Eating Disorders
Psychological and Medical complications of Eating disorders Can you believe that approximately eight million people in the United States suffer from anorexia, bulimia, and many other related eating disorders? This represents about three percent of the population. To put it another way, three out of every one hundred people have an eating disorder. What is an eating disorder? When people hear the term "eating disorder" the first words that usually come to mind are anorexia and bulimia. But do people actually know what an eating disorder is? "An eating disorder is considered an expression of inner emotional or psychological distress or problems in ones life" (Cotter 13). The denial of food often becomes their drug of choice and in most cases helps to numb the feelings of pain. What most people don't realize is that without the proper help these disorders can destroy one's life. Anorexia Nervosa and Bulimia Nervosa are the two most talked about disorders and the ones that affect us the most. Anorexia is often characterized by extreme weight loss and a very restrictive diet. Those with anorexia often feel very fat, when in reality they are thin. This is due to the fact that they are terrified to gain weight. Bulimi
Studies have further shown that if girls of any age have eating disorders, they are more likely to have psychological problems, such as depression and mood disorders, and medical complications such as amenorrhea, osteoporosis, and many other physical effects. Another third improve but never fully recover, and the rest are a lifelong battle" (Cotter 82). Just as starvation can weaken the bones, it can also weaken the organs. "A person's bones continually undergo what experts refer to as a remodeling process in which they are constantly being broken down and built up" (Cotter 59). For those women who have anorexia induced amenorrhea they could experience stress fractures from just walking. The entire gastrointestinal tract is affected by severe weight loss. "An anorexic who begins to eat again will feel full immediately due to the body's slow rate of digestion" (Agras 51). It is people like you and I that need to help these eight million men and women that suffer from this terrible disorder, and help them get back on the right track. Recovery from Anorexia is possible, however not all of patients can expect to be completely cured. It has been shown that people with Anorexia and Bulimia are thought to be at higher risk than the general population for suicide resulting from depression. Instead, these disorders develop slowly over time, usually out of a simple desire to lose weight which becomes uncontrollable. Of the eight million people in the United States that have eating disorders, the majority of those that are affected are females. Just as some ethnic groups are under-represented when it comes to eating disorders, so are males. "Depression can describe a normal human emotion, but it can also refer to a psychological illness" (Cotter 66). Most people with eating disorders tend to suffer in silence for years, before discovering the many psychological problems and medical complications.
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