EATING DISORDERS

In a recent survey, 80 percent of 11-year-old girls said they feel overweight and are dieting. Eating disorders are most likely to occur among young people, and both boys and girls are susceptible.

Eating disorders are common and they can be treated. If you are concerned about a family member, a friend, or have an eating disorder yourself, you do not have to feel alone or ashamed.

Different Types of Eating Disorders

Obesity, bulimia, and anorexia nervosa are three types of eating disorders. People try to hide an eating disorder, often by bingeing, bingeing and purging, or starving. Bingeing is out-of-control eating often thousands of calories at a time with or without pleasure.

Obesity, a medical problem in its own right, can result from bingeing and poor food choices. Bulimics binge and then purge (get rid of food by vomiting, taking laxatives, or exercising excessively). Anorexics starve themselves, sometimes to the point of death.

Obesity can be mild, moderate or severe, depending on a person's height, weight, and proportion of body fat. People with mild to moderate obesity report a history of being able to eat without weight gain for many years. At some point, though, they find themselves exercising less, eating more, bingeing regularly and noticing a steady rise in body fat. Most people can lose weight safely and stop bingeing if they make the commitment to change behavior patterns in relation to food and exercise. It is always recommended that one speak with a specialist before changing one's diet radically.

Many people who are severely obese have been overweight all their lives. Successful treatment involves medical health care.

Symptoms and results of obesity include:

• High blood pressure and high cholesterol levels.
• Shortness of breath alter mild exertion
• An obese eating style taking large bites, eating quickly, and without pleasure
• Constant failed attempts at dieting
• Guilt after bingeing and anger when confronted by others about eating
• Limited social activities from too muds weight and too little self-worth

Bulimics can be overweight, under-weight or within normal weight range for their height and body frame. They usually report a history of dieting and weight fluctuations. The mild starvation caused by chronic low-calorie dieting seems to set off a binge-purge cycle. Bulimics binge and then purge by self-induced vomiting, abuse of laxatives, or use of diuretics (drugs that cause urination). After purging episodes, Bulimics often fast or diet and frequently abuse exercise as a method of weight management. Some experts believe as many as 10 percent of adolescent females are bulimic.

Symptoms of bulimia include:

• Bingeing and purging from once a week to five times a day
• Extreme fear of gaining even a small amount of weight
• Distorted body image - Bulimics see themselves as "fatter" than they are
• Dry skin and dry brittle hair
• Swollen glands under the jaw from vomiting, which creates Chipmunk cheeks
• Depression, guilt, fear and mood swings
• Fatigue and cold sweats from rapid changes in blood sugar levels

The health risks associated with bulimia are created by mild starvation from dieting and damage to the digestive system from bingeing and purging.

Risks include:

• Electrolyte imbalance leading to irregular heart beat, heart failure and kidney damage.
• Laxative dependency (addiction)
• Throat damage
• Dental problems
• Stomach rupture
• Irregular menstruation

Most Bulimics cannot break the binge-purge cycle by themselves. It is a sign of strength and wisdom to seek professional care. Treatment mayinclude counseling, medication or both.

Some Anorexics start out chubby, and then, responding to the pressure to be thin, start restrictive dieting. When friends admire their weight loss,they continue to starve themselves and lose weight. Other Anorexics attempt to deter normal physical changes (development of thighs, breasts,hips) by restricting their caloric intake. This restriction stops physical development and the anoretic is able to avoid maturation.

There are an estimated 80,000 American women who are anoretic. These women are frequently described as bright, capable and high achieving. Because this disorder can be fatal (ten percent of Anorexics die of starvation or suicide), Anorexics need professional care to recover. Parents often have to encourage or even force an anoretic adolescent into treatment, which usually includes hospitalization and counseling.

Symptoms of anorexia include:

• Wearing baggy, heavy clothes to hide thinness
• Loss of menstrual cycle
• Dry, cold skin with downy hair on arms, legs back, face or chest
• Insomnia and hyperactivity
• Distorted body image
• Extreme, excessive and rigid exercise routines
• Extreme fear of gaining any weight
• Strict rules (such as no liquids at all or no eating without exercise first)
• Slowed physical and social development

Health risks include:

• Heart failure
• Kidney failure
• Suicide
• Low protein stores (the body stores protein from muscles and organs to fuel basic body needs)
• Digestive problems
• Electrolyte imbalance

Ending the secrecy usually associated with eating disorders is the first step in recovery. It takes time to recover fully from an eating disorder. People may need two or three years to develop a new relationship with food, themselves and others.

During recovery it is important to avoid falling back into old habits.

Successful recovery includes:

• Practicing good nutrition
• Knowing what triggers unhealthy eating, asking for help and having an emergency plan to deal with lapses
• Engaging in healthy exercise
• Seeking support from family and friends
• Seeking support from self-help groups and professional counselors

Social Services Agencies Willough Counseling Center

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