Bulimia
...alories, a bulimic purges them from the body, in an attempt to maintain their weight and shape. This is a habit forming behavior, and after a certain period of time, the body becomes accustom to these purging actions. If the sufferer tries to rid the disease after years, the body will still purge out of repetition. Models twenty years ago weighted 8% less than the average woman, today they weigh 23% less. There are three types of bulimia nervosa. Simple bulimia nervosa normally affects late teenage girls. After a state of unhappiness, these girls turn to dieting for a boost in their self esteem. However, many times these girls cannot stick with the strict diets, so they turn to purging, thus beginning the repetitious cycle. Simple bulimia nervosa is curable when the sufferer is willing and ready. This usually occurs when the sufferer is ready to settle down and start a family, because they are worried about the effects on the baby. It is likely that there are large numbers of girls with fairly mild symptoms that never come to medical help but there is a significant risk that it will slowly get worse with time (http://www.priory-hospital.co.uk/htm/bulimi.htm). The second form known as anorexic bulimia nervosa mostly affects younger girls that come from an exceptional family background. This is the most common form of bulimia. These girls first begin with an anorexic episode- a restriction of food, especially those high in calories. Many times the anorexic episode goes unsuccessful, and they recover by themselves. The feelings and images of being fat reappear but this time the sufferer turns to purging. They find it is much easier to throw up after a meal, then terminate all intake of food. The last type of bulimia is multi-impulsive bulimia nervosa. This type most commonly affects middle aged teenage girls, but these girls come from less than perfect families. The sufferers have abnormal behaviors, and along with an eating disorder it is not uncommon to also find they have other problems including: drug abuse, alcohol abuse, stealing, and other intentional self harm including cutting of forearms (http://www.priory-hospital.co.uk/htm/bulimi.htm). There are several different symptoms for bulimia, and with close watch it will be easier to identify this disease in early stages. If identified in early stages, it is much easier to cure and has a higher chance of full recovery. An irony is the body weight of a bulimic is usually average when they begin the binge purge cycle. Once they begin the cycle, they become obsessed with their weight and body size. The sufferer begins to turn complete focus on the image of their body. Many times they obsess over the mirror, measuring the places of the body where large amounts of fat settle, including: love handles, thighs, or buttocks. Bulimics constantly “feel” fat, and they are very self conscious of the way their body appears. They are embarrassed about eating in front of people, and their self esteem is directly related to their weight which therefore determines their self esteem. Bulimics have very odd eating habits, and although most of the binges occur in private, overeating and then using the bathroom is very common (http://www.mamashealth.com/bulimia.asp). Most foods consumed include: sweets, high calories, or fatty foods because these are comfort foods. Frequent eating when not hungry and then long periods of fasting wile compulsive exercising also occurs. The abuse of laxatives, diet pills, and diuretics is also a major sign. Emotional signs to watch for also include: troubles expressing feelings, perfectionism, mood swings, or depression. Although the reasons of bulimia are unknown, there are factors that increase the risks of becoming bulimic. Many bulimics and anorexics have distorted body images, and perceive themselves as overweight. Researchers believe it begins with the dissatisfaction of a person’s body, and the extreme concern with their size and shape (http://www.mamashealth.com/bulimia.asp). The bias society has upon females has huge affects on adolescent females. The pressure to be thin is so strong, that it leads people to think there self worth is determined by the way they look, and in these decades “thin is in”. Trends are showing bulimia is affecting younger people each year. Binging and purging is not only to stay thin. It is very much affected by a person’s emotions. When something upsetting happens, bulimics deal with their problems by the vicious binge-pur...