Eating Disorders

4 Pages 915 Words

Eating Disorders
For reasons that are unclear, some people, mainly young women, develop potentially life-threatening eating disorders. Eating disorders are emotional illnesses that cause a person to adopt harmful eating habits. They often get worse the longer they go untreated. The lack of nutrition associated with eating disorders can harm the body's organs and, in severe cases, lead to death. The two most common types of eating disorders are bulimia nervosa and anorexia nervosa.
Bulimics indulge in bingeing, which is eating large amounts of food and purging. Anorectics, severely limit their food intake. About half of them also have bulimia symptoms.
The causes of bulimia and anorexia have many theories. One is that some teenagers feel abnormally pressured to be as thin as the "ideal" portrayed by magazines, movies and television. Another is that defects in key chemical messengers in the brain may contribute to the disorders development or persistence. They are most common among teenage girls and women, and frequently occur along with other psychiatric disorders such as depression and anxiety disorders.
Bulimia is caused once people begin bingeing and purging, usually in conjunction with a diet. While cases tend to develop during the teens or early 20s, many bulimics successfully hide their symptoms, thereby delaying help until they reach their 30s or 40s.
Many people with bulimia maintain a nearly normal weight. Though they appear healthy and "perfectionists" at whatever they do but they have low self-esteem and are often depressed.
While normal food intake for women and teenagers is 2,000 to 3,000 calories in a day, bulimic binges average about 3,400 calories in 1 1/4 hours. Some bulimics consume up to 20,000 calories in binges lasting as long as eight hours. Some spend $50 or more a day on food and may resort to stealing food or money to support their obsession.
To lose the weight gained during a binge, bulimics begin purgi...