Eating Disorders
Eating disorder is when you are extremely worried and deeply unhappy about your weight. You always worry about how to avoid calorie intake or how to get rid of calories. You may check your weight and shape frequently by hopping on the scales or checking yourself out in the mirror over and over. Other times, you may totally avoid scales and mirrors because they make you too nervous and disappointed. The problem is that you will always feel overweight no matter how hard you try to lose weight or how thin you get. Eating disorders are very common in Australia, especially in young people .
Anorexia nervosa and bulimia nervosa are the two famous types of eating disorder. Anorexia nervosa is when a person starves self and exercises so much that they become significantly underweight. This is when your Body Mass Index (BMI) drops to less than 18. Please click Here to calculate your BMI. Bulimia nervosa is when a person goes through cycles of binging and purging. Binging is when you get an irresistible urge to eat; so you eat a large amount of sweets hurriedly and secretly, but then feel bloated and remorseful. Therefore, you purge, which means that you try to get rid of food by throwing up, taking laxatives, or doing strenuous exercise. Binge eating disorder is another type of eating problem. It's like bulimia in that a person has frequent binges and feels really bad after them, but does not purge. It seems that binge eating disorder is more common in Australia than other types of eating disorder .
Eating disorders cause significant distress. Many get depressed and withdrawn. Some may not be able to concentrate, can't think clearly, and therefore, struggle with work or study. Poor eating habits can also take its toll on the body. You may feel tired all the time, and get dry skin, brittle bones, toothache, and stomach-ache. Women may not be able to get pregnant. Extremely low weight, repetitive vomiting, and using laxatives are very dangerous. They may cause heart problems and electrolyte imbalance, and may lead to death.