Also known as nursery education, early childhood education is the process of teaching younger children, usually through play and exploration, that prepares them for more formal school education at a later stage. It is a branch of educational theory that has been built on since the so-called Age of Enlightenment when European educators were looking at ways to improve literacy rates among the population. In modern times, early childhood education has tended to be standardised in the western world. Many of the professionals working in it require a higher level of education and registration under an official inspectorate that aims to maintain standards.
The term eating disorders covers a number of specific conditions which all impact on a person's ability to eat normally. This can be due to an issue with their physical health which impairs normal eating, but it is more common for it to be associated with mental health conditions nowadays. Individuals with anorexia nervosa, a mental condition, will frequently view themselves as unhealthily overweight and consequently restrict their diet abnormally, for example. It can lead to them becoming underweight, sometimes dangerously so. Eating disorders are known to affect women more than men in the West, although both suffer from them. In numerous cases, these disorders are combined with other issues, such as substance abuse, anxiety and depression and even abusive relationships.