Health –Kay



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Body Image and Eating Disorders

What are eating disorders?

Eating disorders are more than just going on a diet to lose weight or trying to make sure you exercise every day. They're extremes in eating behavior — the diet that never ends and gradually gets more restrictive. Or the person who can't go out with friends because he or she thinks it's more important to go running to work off a piece of candy.

How common are eating disorders?

Eating disorders are so common in America that 1 or 2 out of every 100 students will struggle with one. Research suggests that anorexia affects about 1 in 2,400 adolescents. 90-95% of those are females.

What goes through the mind of someone with an eating disorder?

Some common features of eating disorders include an irrational fear of fat, dissatisfaction with one's body often coupled with a distorted perception of body shape, unhealthy weight management, or extreme food intake.

Who develops eating disorders?

Anyone can develop an eating disorder—males and females of all social and economic classes, races and intelligence levels.

What are some causes of eating disorders?

Many people who develop an eating disorder are between 13 and 17 years old. This is a time of emotional and physical changes, academic pressures, and a greater degree of peer pressure.

• Negatives feelings about your appearance and a need to improve how you look

• Feeling you have no control over your life or body (especially during puberty)

• Negative comments from friends and family about your weight

• Some people are genetically vulnerable to developing eating disorders

• Our culture reinforces a desire for thinness and attractiveness through the use of images of very skinny and attractive models and actors all throughout the media

• Major life transitions like the onset of puberty, entering high school, failure at school, family problems, major illness, or death of someone close

What are some treatment options for eating disorders?

The good news is that the eating disorder behaviors you’ve learned can be unlearned if you’re motivated to change and willing to ask for help.

• Ask for help

• Find a specialist

• Therapy

• Eating disorder support groups

Anorexia Nervosa

Definition: an extreme fear of weight gain and a distorted view of body size and shape; an intense drive for thinness

Characteristics:

• Restrict food intake by dieting or fasting

• Becomes very thin, frail, or emaciated (dark circles under eyes, sunken in cheeks)

• Weighs herself or himself repeatedly, but hides the weight loss

• Withdraws from social activities, especially meals and celebrations involving food

Negative health effects:

• May be depressed, lethargic (lacking in energy), and feel cold a lot

• In women, menstrual periods stop; in men levels of sex hormones fall

• Drop in blood pressure, pulse, and breathing rate

• Hair loss and fingernail breakage

Bulimia Nervosa

Definition: a person binge eats (eats a lot of food) and then tries to compensate in extreme ways, such as forced vomiting or excessive exercise, to prevent weight gain.

Characteristics:

• Eating a large amount of high calorie food at once, and usually in secret

• Most purge by vomiting, but may also use laxatives, diuretics, enemas or excessive exercise

• Makes excuses to go to the bathroom immediately after meals

• Withdraws from social activities, especially those involving food.

Negative health effects:

• Swollen glands in neck and face

• Constant stomach pain and damage to a person's stomach and kidneys

• Tooth decay (from exposure to stomach acids)

• "Chipmunk cheeks," when the salivary glands permanently expand from throwing up so often

• Loss of potassium (this can contribute to heart problems and even death)

Those with bulimia may be a normal weight or even overweight, which is why the disease may go undetected.

Compulsive Exercise Disorder

Definition: A compulsive need to exercise so as not to gain weight.

Characteristics:

• Forces exercise even if not feeling well

• Prefers to exercise rather than being with friends

• Bases the amount of exercise on how much they eat

• Has trouble sitting still because they think they’re not burning calories

Negative health effects:

• Injuries such as fractures and muscle strains

• Serious permanent health problems

• In extreme cases, death

While exercise is a great way of staying fit, too much exercise can lead to serious health problems. You need to maintain a balance of fitness and nutrition in your everyday life.

Binge Eating Disorder

Definition: Eating unusually large amounts of food at one time even when feeling full.

Characteristics:

• Binge eats frequently and repeatedly

• Finds food comforting and soothing

• Tends to be depressed and gains weight or is obese

• Feelings of lost control and distress over eating behavior

Negative health effects:

• Obesity

• Type 2 Diabetes

• Heart disease

• High blood pressure

• Extra weight can affect a person's joints, breathing, sleep, and mood.

People who have binge eating disorder do not regularly vomit, over exercise, or abuse laxatives like bulimics do. Studies suggest that approximately 25-50 percent of obese individuals binge eat.

Body Dysmorphic Disorder (BDD)

Definition: a type of chronic mental illness in which you can't stop thinking about a flaw with your appearance — a flaw either that is minor or that you imagine.

Characteristics:

• Obsessing over appearance and body image, often for many hours a day

• Seeking out numerous cosmetic procedures to try to "fix" perceived flaws but never satisfied

• Skin picking

• Avoiding social situations

• Wearing excessive makeup or clothing to camouflage perceived flaws

Negative health effects:

• Suicidal thoughts or behavior

• Depression and other mood disorders

• Eating disorders

• Social phobia

• Substance abuse

Overall, about 1% percent of the population is estimated to have body dysmorphic disorder. Body dysmorphic disorder usually starts in adolescence. It affects men and women in equal numbers.

How Do You Help Someone You Suspect Might Have an Eating Disorder?

• If you are concerned about your friend, don't keep your suspicions to yourself. Being healthy means accepting and nourishing your body. Someone who is not eating, or is eating too much, may need help. In a calm and caring way, tell your friend what you saw or heard.

• Being worried about your friend and wanting to help is a good thing. Consider telling your parents or your friend's parents, a teacher, or the school nurse or counselor, what you know. Tell someone who will understand and can get help for your friend. It is not "tattling" or "ratting" on your friend if you are worried about her or his health. [pic][pic][pic][pic]

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