Food is like the fuel to the body which gives the much-needed energy. This energy that is generated by metabolism of food is then used by the body to do various physical functions. Therefore, it is important to eat well in order to maintain a required energy level in our body.
Apart from providing energy, food also provides various nutrients that are necessary for proper functioning of our organs.
Nutrients such vitamins, protein, minerals, etc. are very important to maintain a healthy body and sound mind.

Every person has his/her own capacity to eat. Various eating characteristics such as how much a person eats, how many times a person eats, what time of the day a person eats, etc. collectively define a person’s eating habits.

There are certain people with unusual eating habits. These abnormal or unusual eating habits are termed as eating disorders. There are various types of eating disorders.  Such as:

• Anorexia - It is a type of eating disorder in which the person feels no need to eat or have very little to eat which leads to very low body weight. People who have this issue are mostly very weak and skinny.

• Binge eating - It is an eating disorder with most people who are overweight as they eat a lot of food in the small amount of time. They always feel hungry and eat food even if their stomach is full which leads to increase in their body weight and accumulation of fat under their skin.

• Bulimia - This eating disorder is very common among youngsters most commonly in teenage girls where they eat food but get rid of it by vomiting for the fear of putting on weight. Apart from vomiting their food, they also try other methods like exercising more than necessary and abuse diet pills so that they can lose weight.

• Pica - In this eating disorder people are found eating non-food items like stones, nails, brick, etc. and is very common among young children

These issues come under the mental disorder and hence the people suffering from this abnormality need counseling to overcome this ailment. Apart from this, a healthy diet is necessary which will ensure right nutrients are provided to the body. Also, combining any physical exercise will help in dealing with the disorder in an effective manner.

Now if we talk about the factors that cause such eating disorders, then the most common factors can be classified as follows:

1. Biological factors - It still not completely discovered that what are the factors causing an eating disorder. However, scientists have been successful in determining that there are some specific chemicals in the brain that control hunger and imbalance of such chemicals results in eating disorders.

2. Psychological factors - Psychological factors comprise of various states of mind that lead to unusual eating habits. For example depression, anger, anxiety, lack of self-esteem, etc.

3. Social factors - Various ideologies created by people regarding how a male or a female should look in order to be attractive are responsible for eating disorder in youth. As per society, muscular male body or skinny female body is attractive. So the youth starts following abnormal eating habits such as excessive eating or fasting in order to look good.

4. Interpersonal factors - There are few interpersonal factors such as always being criticized by peers, sexual abuse, facing difficulty in expressing emotions, etc. that cause eating disorders.