by Grettel V.

Created on: March 13, 2008   Last Updated: April 24, 2008

We live in a society where the pattern of a healthy and beautiful body is usually, for women, a slim contour, and for men, a flat and strong abdomen. It is not that I disagree with this, but when the person focuses all the attention on the body weight and body size much more than being really healthy, then we have a problem.

What are eating disorders?: Eating disorders occur when the person becomes obsessed with body weight and food. There are different presentations of these serious disorders; the most common are anorexia nervosa, bulimia and binge eating disorder.

Anorexia nervosa: The symptoms and signs of anorexia nervosa are commonly rejection to eat normal amounts of food despite being underweight, and doing exercises compulsively thinking that the body weight is above normal. These persons have a distorted image of their own body, always thinking that they are fat, they also have excessive preoccupation with calories and food content and, in case of women, they suffer amenorrhea (loss of menstrual periods) due to malnutrition and hormonal imbalance; in conclusion, these persons are able to starve themselves to death.

Bulimia: In case of bulimia, the affected individual does eat in excess an abnormal amount of food from time to time and then, feeling guilty of having had so much food, they use laxatives or throw up to try to maintain their body weight. This cycle of binging- purging is repeated several times during the week or even the day. This causes metabolic alterations and damage to vital organs. In this case the body weight could be normal or above.

Binge eating disorder: This last alteration is still under investigation. It is similar to bulimia but the cycle of purging after a binge is not present. The person eats big amounts of food in a little time, is aware of the abnormality but is unable to stop eating. The consequences are feelings of extreme guilt, depression and obesity leading to hypertension, diabetes and other illnesses.

Who suffers from eating disorders?: Anyone could have any of these problems but the more affected are teenagers, especially girls, although the number of boys is increasing. During adolescence the body image is a preoccupation for teenagers and they may become obsessed with being thin. That's why it is so important to observe any abnormal behavior related with food, body weight or exercises and look for professional help as soon as possible. These are not problems of conduct; these are real and serious mental diseases.

Where could we find help?: It is recommendable to go to the primary physician, looking for a referral to a specialist. Usually the person is unaware of the problem and has to be convinced to go by a relative or friend. The treatment consists mainly on restoring a normal weight and changing the concepts about food and body image. We can prevent the development of these alterations in our children by being positive about our own body, teaching them to eat nutritious foods and stimulating their self-esteems.

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