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Saturday, 31 of July of 2010

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Eating Disorders

Eating disorder is experienced by millions of people each year. More than 90 percent of the total population who suffers eating disorder is adolescents and young women. The figure is attributed to advertisements projecting women that women must have an ideal figure. As a result, young women work on achieving the ideal figure by subjecting their body to strict dieting activities. When they diet, eating disorder starts. Older people also experience eating disorders but on a lower percentage.

There are different two main types of eating disorder. Anorexia Nervosa is the condition in which people person suffering eating disorder subject their bodies to starvation. Hunger pains are common to anorexic people yet they still continue with their dieting because of the belief that they are overweight. Even when they already weigh below the normal body weight, anorexics still think they are overweight. They also perform exercise to lose more weight even when the body is too weak to respond. Anorexics perceive that in order to have self-worth, they should maintain less and less weight. This sometimes leads to life threatening situations.

Bulimia Nervosa or bulimia is another life threatening eating disorder. It is the consumption of large amount of food and forcibly taken out of the body by purging. Purging can be done in different forms such as vomiting, fasting, excessive physical exercise and the inappropriate use of laxatives, diuretics and enemas. People who suffer bulimia are found to suffer more from lack of self –control. They tend to over-indulge in eating until interrupted or when the stomach can no longer handle the excessive amount of food taken in. The self-destructive pattern and attitude towards the disorder varies for every person. Some people purge several times a day right after eating while some may purge in private. People who regard bulimia as a disorder seek treatment during its early stage while others treat bulimia as a normal pattern.

People who suffer eating disorders have common personal characteristics: low self-esteem, fear of becoming fat, lacks self-control and feeling of helplessness. Anorexics may feel that they are in control of their lives by taking control of their weight but in reality, they loss self-control by dieting too much. Bulimics try to take control of their anxiety and stress by eating more yet they feel guilty for eating too much.

Body weight is the main factor that differentiates Anorexia Nervosa and Bulimia Nervosa.  Anorexics are found to be physically thin and the disorder is easily detected. It is more difficult to detect people who are bulimics because they are physically fit and maintains a good weight.

Eating disorder can be treated easily when detected in the early stages. Unfortunately, the disorder can easily be hidden and denied by the patient until such a life threatening situation occurs. When this happens, treatment is more difficult. Patients who undergo treatment are often institutionalized. Their body weights and eating habits are closely monitored. Proper medications to bring back lost nutrient due to excessive dieting are given. Therapies conducted include group discussion and sharing from fellow anorexics and bulimics.

Treatment of eating disorder involves the active participation of many people from dieticians, nutritionists, psychotherapist, a psychopharmacologist, counsellor and the patient’s family. Medications and therapies from medical professionals should be accompanied with encouragement, care, love, acceptance and persistence from the family. With the combined efforts from everybody, eating disorder has a chance to be treated.

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