Bulimia Treatment: Advice and Options

Bulimia is an eating disorder compels people to binge on food and then purge through self-induced vomiting, diuretics or laxative abuse, or excessive exercise. People with bulimia tend to feel guilty and disgusted about food and fat. Even though most people with bulimia begin at normal weights, they think of themselves as fat. Roughly 90 percent of the people with bulimia are women, and the disorder usually begins a few years after puberty. Genetics, social pressures, and emotional problems like depression, low self-esteem, and extreme perfectionism contribute to bulimia's development.

Without bulimia treatment, people with bulimia become dehydrated and malnourished. This causes mineral and vitamin deficiencies, resulting in dry skin, nails, and hair. Many people with bulimia are constipated from laxative abuse. Constant vomiting brings up stomach acid that irritates the throat and mouth. Many people with bulimia have heartburn, gum infections, swollen salivary glands, and cavities from the acid eroding tooth enamel. Without treatment, some of side effects, like kidney failure, can become fatal. Dehydration can lower the body's electrolyte levels, causing heart problems or even death. About 10 percent of people with bulimia will die from it.

Bulimia, however, is completely treatable. The sooner a person begins bulimia treatment, the sooner the recovery. Successful recovery depends on the work of psychiatrists, doctors, dieticians, and the patient. Psychiatrists work with the patient to break the binge-and-purge cycles and to educate the patient about what she is doing to her body and mind. The psychiatrist and patient must identify the triggers of a binging-and-purging episode, as well as help the patient cope with an unhealthy body image. The patient must learn to communicate openly and must increase his or her self-esteem. Doctors work with the patient to treat the effects of bulimia's dehydration and malnutrition on the body. A dietician helps the patient develop healthy eating habits.

Group therapy and support groups are also helpful for people recovering from bulimia. Information about many support groups can be found online.

Bulimia Info provides detailed information about the causes, symptoms, and effects of bulimia; bulimia treatment and recovery; the relationship between anorexia and bulimia; and information about the "pro bulimia" viewpoint. Bulimia Info is affiliated with Original Content.

Obesity & it's relationship to Anoraxia, Bulimia and other eating disorders.

Obesity is a disease that affects approximately 60 million people in the United States, and women are especially affected. Over o­ne-third of women between the ages of 20 and 74 are obese, the majority of them being African American or Mexican American. With more and more pre-packaged food and less and less activity, the number of obese people in America has steadily increased since the 1960s.

But what is obesity? Many people think obesity means that a person is overweight, but thats not exactly true. An overweight person has a surplus amount of weight that includes muscle, bone, fat, and water. An obese person has a surplus of body fat. Most health professionals concur that a man is obese if he has over 25 percent body fat, and a woman is obese if she has over 30 percent. Women physiologically have more body fat than men, so that why theres a difference in percentage.

It is difficult to determine the exact percentage of body fat a person has, but estimates can be made in a number of ways. First, using a tweezer-like tool called a caliper, you can measure the thickness of skin folds o­n different points of your body and compare the results with standardized numbers. You can also use a small device that sends a harmless electrical current through your body and measures your body fat percentage. The most commonly used method to determine if a person is obese is to look at his/her Body Mass Index (BMI). A person with a BMI over 30 is considered to be obese, and a BMI over 40 is considered to be severely obese. Its important to remember though that BMI could be misleading in pregnant or lactating women and in muscular individuals.

With obesity, comes the increased risk of diseases such as high blood pressure, Type II Diabetes, heart disease, and breast, colon, and prostate cancer. In addition, obesity has been linked to mental health conditions such as depression or feelings of shame and low self-esteem. Health experts say that even losing 10 to 15 percent of your body weight can dramatically decrease the risk of developing these serious conditions. In addition, many obese people are discriminated against and targets of insults and other verbal abuse.

A number of factors, such as poor diet, lack of physical activity, genetics, and certain medical disorders, cause obesity, but it can be conquered. The following information seeks to educate about obesity and the methods used to treat it. It does not take the place of a physician.

Obesity and its Relationship to:
Anorexia, Bulimia, and Other Special Eating Disorders

Obesity itself is not an eating disorder, but people who are obese or who fear becoming obese may develop o­ne. Lets take a look at obesity and its relationship to special eating disorders.

Binge Eating Disorder - The most common eating disorder is binge eating disorder. Approximately 4 million Americans have this disorder. Binge eating disorder is more than just occasionally overeating. It is characterized by eating uncontrollably, quickly eating an unusually large amount of food at o­ne sitting, even when the person is not hungry, and eating in secret because the person is embarrassed about the amount of food he/she eats.

More women than men have binge eating disorder, and most of the people who have it are overweight or obese. Binge eaters eat mostly sugar and fat, and as a result, they may be lacking certain vitamins and nutrients. Many of them are also depressed. Treatments for this disorder include therapy and medications such as antidepressants.

