Cause I'm young, and I'm hip, so beautiful
I'm gonna be a supermodel
I'm young, and I'm hip, so beautiful
I'm gonna be supermodel
I didn't, eat yesterday
And I'm going not eat today
And I'm not gonna eat tomorrow
Cause I'm gonna be a supermodel
--Lines from the song “I wanna be a Supermodel”
This popular song by Avril Lavigne clearly spoke as to what what most teenagers are aspiring for today---be someone as skinny as Paris Hilton or be the next Gisele Bundchen. But in the pursuit of this dream, they consciously or unconsciously experimented with diets and extreme exercise to loose those unwanted pounds even go as far as taking weigh loss pill. Later on, they develop eating disorders with increasing frequency.
Eating disorders rank the third most common chronic illness in most teenagers and young women. There are two subgroups of the disorders: anorexia nervosa and bulimia nervosa.
1. Anorexia Nervosa – is an eating disorder in which a person refuses to eat right, and has an intense fear of weight gain and a distorted body image. A person suffering from this shows skeletal muscle atrophy, loss of fatty tissue, weigh loss of 15% or greater, and yellowish skin.
2. Bulimia Nervosa – is which people are so preoccupied with their weight and shape and has episodes of binging and purging. During these episodes, they eat a large amount of food in a short period of time and then try to rid themselves of the extra calories by self-induced vomiting or getting rid of it by excessive exercise. More often then not they skip meals altogether.
Bulimia nervosa is a serious condition and it can be life-threatening. Bulimic persons are usually with poor self-esteem. People with bulimia experience episodes of bingeing and purging. Binges often occur in private. Once the binging ends, the purging begins. They can be found in the bathrooms to vomit and may take laxatives. As it progresses, they become used to it and they will vomit whenever they want.
Physical signs and symptoms of bulimia include:
· bloating
· dehydration
· dry skin
· irregular heartbeat
· abnormal bowel functioning
· menstrual irregularities
Emotional behavior plays a big role in the bulimic person. They can be found dieting, eating much more food in a binge episode than taking a normal meal. They can be fasting, they hoard food and often can be anxious or depressed. Media in all forms contributes so much to the illusion that being waif-like is very beautiful and being thin is something to be so proud off. Peer pressure is also one of those reasons and trying to become popular another one.
Upon proper diagnosis by your doctor, a person who can be bulimic undergoes physical exam, laboratory tests, and psychological evaluation, Treatment may include: medical care, nutritional therapy, medications, psychotherapy and even hospitalization.
With proper treatment, a bulimic person can recover. Recovery is much faster if he or she gets the support from family and friends to seek or continue with the treatment prescribed. A bulimic shouldn't isolate herself and must be at all times be with her loved ones. Another positive action is not to constantly check yourself in the mirror which only reinforces your belief that you are ugly and you need to lose all that fat when it's not that it may seem.
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