Anorexia

Anorexia effects:
1. As the body struggles with starvation, it protects itself by slowing down breathing and pulse rates, and lowering blood-pressure rates.
2. In females, loss of themenstrual cycle is usually the first symptom.
3. The skin of anorexics often becomes dry and turns yellow; their bones become brittle from lack of nutrients.
4. With very little body fat, anorexicscan't stand the cold. The body compensates by growing a fine coat of soft hair, called lanugo.
5. People who don't eat enough food soon become deficient in potassium, an important mineral the bodyneeds. Potassium deficiency leads to heart problems, and could lead to cardiac arrest. (Walking A Thin Line - celebrities, mass media and eating disorders - Brief Article in Science World, December14, 1998)
Physical Issues that face Anorexics
* Wasting of the whole body, including muscle tissue and bones
* Arresting of sexual development and stopping of menstruation due to loss of bodyfat
* Drying and yellowing of skin
* Intolerance to cold weather due to loss of “surface fat”
* Growth of fine, downy hair, perhaps in response to a decrease in body temperature
* Lossof health and texture of hair
* Pain on touch
* Lowered blood pressure and metabolic rate
* Anemia
* Depression

BulimiaDefinition: The characteristic behavior of a personsuffering from bulimia is a cycle of “binging and purging.” This cycle involves the person binging, or consuming lots of food in small amounts of time, then purging, or ridding themselves of the calories theyconsumed by vomiting, abusing laxatives or diuretics (water pills), or over-exercising. Often, these behaviors are very “secretive,” and family members can even miss their symptoms. Bulimics sharethe same distorted body image that is characteristic of anorexics, but people that suffer from bulimia do not have to be “underweight” to suffer from the disorder. | |

Who’s at risk? Bulimia can...