Bulimia is an eating disorder. People with bulimia usually have a normal weight, but perceive themselves to be fat. Or they may feel intense guilt or self-disgust when they eat. These feelings are so strong that people with bulimia throw up much of the food they eat.
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. Bulimia nervosa is obsessive compulsive disorder of eating. The person suffering from this disorder has the tendency to consume big amount of food in a short span of time.
Effects of bulimia can be divided into long term and short term side effects. Also you can then subdivide the side effects of bulimia to correspond with the system or the organs bulimia affects: e.g. psychological problems, mental, gastro-intestinal, cardio-vascular system, kidney, skin, bones and hormonal problems.
Bulimia treatments should be followed strictly, if possible it must start from the early stages of the condition. Early treatment is very important, because if a person tries to delay in treating this eating disorder, excessive eating behavior pattern might further become more deeply ingrained and harder to change.
Nutritional Therapy is yet another way to treat Bulimia Nervosa. In this type of therapy, dieticians and other health care providers offer information about a healthy diet. At times, they even help in designing a proper eating plan to achieve a healthy weight and healthy-eating habits.
Bulimia may be caused by a genetic component. Certain genes may predispose a person to developing bulimia. Bulimia appears to run in families—people with relatives suffering from bulimia have a higher frequency of developing bulimia. This may, however, have more to do with family influences and role models than genetics.
Bulimia affects people’s mental and emotional well-being. These problems can come directly from bulimia, or bulimia may be a response to the other problems. People with bulimia may be tired and unable to perform at peak levels from the mental and physical stress bulimia puts on the mind and body.
Bulimia often begins with a dissatisfaction of the person’s body. The individual may actually be underweight, but when that person looks in a mirror they see a distorted image and feel heavier than they really are. At first, this distorted body image leads to dieting.
Bulimia nervosa can cause constipation, diarrhea, and other intestinal problems. The acidic content of vomit damages the teeth and the esophagus. It can also cause stomach ulcers and sores inside the mouth. It can even cause the stomach to rupture.
Physical symptoms of bulimia are observed only after a longer period, while psychological indicators can be seen relatively early. The eating self-abuse is usually kept secret by the patient, a fact which makes identification of bulimia even harder. The person suffering from bulimia eating disorder problems will show fatigue and a general state of weakness. With women, loss of menstrual cycles was often observed, as a consequence of the bulimia eating disorder.
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