Eating Disorders

A cinical problem of young people that is on the rise these days is Eating Disorders. It is a condition which affects an individual’s eating habits, either as a result of their own doing (self-inflicted), or as a bodily reaction to the consumption of food. Eating disorders can range from mild mental anguish to life-threatening conditions. The two most common varieties of eating disorders that have become well known because of the celebrities afflicted by them are Anorexia nervosa and bulimia nervosa.

Anorexia nervosa, whose sufferers include celebrities such as Victoria Beckham, Kate Winslet and Kareena Kapoor, is a condition in which significant weight is lost deliberately driven by a fear of distorted body image. It is a serious disorder that can lead to death.  The girl has an abnormally low body weight (the suggested guideline ≤ 85% of normal for age and height, or BMI ≤ 17.5), stops having her regular periods, and has an intense fear of gaining weight or becoming fat.She usually has a preoccupation with body  and shape, may be under considerable stress or depressed.

Bulimia nervosa is a cyclical and recurring pattern of binge eating followed by guilt, self-recrimination and overcompensatory behavior such as crash dieting, overexercising and purging to compensate for the excessive caloric intake.One of the celebrities who suffered from this disorder was Princess Diana who confessed "I had bulimia for a number of years. You inflict it upon yourself because your self-esteem is at a low ebb, and you don't think you're worthy or valuable. You fill your stomach up four or five times a day.Then you're disgusted at the bloatedness of your stomach, and then you bring it all up again. And it's a repetitive pattern, which is very destructive to yourself."

Anorexia nervosa and bulimia are ten times more common in women and together affect an estimated 5-7% of females in the United States during their lifetimes. Reports from India suggest that these disorders are on the rise; Dr Mammen from Vellore reported Psychogenic vomiting as the commonest eating disorder in Tamil Nadu.

What causes these problems in the young? Family and friends are very influential when it comes to eating disorders. The media may be a significant influence with its projection of size zero or a skin-and-bones body as being the modern image of beauty, which many young girls want to emulate. They are often associated with dpression or other mental disorders such as Obsessive-Compulsive Disorders. There is considerable ongoing research to show that levels of a hormone called cholecystokinin, which regulates satiety, is low in bulimics. Low levels of this hormone are likely to cause a lack of satiative feedback when eating, which can lead to overeating. Also an imbalance betwen 2 peptide hormones neuropeptide Y and peptide YY  which increase eating and another called leptin, released by fat cells and is known to decrease eating, could play a role.

Early recognition and understanding of these disorders, family support, and timely medical attention can get these young people back to normal fruitful happy lives.