The different types of eating disorders

“Stupid girls” music video by Pink show these girls which Pink labelled as stupid barfing their meals out towards the end of the video. Most parents aren’t aware about eating disorders and certainly have no inkling their daughters are having some of these problems.

I used to have a colleague who loves to eat and she can really eat. However, I noticed that after each meal, she will disappeared to the toilet for a long time. She is really skinny but constantly whines about her weight. Once, while a group of us female staffs were doing some ushering job, she actually drop dead (well, not dead but fainted) right at the lawn of this rich boss. The boss’s wife was utterly pissed because of the spectacle she caused. It was due to low sugar because of her constant dieting.

I don’t know if it is worth it to risk our health for the sake of beauty. Not to mention the embarrassment of fainting like my colleague did.

So, let’s look at some of the eating disorders. I am copy just a bit from the lengthy article from BBC.

Bulimia

Like anorexia, bulimia develops from an obsessive desire to be thin. However, instead of not eating, the person alternates between frantic bingeing and drastic purging (by self-induced vomiting and the abuse of laxatives and diuretics) or periods of excessive fasting and exercise.

The feelings about body weight and shape may not result in an attempt to loose dramatic amounts of weight, and so the condition can continue. In the long-term this can cause:

• irregular heartbeat
• damaged kidneys
• eroded teeth.

Compulsive eating

Compulsive eaters differ from people with bulimia in that, after binge eating, they don’t try to get rid of what they’ve eaten. Many of them feel powerless to control their desire to keep ‘comfort eating’. They may develop health problems as a result of carrying too much weight.

Anorexia

This often starts during the teens and may be a result of emotional problems connected with becoming an adult, as well as low self-esteem and/or physical or emotional abuse.

It shares many features with bulimia. People with anorexia develop a fear of fatness that goes far beyond that of most dieters. The need to control their weight dominates all other emotions and food becomes the central issue of their lives.

Binge eating is less likely, but the obsessions with weight and shape, exercising and the use of vomiting and laxatives to reduce weight are often major elements. Other signs before a person loses a dramatic amount of body weight include:

• failure to notice or be satisfied with the result of exercise
• avoiding food high in carbohydrates
• low mood
• irregular or stopped menstrual cycle
• lack of interest in sex.

People with anorexia have a very low body weight, which can cause serious medical problems, including poor circulation, brittle bones, infertility, fainting and dizziness, dehydration and kidney damage. The consequences of inadequate nutrition in the long term can be slowed heartbeat, low blood pressure and reduced body temperature.

It’s important to seek medical help as soon as possible because some of these problems, if left untreated, may not improve when the person recovers from anorexia.

Let’s us also not forget those women who died due to liver failure after taking some dubious slimming pills. A lesson has to be learnt from their tragedies.