Two million people in the world suffer from eating disorders, whether it is
anorexia nervosa or bulimia nervosa. Two thirds of teenage girls and one third
of teenage boys do not like their bodies and the weights they are at. Many
people suffer from related conditions like bulimia and anorexia but do not meet
specific conditions to have their symptoms called that. This category is called
unspecified eating disorders. Symptoms of unspecified eating disorders are
restrained eating, binge eating, purging, fears of fatness, and distortion of
body image. People suffer from eating disorders because of our society
standards. Everyone wants to look like a supermodel but not everyone can. They
start to obsess about being thin and looking at their normal body weight as
being fat when actually they are at a healthy weight. When they start judging
their bodies, they set restrictions on what foods they can eat and intense
hunger sets in. Normally, they go on eating binges because of the severe hunger
pains that they can not overcome. Weight cycling then takes place when dieters
go on energy restrictions followed by bingeing. Weight cycling results in losses
and gains of weight. This habit can make weight loss much harder over time
because it messes up your metabolism. Among people with eating disorders,
athletes; primarily dancers, gymnasts, and endurance runners, can be seen with
these problems. Society sets guidelines on how thin an athlete should be.
Coaches and parents encourage their athlete to meet these standards, forcing
many stresses and psychological problems on the person. Female athletes are at
greater risk to develop an eating disorder. Once they develop the disorder, they
are most likely to assess the female athlete triad. If the female athlete gets
these symptoms they develop the following chain of events: disordered eating,
amenorrhea, and osteoporosis. Normally, a person pressuring them causes an
athlete who displays these three symptoms to meet weight standards. An
athlete’s weight should be heavier than a non-athletes weight should be
because they have more muscle mass and muscle weighs more than fat. They try to
get their weight down by not eating or by going on eating binges and then
purging. A better way to check your weight for an athlete is to check your
percent body fat. For example, when I was in high school, my wresting team had
to cut their weight so they could meet the criteria. They started to not eat
meals anymore and then went on binges after they weighed in. Their coach forced
these procedures on them to have a better wrestling team. Their percent body
weight dropped to about 3 percent and they looked so unhealthy. Their eyes sunk
into their heads, and they were always depressed. I definitely don’t think any
coach should pressure their athletes to do this. It is very unhealthy and causes
major problems for the athlete. Why not have an athlete wrestle at their natural
weight then have a wrestler suck their weight down by 20 pounds where it is
unhealthy. The second symptom of the athlete triad is amenorrhea. Amenorrhea is
when a female athlete does not menstruate for three months or more. Amenorrhea
is as high as 66 percent in female athletes. This is caused by low estrogen
levels, infertility and bone mineral losses. I think if a female has amenorrhea,
why would they let it continue? It is so unhealthy, and it can do major damage
to the body. You would think that if your period stops, you should do something
about it because you know something is going wrong in your body. Some studies
show that ballet dancers who suffer from amenorrhea with low body weight have
more bone injuries then ballet dancers that have normal body weight. Other
studies show that percentage body fat is not critical for normal menstruation:
Nutrition Concepts and Controversies; Controversy 10. I think I would have to
disagree with the study that thinks you do not need normal percent body fat.
From my experience, I think a female does have to be at normal percent body fat
to menstruate normally. My friend, who was a gymnast for 15 years of her life,
never menstruated. It was not until she stopped gymnastics after her senior year
in high school that she began to menstruate. Her physical demands of being thin
and meeting certain weights were complete and her body responded normally. So I
think percent body fat does play a role in amenorrhea. Osteoporosis is the third
symptom of the athlete triad. Bone mass is reduced and therefore causes stress
fractures and bone breakage during physical activity. Vigorous training combined
with low food intake, triggers amenorrhea and then promotes bone loss.
