Eating Disorders
"Eating Disorders are health problems characterized by extremely harmful eating patterns," according to Nutrition and Fitness encyclopedia. Eating disorders are very common among American women. Between five and ten million people have eating disorders in America. One to four percent of all young women will develop some sort of eating disorder. The two most common types are anorexia (a.k.a. anorexia nervosa) and bulimia (a.k.a. bulimia nervosa). They are two different types with different symptoms and causes but they are sometimes combined. One might have one which leads to developing the other
No one is really sure what causes eating disorders, although there are many theories as to why people develop them. One theory that has been suggested is that anorexia nervosa is caused by a disorder in the part of the mid-brain, called the hypothalamus, that is concerned with the linkage between emotions and the nervous system and controls such functions as hunger, thirst, and sexual activity. It is more likely that any changes that have been detected in hypothalamic function are secondary to the effects of starvation influenced by psychological problems. Most people who develop an eating disorder are between the ages of 14 and 18 (although they can develop even earlier in some people). At this time in their lives, many teens don't feel as though they have much control over anything. The physical and emotional changes that go along with puberty can make it easy for even the most confident person to feel a bit out of control. By controlling their own bodies, people with eating disorders feels as though they can regain some control - even if it is done in unhealthy way.
For girls, even though it's completely normal (and necessary) to gain some additional body fat during puberty, some respond to this change by becoming very fearful of their new weight and feel compelled to get rid of it any way they can. It's easy to see why people may develop a fear of any...
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