affecting menstruation, fertility, and other bodily functions. For women, this often means irregular or stopped periods, which can impact bone health and fertility.
- Gastrointestinal Issues: Purging behaviors, such as vomiting or laxative use, can lead to long-term damage to the digestive system, causing issues like constipation, bloating, and damage to the esophagus.
- Mental Health: Eating disorders are closely linked to mental health challenges like anxiety, depression, and obsessive-compulsive behaviors. These conditions can worsen without proper treatment and support.
- Electrolyte Imbalance: Extreme dieting, purging, or excessive exercise can disrupt the balance of electrolytes in the body, which can lead to dangerous conditions like seizures or cardiac arrest.
Because of these potential risks, regular medical monitoring by a healthcare professional is crucial for anyone with an eating disorder. This helps to track any physical changes, prevent complications, and ensure the safest path toward recovery.
The Royal College of Psychiatry’s MEED risk assessment is a tool used to help healthcare professionals evaluate and manage the risks associated with eating disorders. "MEED" stands for Medical Emergencies in Eating Disorders, and the assessment helps to identify the severity of symptoms and the potential health risks linked to the condition. By carefully looking at factors like a person’s physical health, mental well-being, and behaviors related to eating, this tool supports clinicians in creating a more personalized and safe treatment plan. It ensures that patients receive the right level of care and monitoring, helping to improve outcomes and support recovery.
Regular medical monitoring is important because the risks to the body described above can change over time. Regular check-ups allow the eating disorders team to track health changes, provide early interventions if necessary, and adjust treatment plans to ensure the safest and most effective recovery process.
For further information about the MEED risk assessment, view the 'Medical emergencies in eating disorders guidance'.
