Anorexia prepared !

The percentage of the people (among students) with eating disorders in the USA is quite big, about 1-2%. If someone think that eating disorders concern only diets, he or she is totally wrong, because eating disorders include quite serious dieses. It’s not only regular exercises and losing one’s weight. Sure, to fight with overweighting one start keeping to a strict diet every day, limiting the amount of vitamins and healthy elements. Some ‘individuals’ understand healthy lifestyle as permanent starving. Or to make up with daily problems one start gets the only way of satisfaction! That means to ‘eat’ the stress.

One can face the most known eating disorders as anorexia nervosa and bulimia nervosa. They are well known as anorexia and bulimia. Some specialists belive other types of disorders are more dangerous, among them are body image disorders and various kinds of food phobias.

Anorexia
In medical circles anorexia is believed as the world eating disorder. With new modern tendencies girls want to be as thin as possible, as the result in some cases anorexia becomes a real danger! The person who suffers from this disease has a strong fear for weight gaining. Actually, the person stop eating or start turn the stomach to threw up all the food after each food intake. They eat quite a lot of food, but vomit all the gastric contents to get rid of the calories. Surely, it’s not healthy as the gastrointestinal flora totally destroys and then they have some reflex to vomit even if they don’t want to (sometimes different laxatives are also used). People with anorexia eat quite small amount of food not to die. The food is not fat, and, actually, not nourishing.

Bulimia
According to bulimia the person tries to eat as much tasty and nourishing food as possible. After each meal the person understand that he or she can gain the weight. With this understanding, the person tries to do everything possible to get rid of it. There are several ways but all of them are too dangerous and destructive for the body. The most commonly used way is to vomit all the food.
The people with bulimia don’t understand that they are ill; they believe bulimia to be the weak will. They eat when they sure that no one can see them as no one can criticize them. In many cases the eaten food is of bad quality, usually fast food and fattening food. They feel guilty for having no will to break this habit. Only few people understand them ill and go to a doctor to fight the disease.
Bulimia and anorexia are totally common. The main difference is that the people with anorexia are extremely underweight, and with bulimia – have either normal weight or a bit overweight.

Binge Eating Disorder

This disorder may be thought similar to the mentioned disorders as the person binges more than 3 times a week. The only outstanding feature is that the person has no will to vomit the food (either to compensate the eaten food).
All the three types of eating disorders are hard to control as the person feel unable to solve the problem without highly qualified medical help.
Anorexia and Bulimia: What to Look For
All the disorders start with one strong will to be slim, shape and really thin. The person go on a special diet, do exercises but sometimes use ‘forbidden methods’. As the result, losing weight get out of hand and the person need medical treatment.
The most interesting thing, that in many cases people with normal weight are too afraid of gaining the weight and start keeping to a strict diet. Many of them are really thin, but the psychological problem progresses and the person exhausts the body. One should remember that dramatic lose of weight leads to ill health. If your friend permanently keep to a strict diet, find out whether he or she is on the way to eating disorder:

Anorexia
1) If the person is too thin, skinny, emaciated
2) Is too crazy about losing the weight, can speak only about weight losing
3) Weights himself (or herself) several times a day
4) Pounds the calories too carefully
5) The person may have chronic fatigue syndrome
6) There is a great phobia of being fat
7) The person may choose one-product diet and eat only one sort of food, like rice-diet and eat the rice only. Surely, it’s too dangerous for the body cause it may lead to consumption and fluid loss.
8) As the person has no enough energy, he or she will reject any suggestions to participate in different sport activities
9) The person may feel depressed and lonely; he or she can also feel that no one can understand the situation.

Bulimia
1) The person also feels fat and has a phobia to gain weight
2) In many cases the girls are not satisfied with the body size and condition
3) There is a tendency to buy different medicines like laxatives
4) Spend too much time after each meal, because tries to vomit all the food
5) Doesn’t participate in social and sport activities as has no energy to do it and is afraid that everyone thinks that he or she is fat

What is the cause of the Eating Disorders?

