[Miss_A]

Eating Disorders Information:

Anorexia
Anorexia nervosa is when someone severely limits the amount they eat. Because of this extreme dieting or malnutrition, the body struggles to remain healthy. If this unhealthy lifestyle continues, you might well stop having periods.

It is diffifcult to know why some people (mainly adolescent girls) develop anorexia. Some people suffer from it because they are very anxious, or scared of a big change in their life.

If someone is anorexic they might:
*Follow a very strict diet, perhaps only eating a litmited amount of low-calorie food.
*Fool others into thinking they are eating proberly.
*Keep strict routines and rituals, e.g. always eating the same thing at the same time every day.
*Have an obsession with food and what other people eat.
*Have a distorted body image. They might consistently compare their bodies with others, thinking they are overweight even when they can see they are thinned than other people.

Anorexia can lead to a number of health problems:
*Extreme weight loss
*Periods stopping
*Growth of downy hair on the face and body

Other, more serious, things can sometimes happen too, such as:
*Osteoporosis
*The possibility of fertility (pregnancy) problems at an older age

Bulimia
Another eating disorder you might know about is bulimia nersvosa. This is when someone eats large quantities of food in a short space of time. To prevent putting on weight, this binge eating is often followed by dieting or, sometimes, vomiting. Bulimia is less common than anorexia, but can aslo damage your long-term health. It oftens leads to irregular periods.

Over eating
The can be many reasons to how much you eat. As for over eating, It could be an emotional way of coping or comforting presure. Your not alone there are other methods to help, excerising like going to the gym or swimming is fun. Eating healthy like salads. Chewing gum is a good way to like eat but not swollow at the same time.

Osteoporosis
The prolonged loss of periods as an effect on your bones. They won't grow as strong as someone who is in good health, leading to an increased rick of Osteoporosis.
Osteoporosis occurs when the hole inside your bones become bigger, making them fragile and more likely to break.

Eating well
You need to eat a wide range f foods to make sure you are getting goodness you need. Try to eat plently of...
*Protein (found in fish, meat, cheese, milk, eggs, nuts and beans)
*Carbohydrates (found in bread, pasta abd cereals)
*Fresh fruit and vegetables (ideally five portions a day)

Thank you, Miss_A.

[wi_fighter]

I think you're preachin' to the choir on this one but, hey, look at how your post count is climbing. You'll be a Grand Poohbah by the end of the week at this rate.

[Genevieve]

Did you write all that yourself? If so, thanks. If not, could you post an attribution? Just in case...

Also, don't rely on your periods to avoid osteoporosis. I have never had complete and total amenorrhea, just partial. And guess what? I've already gotten significantly shorter.

Oh, yeah, and the fertility problems are very, very real. And heartbreaking. It's not a "well, when I'm ready to have a baby, I can change my eating for that" thing. I'm struggling with that now, and it is horrible.

[ickydog2006]

Is bulimia really less common than anorexia

[Genevieve]

Good question -- and i think it depends on your definition.

For one thing, these days they have AN - b/p subtype, which covers all the people who used to be called bulimic, but are at or below 85% of their normal weight. Then there's the fact that many, many bulimics are not diagnosed.

But I think that bulimia is more common than anorexia, from what I've read. Maybe it's just that more people have heard about AN these days? Although that's changing, thanks to Jane Fonda et al.