I wanted to expand my knowledge on the various eating disorders of this world, and I happened to find one that I really never knew existed, called pica. Pica is primarily an eating disorder found in children, specifically those diagnosed with autism or mental retardation. Those with pica have cravings for nonfood objects, such as chalk, pebbles, toothpaste, baking soda, needles, soap, paint chips, feces, paper, buttons, fingernails, glue, burnt match heads, wood, hair, and dirt. Could you possibly even imagine eating any of these objects?
This disorder can be very dangerous since eating certain items could promote many health risks, like intestinal obstruction or lead poisoning. To take pica to another extreme, it can come in another form called geophagia. Geophagy is the deliberate consumption of natural Earth materials, particularly soil and clay. This abnormal food ingestion is most prominent in poor countries.
I would really like to know what the driving force is behind eating anything that is nonfood related. I believe the answer to this varies immensely. It could be due to genetics, mental illness, culture, or perhaps religion. No one really knows for sure. In many cases, pica is not actually a disorder if it is practiced in cultural or religious activities. With geophagia, several Earth materials contain valuable minerals, such as those found in clay that yield high health benefits for those in poor counties. Imagine you are living in a tribe in Africa with nutrition deficiency, would you eat some dirt to get more nutrients?
Interesting post! My sister actually works in a group home with a girl who has pica. In this case, pica is accompanied by other mental illnesses. The dangers of pica are pretty serious, my sister has to monitor the girl at all times to make sure she doesn't ingest anything that could potentially be harmful.
Great post. I eat disorder sometimes, and I worry about this also.I also would like to know what the driving force is behind eating anything that is nonfood related. We can share our information.
I have never heard of this prior to your post. WOW! At first when I was reading it, I wondered if this was their way of getting food source but b/c of their disorder, they don't know right from wrong when it comes to what is food. But as I read on, I think it is more than that. Like some crave crabs, or beer some crave non food items. When I worked with Teens who struggled with addictions, I participated in AA classes. What a learning experience. These disorders and additions affect you and me. My greatest take away was never judge, just love on them. We all have issues that we deal with - accepting one another will make for a better place.
Growing up, whenever I dropped food on the ground outside, my mother always said to me, "A little dirt never hurt anyone!" This phrase is something I repeat to kids I teach and even to my friends. However, before reading this post, I never actually knew that there could be benefits to the bit of dirt that can get on dropped food!
Hands down the most absurd and odd blog post I have read yet. Unbelievable interesting thought. This is a fantastic topic, and I am glad that you did research on this. I am actually looking up more examples of this as I am typing this. On the bright side though, imagine how much money you would save eating dirt instead of going to taco bell for dinner every night like I do.
I am a big "My Strange Addiction" fan and they have people that eat weird, nonfood objects on it all the time. There were people who eat dirt and couch foam to people who chewed and ate glass. It's a really interesting topic and now I wonder how many of the people on that show suffer from pica or even another mental disorder. How do people begin these strange habits and what compels them to eat such things that could be potentially harmful to their bodies?
I wonder where in the world Pica is most common, and how many people in the United States suffer from it, as I've never heard of it before! It seems like something that people would keep to themselves that others wouldn't know about.
This disorder is VERY interesting and unusual. I saw it discussed on an episode of 1000 Ways to Die.. where a man died because he was obsessed with eating coins and eventually the coins broke a hole in his stomach. It is so strange to think about someone actually having this disorder.. but it is also very sad!
I could not even dream of eating anything mentioned in your list! It makes me wonder what triggers that kind of craving also. I have heard of this before but don't know of anyone affected by it personally. It is a very unique disorder and evokes some thought. I think further research on this disorder would be interesting to follow.
Wow this is cool! I can see these kinds of finding being something that occurs in poorer cultures where, people are trying to find any source of food. It reminds me of the guy that ate a bicycle over a long period of time. I also like that the man eating the soil has a mustache that matches the color of the dirt.
Whoa I've never heard of this disease before! I'm curious though- how do these people survive? I feel life our digestive systems are pretty fragile and wouldn't be able to handle objects like a metal spoon. Do these kinds of people have any desire to eat normal food?
That's really odd! How could someone do that to themselves? I understand it's a disorder, and they cannot necessarily help it, but still! It just seems so gross to do so. It's amazing disorders like this exist in the world. Interesting post! I like it.
I wasn't very familiar with this topic until we discussed it in our sections. It is fascinating that someone with this disorder craves things such as dirt and needles. I could not imagine myself eating these things. I think this is a very serious topic because of the dangerous materials people with this disease are putting into their bodies. It is also fascinating that some of the things they eat can in fact be nutritionally beneficial!
WOW! Like the majority, I've never heard about this eating disorder! I think it mainly comes from environmental influences. In certain circumstances, if you don't have real food around you, you might be forced to feed off of Mother Nature. After a while, you could get used to this style of living and develop the disorder. Although, it'd be hard to explain why people eat odd objects, since it's highly likely that they would injure themselves internally and have to experience those consequences. Genetic factors leading to curiosity or maybe a lack of correct perception could lead them to mistake certain small objects as edible.