Problems And Solution To Eating Disorders

Eating disorders plague millions of women and men throughout the world. Most of the people do not seek help and eventually die from their disease. Eating disorders are actually diseases. They afflict the mind, tricking the individual into thinking he or she needs to take the most drastic measures to change their appearance. The individual then takes action be it starving themselves; binge eating or purging.

One such eating disorder problem is known as anorexia. Individuals with anorexia generally starve themselves to obtain perfection. They believe that they are overweight, or have the fear of becoming obese, no matter of what their actual weight and body size. Anorexia is commonly seen in adolescence and also at the onset of puberty. A person with anorexia may develop strange eating habits, such as refusal to eat in front of other people, or serving large meals for others and not eating any of it. Anorexia is very frequent in sports or activities that require a certain weight range, such as gymnastics, dance and running. People with anorexia may stop eating altogether, exercise excessively and become obsessive about their body weight.

Anorexics often have the feeling that food rather calorie intake and weight is the only thing they can control in their lives. Many people have very low self esteem and some even feel they don't deserve to eat. People with anorexia usually do not seek help for themselves because they fear being forced to eat and get fat. However, it is possible, for anorexia to be treated and cured.

Some common symptoms of anorexia are discomfort, irritability, around food, refusal to eat in public, excuses to skip meals, fatigue, dizziness, unexplained weight loss, actually these are just a few of the symptoms and are by no means limited to them. Most anorexics never display all the symptoms at once.

Another form of eating disorder is known as bulimia. An individual suffering from bulimia will binge, consuming sometimes as many as 20,000 calories at a time, then purge to get rid themselves of the calories. Binge eating provides bulimics with a short lived feeling of comfort, then a feeling of self loathing later. There are many ways by which a person can purge the food from their system. Some ways include excessive exercise, vomiting, inappropriate use of laxatives and diuretics. A person with bulimia can be of normal body weight for their build, some are even overweight. Some symptoms of bulimia are weight fluctuation, tooth decay, frequent bathroom visits after eating, secretive eating, vomiting, abuse of diuretics and laxatives.

Binge eating is another serious eating disorder occurs in most cases. Binge eating is consuming excessive amounts of food at one time, to the point of being utterly full. Unlike bulimia, people with this kind of disorder do not purge after a binge. They simply lose control, consuming large calories at a time. People who binge are usually overweight, but it's not uncommon for people with normal body weight to do this, as well. Binging is usually followed by feelings of worthlessness, guilt and depression.

• John Palsson
• 20/11/2008, 4:59 PM
• 0 Comments