Eating is something that most people look forward to. It can mean experiencing good food, doing something healthy for your body, and spending time with family or friends. Many social events such as parties and holidays also involve food. But, for a person who has an eating disorder, eating brings about very different feelings. Constant thoughts about eating and an intense fear of gaining weight become an obsession for a person who has an eating disorder.
Living with an eating disorder is very hard. The road to recovery is not easy but, with treatment, a person can recover and go on to lead a healthy life. Without help, a person with an eating disorder can have a number of medical problems, become very sick, and even die. The two most common eating disorders are anorexia nervosa and bulimia nervosa. Anorexia
IS self-starvation. Bulimia is a disorder in which a person eats large amounts of food ("bingeing") and then rids the body of that food before it can be absorbed ("purging"). A person who is bulimic purges either by vomiting or using laxatives or diuretics (water pills). Some people have symptoms of both anorexia and bulimia.
Anorexia and bulimia starve the body of food.
This causes many physical changes to occur which can lead to kidney and liver damage, very low blood pressure, and heart failure. Other physical changes that can happen include: • The constant feeling of being cold because the body has lost the fat and muscle it needs to keep warm. This may make the anorexic exercise even more in an attempt to get warm.
• Eyes become vacant and hollow.
• Bones stick out and the skin shrinks around the bones, often making the stomach seem like it is sticking out (leading the anorexic to still think that she is fat or overweight).
• Hair on the head falls out, while fine hair appears on other parts of the body for warmth.
• Hair and fingernails become brittle and skin becomes dry and rough due to a lack of protein and vitamins in the diet. Menstrual periods stop (or do not start at all if a girl developed anorexia before her first period. This puts the anorexic at higher risk of developing osteoporosis, a disease that causes bones to become brittle and break more easily.
• Pain in the abdomen, constipation, and bloating.
• Stunted growth, resulting in permanent short stature.
• Anemia.