Eating Disorders - What You Know and What You Won't Admit

After my last poem on bulimia nervosa, I feel that it is time for me to confront one of my Top 5 concerns - eating disorders.

First of all, stop comparing yourself to everyone else. Throw out the scale. I highly doubt that you are morbidly obese if you're that obsessed with weight.

Next, take down the posters of those women you want to look like. Your body is not the same as their bodies. Is Beyonce ever going to look like Avril Lavigne? Absolutely not. Likewise, you cannot look like somebody else. (Guys, this applies to you as well.)

Now let's look at some of the health issues that occur with eating disorders (as seen in Deal With It! A Whole New Approach to Your Body, Brain, and Life as a gURL, 185-187).

Many celebrities have battled at least one eating disorder.

Anorexia nervosa
Loss of hair on head
Growth of soft, downy hair ("lanugo") on face, back, and arms (the body needs this hairy layer for body warmth)
Loss of menstruation or irregular periods (without food, hormone levels drop, alerting the body it cannot support a fetus)
Dry skin and brittle hair and fingernails
Cool grayish or yellow skin
Lowered body temperature and blood pressure
Slowed reflexes (from slowed heart rate and thyroid function)
Premature loss of bone density
Constipation
Swollen joints
Muscle atrophy
Kidney and heart failure in the most extreme cases 

Bulimia nervosa
Noticeable weight fluctuations in short periods of time
Period disappears for more than three cycles
Constipation
Damage and discolored teeth (stomach acids erode tooth enamel)
Heartburn and/or bloating
Lung irritation and damage (choking while vomiting causes food particles to lodge in lungs, causing inflammation)
Weakness
Irregular heartbeat
Kidney damage caused by chronic loss of body fluids
Salivary gland enlargement (looks like a bad case of the mumps)
Puffy eyelids and face
Bloodshot or watery eyes from vomiting 
Sores or calluses on back of hand used for purging (where teeth scrape skin)
Dehydration and depletion of important minerals
Hormonal imbalance
Chronic sore throat

And here's the real kicker, everyone - anorexia and bulimia can kill you.

I know everyone looks at these health issues and says Oh, that wouldn't happen to me, or I'm not that extreme, but telling yourself that is like the smokers who insist that they can quit "any time". The question that comes up, then, is Why haven't you?

You're all thinking these are extreme cases and that they don't apply to you or your friends. But they do. Just like any other addiction (because eating disorders can absolutely be addictions), these behaviors will escalate if allowed to progress. Nip it in the bud, as the expression goes.

Happy eating.