Health impact of eating disorders affects millions
Veronica Sanchez
Millions of women and an increasing number of men look in the mirror everyday and hate what they see. An obsessive relationship with food is often related to an eating disorder, like anorexia and bulimia.
According to professional dietitian and MCC professor Heike Hilker, “Anorexia Nervosa can be caused by low self-esteem and the need to control personal surrounding and emotions. It can be a reaction to external and internal conflicts a person may suffer, including stress, anxiety, unhappiness.
“Some individuals may not be able to cope positively with the fear of becoming fat. Most individuals will turn to obsessive dieting, starvation, exercising in order to control feelings, emotions and weight,” Hilker said.
“Individuals suffering from bulimia nervosa usually go through episodes of binge eating and purging, which means individuals will eat a large amount of food in a short time and then will use unhealthy behaviors to purge.
“Purging can include the use of laxatives, as well as self-induced vomiting. Most people suffering from bulimia are not able to cope in a positive way with emotions,” Hilker said.
The negative effects of these disorders can be very harmful if the problem is not treated. Abnormally low heart rate, dryness of skin, hypotension and lack of menstrual periods are only some of the effects of eating disorders.
It is fundamental to have a healthy diet which combined with exercise will result a healthy body.
Eating disorders frequently appear during adolescence or young adulthood but have the potential to develop anytime.
According to Hilker, “There is no best way to prevent eating disorders. Low self-esteem, the media, culture, as well as sports can bring out an individual’s tendency to develop an eating disorder. Hopefully there will be friends and family to support that individual on the most likely long journey to find inner peace and health.
