The subject of eating disorders is one that makes me feel really sad. Just like boys may feel the need to have more muscle, girls often feel the need to be really thin. A lot of this pressure comes from the media around us, but what we don’t realize is that a lot of these images of these perfect looking people are not even real! We need to learn how to deal with these false images and not give into pressure. By giving in and doing harmful things to your body to try to look perfect, it harms our body and our health. This means that we need to abstain from giving into the pressure.
Sometimes when someone tries to improve their image, and they get carried away, they develope what they call an eating disorder. Now an eating disorder is not just trying to lose weight by dieting or trying to get in more excercise, they are extremes in eating behavior. The most common eating disorders are anorexia or bulimia.
People with anorexia have a fear of weight gain and they do not see their bodies the way that other people do. Many people with anorexia restrict the amount of food they eat by dieting, fasting, or they may even exercise a lot. They don’t eat much and the little food they do eat becomes an obsession.
Other people have the eating disorder called bulimia. They do what they call binge eating and purging. This is when they eat a lot of food and then try to get rid of it by throwing it up, using laxatives, or once again exercising a lot. People with bulimia eat a large amount of food at one time, usually in secret. The person sometimes can’t stop eating and only stops when they are too full. This is when the person usually tries to get rid of the food somehow.
Anorexia and bulimia are a lot alike but people with anorexia are usually very thin but those with bulimia may be a normal weight or even overweight.
Some of your peers may try to make an eating disorder sound appealing. They may try to make you believe that you can get your ideal body just by doing this, but its harmful to your health and it’s important for you to say no to these practices.
Some of the effects of Anorexia:
- a drop in blood pressure, pulse, and breathing rate
- hair loss and fingernail breakage
- loss of periods
- lanugo hair — a soft hair that can grow all over the skin
- light-headedness and inability to concentrate
- anemia
- swollen joints
- brittle bones
Some effects from bulimia:
- constant stomach pain
- 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 periods
- loss of the mineral potassium (this can contribute to heart problems and even death)
Everyone sometime or another doesn’t feel good about their body. Its something that we all deal with but its important to deal with these feelings in healthy ways. If you want to change your weight you can participate in a healthy diet. For some tips visit here. If you want more information about eating disorders and why it’s important to abstain, try this site. If you want more information on eating disorders visit this site for more great information.
It is really sad to see the effects of eating disorders around us. We all probably know someone with a disorder, and it makes it hard to deal with. Thank you for your thoughts!
Thank you so much for this post! It’s true. We’re bombarded on all sides by the images that our society makes us believe we should look like. The expectations and pressure to be thin are ridiculous!