No More Eating Disorders: Anorexia and Bulimia - Common Eating Disorders Caused by Body Image Pressures

Overview

An eating disorder is a compulsion to eat, or avoid eating, that negatively affects both one's physical and mental health. Eating disorders are all encompassing. They affect every part of the person's life. According to the authors of Surviving an Eating Disorder, "feelings about work, school, relationships, day-to-day activities and one's experience of emotional well being are determined by what has or has not been eaten or by a number on a scale." Anorexia nervosa and bulimia nervosa are the most common eating disorders generally recognized by medical classification schemes, with a significant diagnostic overlap between the two. Together, they affect an estimated 5-7% of females in the United States during their lifetimes. There is a third type of eating disorder currently being investigated and defined - Binge Eating Disorder. This is a chronic condition that occurs when an individual consumes huge amounts of food during a brief period of time and feels totally out of control and unable to stop their eating. It can lead to serious health conditions such as morbid obesity, diabetes, hypertension, and cardiovascular disease.

Wednesday, May 20, 2009

Anorexia and Bulimia - Common Eating Disorders Caused by Body Image Pressures

Today more than ever women are being forced to try and conform to a certain image. This has led to a greater number of women suffering from common eating disorders such as bulimia or anorexia nervosa. Not only can these severely damage a woman's body but also her mind as well.

In most cases women and now even some men are suffering from these eating disorders and they will be obsessed with regards to what they eat. Yet even though many of these detest looking at food, it still plays a major role in their lives. This is especially true for those who suffer from the eating disorder known as anorexia nervosa.

Many of these will have particular rituals that they carry out in relation to what they eat. Some will make sure that they limit themselves to only consuming a certain number of calories each day. Whilst others although won't watch their calories will cut up their food very small when they are eating.

As for bulimia these people will spend considerable times eating large amounts of food to immediately work on ways of purging it from their body. In many cases because quite a food will able to maintain their right weight it becomes a lot more difficult to recognize they have this problem and help them.

Yet even though with both these common eating disorders the people's lives revolve around food it is always that they are concerned about how much they weigh. In many cases it is because they find that they are not able to control other aspects of their lives but they can control what they eat, how much and when. Yet although they think they have control over this situation in fact they don't and the food is what is now got control.

Autor: Samantha Adams

Want to Learn More?

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Added: May 20, 2009
Source: http://ezinearticles.com/