Bulimia Nervosa - Binge eating is also present in another eating disorder, bulimia nervosa. It is estimated that 1.1 to 4.2 percent of females will have bulimia nervosa in their lifetime. Bulimics are caught in a binge/purge cycle. They binge eat, usually in secret, then purge to get rid of the calories just eaten. Purging may involve either self-induced vomiting after eating or using laxatives, diuretics, or enemas. People with bulimia may also exercise intensely for long periods of time in attempt to burn off the extra calories taken in during binge eating, or they may go for long periods of time without eating. Many bulimics do a combination or all of these things.

Bulimia affects more women than men and more young women in their teens and twenties than older women. These women are usually obsessed with their weight and truly believe that they are overweight even though most have a normal body weight. It can cause a number of serious health effects, including anemia, dehydration, heart problems, ruptured esophagus, stomach ulcers, and even death. Like binge eating disorder, bulimia is treated with therapy and medications.

Anorexia Nervosa - o­n the opposite side of binge eating is anorexia nervosa. It affects around 1 to 2 percent of the female population. Anorexia is characterized by self-starvation and obsession with food, weight, and appearance, weight loss of 15% or more below the normal body weight, and an intense fear of being fat. Many of them look emaciated, but theyre convinced they are fat.

Because anorexics literally starve themselves, their bodies are severely depleted of nutrients. As a result, they develop muscular atrophy, dehydration, low blood pressure, and brain and organ damage to name a few. As many as 10 percent of anorexics die. Most anorexics deny they have a problem until the problem gets so bad that they have to be hospitalized. Because anorexia is so life-threatening, the first stage of treatment is getting body weight back to normal. o­nce this is o­n track, therapy and medications are used.

Eating disorders are serious disorders and should not be taken lightly. If you suspect you have o­ne or think someone you love does, please seek help. It could be a matter of life and death.

Mahesh Bhat is Web Master of http://info-diet.com a Wellness
Community site that provides information on Diet Pills Visit the site to learn all about obesity & free weight loss tips!
This article may be freely distrinuted electronically or in print as long as the Author bio is unchanged.

Understanding Bulimia

Bulimia is not exclusively caused by the changes of puberty, nor is it exclusive to women. Although 90 percent of bulimia cases occur in women, and most of these women begin to eat and vomit in their mid- to late-teens, bulimia nervosa can stem from diverse causes.

When a girl enters puberty, her body changes. It begins to look like a womans body, rather than a girls. Fat begins to appear. Breasts develop and hips widen as the girl grows. For some young woman, these changes are greeted with excitement. For other young women, these changes may cause sadness and spark self-doubt. A young woman feeling uncomfortable in her body may wish for a girls body without curves. She may project her fear onto food. Now, when she eats, she eats too much food. She binges. This may fill her with guilt and shame and vomit up the food. She purges. This is the story of a young woman has bulimia.

Bulimia is not exclusively caused by the changes of puberty, nor is it exclusive to women. Although 90 percent of bulimia cases occur in women, and most of these women begin to eat and vomit in their mid- to late-teens, bulimia nervosa can stem from diverse causes. Some people with bulimia are perfectionists. Some feel their weight reflects their self-worth. Being too heavy is a sign of failure. Some may be depressed, or unable to cope with the world. Vomiting may represent the persons desire to purge his or her being of the qualities they most despise. A person with bulimia may be unhappy inside and feel lost, and comforted by controlling his or her food intake and weight.  But there is no single known cause of bulimia.

The disorder is not limited to teens.  Roughly 10 percent of college women are bulimic, four percent of the population is estimated to have bulimia. Most people with bulimia start with a normal weight, but as they attempt to lose weight, they lose adequate nutrition. When people with bulimia binge, they tend to eat comfort foods like potato chips, ice cream, or cookiesfoods with little nutritional value. The purging removes any food in the body, nutritionally sound or not. Some people suffering from bulimia abuse diuretics or laxatives instead of (or in addition to) vomiting. 

Repeated vomiting often erodes the enamel of a person with bulimias teeth and causes cavities. Stomach ulcers, constipation, bloating, and heartburn are other symptoms of bulimia. People with bulimia often go to the bathroom after meals, are preoccupied with weight, and are sensitive to temperature changes. Women with bulimia may have irregular periods from the nutritionally sparse diet.

Bulimia nervosa became an officially diagnosed eating disorder in the 1980s. Ten percent of people with bulimia will die from its complications. Though people with bulimia may deny their eating disorder, they should see a doctor immediately, with support from those who love them. Bulimia is completely treatable.

Bulimia provides detailed information about the causes, symptoms, and effects of bulimia; bulimia treatment and recovery; the relationship between anorexia and bulimia; and information about the pro bulimia viewpoint.  For more information go to http://www.e-bulimia.com and/or visit our affiliate site at http://www.original-content.net. Bulimia; Original Content.