Amenorrheic athletes have bones similar to those of a 50-year-old woman. Women
with amenorrhea are supposed to take 1500 milligrams of calcium each day. There
is talk of hormone replacement therapy for amenorrheic women but I do not think
they should have this option. If a woman is starving herself to be thin then
they are bringing about these problems themselves. If osteoporosis is caused by
something other then an eating disorder then the female should be able to take
the hormone replacement. Another eating disorder other than the unspecified
eating disorders and the female athlete triad, is anorexia nervosa. When someone
has anorexia, they are unaware of it. Anorexia victims do not know they are
undernourished and see no need for treatment. They stop menstruating, insist
they are too fat, can not sleep, and look physically sick. Anorexics are always
trying to lose more weight, as they are never happy with how they look. Only a
psychiatrist can diagnose anorexia nervosa. Once diagnosed, the anorexic has to
seek treatment and if they do not start to gain weight, they must be
hospitalized. Anorexic come from middle to upper class families. Men account for
only about 1 in 20 cases in the general population. Eating disorders among male
athletes are much more common though. Anorexics have to have self control. They
are perfectionists, and their parents push them to be that way too. They have
strict discipline to strictly limit their portions of low-calorie foods. They
deny their hunger; they can recite the calories in any food, and the calories
they burn during exercise. If an anorexic feels they have gained any weight,
they exercise till they feel they are thin again. Another way to hasten the
digestion of the food is to take laxatives, which do not work anyway on an
anorexic’s body. Anorexics are basically starving themselves but can not eat
because the need for self-control dominates. Anorexia nervosa damages the body
like starvation does. In young cases, the growth stops and so does normal
development. Losing their basal metabolic rate is harmful in the long run
because once they get to adulthood, there metabolism is so slow, it can not
digest food properly. The heart pumps irregularly and the muscle becomes weak
and thin which causes blood pressure to fall. If people die of anorexia, it is
normally from heart failure. To treat anorexia, there are two issues that need
to be meet: the relationship with oneself and issues relating to food and
weight. A diet is given to the anorexic, and if they are willing to eat
themselves, they will recover. If the anorexic does not want to eat, they will
be hospitalized and fed intravenously to prevent death. I think anorexia nervosa
is a psychological disease. After researching it, I found that it is a life
threatening illness that has to be treated. I still wonder why somebody would do
this to themselves, and why somebody would not help them right away if they see
all the symptoms. Anorexics definitely need professional help and psychiatric
help to cure their illness. Bulimia nervosa is the other eating disorder seen in
society. It is distinct from anorexia and is more prevalent. More men suffer
from bulimia than they do anorexia. The illness of bulimia is seen of someone
with normal weight and always thinks about food. They starve themselves and then
go on eating binges, and after, make themselves throw up all the food they have
just eaten. Sometimes a bulimic can consume up to 10,000 calories in one
sitting. Once someone recognizes the problem, diagnosis can be administered
according to if the person is the purging type or the nonpurging type. A
bulimic’s weight fluctuates over a range of 10 pounds every few weeks. A
bulimic never lets the problem interfere with work or other activities. From
childhood, they have been over achievers and emotionally dependent on their
parents. They started dieting at young ages. Bulimiacs have low self-esteem and
are usually depressed. When a bulimic starts their binges, they choose high
-carbohydrate foods with smooth textures and high fat. The foods consist of
cakes, cookies, and ice cream normally. The binge occurs in stages: anticipating
and planning, anxiety, urgent to begin, rapid and uncontrollable consumption of
food, relief and relaxation, disappointment, and finally shame or disgust. After
the binge, they may use a cathartic- a strong laxative that can injure the over
intestinal tract. An emetic can also be used which induced vomiting. You can
normally tell a bulimic by their swollen neck glands, reddened eyes, bloating,
fatigue, and rotting teeth. Bulimics are aware of their abnormal behavior and
are ashamed of it. They want to recover and seek help unlike an anorexic who
lives in denial. To recover from bulimia, a strict diet is planned out. They are
to eat enough food that satisfies their hunger needs for that meal. Sometimes it
helps to plan the meals for the day in a food diary. Anorexia and bulimia share
a lot of common symptoms but are two totally different eating disorders. They
both display an over concern with body weight and both victims may indulge in
purging. The two eating disorders may occur in the same person or one may lead
to the other. Whether it be socio-cultural, psychological, or neurochemical,
people with eating disorders definitely need professional help if they ever want
to cure their disease. If they do not have professional help, they most likely
will never overcome their eating disorder. Works Cited Bruch, H. (1973). Eating
Disorders: Obesity, anorexia nervosa, and the person within. New York: Basic
Books. Haworth-Hoeppner, Susan. The Critical Shapes of Body Image: The Role of
Culture and Family in the Production of Eating Disorder. Journal of Marriage and
the Family. Feb 2000, Vol.62 Issue 1, p212, 16p, 2 charts. Sizer, Frances and
Whitney, Eleanor. Nutrition Concepts and Controversies (7th edition).
West/Wadsworth International Publishing Company. What Causes Eating Disorders?
Pg. 414.

Bibliography
Bruch, H. (1973). Eating Disorders: Obesity, anorexia nervosa, and the person
within. New York: Basic Books. Haworth-Hoeppner, Susan. The Critical Shapes of
Body Image: The Role of Culture and Family in the Production of Eating Disorder.
Journal of Marriage and the Family. Feb 2000, Vol.62 Issue 1, p212, 16p, 2
charts. Sizer, Frances and Whitney, Eleanor. Nutrition Concepts and
Controversies (7th edition). West/Wadsworth International Publishing Company.
What Causes Eating Disorders? Pg. 414.