The doctors have no single explanation to the disorders, but mostly the teenagers between the ages 13-17 are more subjected to the disorders. As the psychologists believe that disorders are caused because of the emotional instability, parents’ pressure, generation gap, friends’ influence, academic activity, awkward age, puberty and so on.
The girls are afraid to gain extra weight as they think that they become ugly. But the parents should explain the girls that it’s normal to gain some extra weight during the puberty. As the person understands the processes in the body, he or she is unlikely to have eating disorders.
The personal view can be also spoiled with modern magazines and TV shows, as the teens see only the thin models, they believe them beautiful. That may also cause the low self-esteem.
In many the people with obsessive-compulsive disorder have a great risk to obtain the eating disorders. As they are not sure about their body condition and so on. The family may also have bad influence on the person.

Sports and Eating Disorders

The sportsmen and dancers are the certain risk groups to have eating disorders. In many cases, their weight should be ‘fixed’ and unchangeable to have an opportunity to participate in the competitions.
In events (like gymnastics, running, ice skating) the loss of weight is encouraged. As the family, coach, doctors are totally control the calories the sportsman get daily, but it’s impossible to control everything and sometimes there is a great necessity to lose weight in the fastest way (even 5 kilos a week). The only way is starving or other different unhealthy ways.

Effects of Eating Disorders

One should understand that eating disorder is a serious illness and it can be ‘treated’ only with medical help. These disorders can go along with other mental and physical disorders and surely with great stress. One should remember that 15% underweight may lead to great health problems and even death. The first thing one must understand that these disorders are not the ordinary things, these are diseases.
There is great bad influence into the body:

Anorexia
1) The person has a low blood pressure, anaxoemia
2) Anemia
3) As there are not enough calcium in the body, anorexia may lead to fractures
4) Swollen joints
5) As the person doesn’t eat enough vitamins he or she is hard to concentrate vitamin deficiency leads to hair and nail loss
6) Exsiccosis
7) Metabolic disturbance which is really hard to treat
8) Visual impairment
9) Articulation reduction
10) Insomnia
11) Stress

Bulimia
1) The person may have terrible stomachache
2) The kidney may be also damaged
3) There is a great risk for the teeth as the stomach acids destroy the enamel
4) For women – there is a great risk of loss of period
5) Heart problems
6) Metabolic disease
7) Indigestion
8) Hair and nail loss

Actually, all the eating disorders lead to great heart problems, indigestion and metabolic disease. One should understand that pathometabolism is too difficult to control and to treat. It may also lead to problems with blood and kidneys. Eating disorders are difficult to control but even more, it’s difficult to treat. The ill person has no ideas after the treatment how to lead normal lifestyle as they feel sorry to have eaten food and they try to excuse the meal. Even more, it’s quite hard to treat mental and psychological sides of the disease.
Even with family support, medical treatment the main factor to recovery is the person’s will to recover. If the person doesn’t want to return to a normal lifestyle, the doctors are unlikely to help.

Treatment for Eating Disorders

The main treatment for the eating disorders is to teach the people to eat normally again. It’s not physical ability to eat, but also mental, not to reject eaten food. In many cases it’s the most difficult for the ill patients. That’s how the treatment requires not only the body activity, but and mental activity.
The ill person should get family support that’s why family and friend therapy is one of the main points of the treatment. Their support is the key for the patients to have a normal life and to return to the society. The parents should influence the person and convince him or her that the body is perfect and there is no need to lose weight. It’s the fastest way to recovery!
If you are not sure that your parents are able to understand the problem and they can help you, try to discuss it with your friends, teacher, other family members, psychologist or social consultant. It’s possible to get help on time as the complications may be terrible. Not to worsen the disease and the body state. In any time it’s possible to get qualified medical help or to get the therapy course not to progress the disease. It’s possible to return to a normal lifestyle.

Author - anorexiapictures.net