In Trick of the Light by Lois Metzger, Mike Welles feels his life is spiraling out of control. His father left them for some other woman, and his mother can barely get out of bed. He feels like he is all alone. That is, until he hears this voice in his head, telling him if he would just work out, he can make him better and stronger than before. Then he meets Amber- a girl at his school who seems to know everything about nutrition. She gives him tips on how to avoid food while fooling everyone around him. What he does not know is that she is anorexic. She leads him down this destructive path of inner turmoil; a battle with his own shadow. As he fights his demons- anorexia- we learn how hard it is to survive an eating disorder. In order to understand eating disorders, it is important to know who it affects, the health problems that arise, and how one recovers from it. …show more content…
Bulimia is categorized as “frequent episodes of binge eating, followed by frantic efforts to avoid gaining weight.” (Barston). People will throw up, use laxatives, and/or excessively work out to avoid gaining weight. Many people who diet fall under what is called the binge and purge cycle. It starts off with strict dieting, which leads to tension and cravings. Once they cave in, they binge eat. In their panic, the purge to try to avoid weight gain. Then sets in the shame and disgust they have at themselves. They go back to strict dieting and the cycle repeats. 85 to 90% of bulimics are women, most between the ages of 16 and 40. Men are rarely affected, but an estimated 10 to 15% suffer from it. Although it is women are most susceptible, it affects everyone regardless of race, age, gender, or economic status. “In terms of sexual orientation, gay men appear to be as vulnerable to developing bulimia as heterosexual women, while lesbians are less vulnerable.”
Bulimia nervosa, also called bulimia is a possible life threating eating disorder. A person that suffers from bulimia may secretly binge their food. They may eat large amount of food and then purge their food to get rid of the additional calories that they’ve digested. Bulimia is categorized in two ways, purging bulimia and non-purging bulimia. Purging bulimia is when a person regularly self-induces vomiting after eating. Non-purging bulimia is when an individual may use other methods to try to prevent weight gain, such as fasting, extreme dieting, or overly exercising.
Thesis Statement: It is important to understand eating disorders and the types of eating disorders to overcome them and seek the proper treatment.
An equally disruptive eating disorder that has been seen in increasing numbers in recent years is Bulimia. About two percent of American women are affected by this disorder. Bulimia is characterized by a distinctive binging and purging cycle. Individuals with this disorder will often times consume large amounts of food, and the immediate throw it back up. These binging and purging actions have substantial medical risks. Additionally, some individuals consume large amounts of food and then proceed to exercise for exorbitant amounts of time. This can also be a risk to ones wellbeing. Other characteristics associated with Bulimia include the abuse of laxatives and diuretics. Individuals with this disease often times completely lose control over their dietary habits. The massive highs and lows cause emotional instability. The mood swings that
1 in 200 American Women suffers from bulimia. – South Carolina Department of Mental Health
It has been said that Bulimia is the silent killer for the younger generation in the since that no one is focusing on it. Its very uncommon for somebody who is suffering from this disorder to come out and talk about it. You usually don’t catch onto it until you gradually notice the people binge eating or extreme weight loss.
Eating disorder is a term used to describe several psychological disorders characterized by abnormal eating habits. Some of the most common eating disorders include anorexia nervosa, bulimia nervosa, and binge eating disorder. Anorexia nervosa is probably the most well-known of these. A person suffering from anorexia nervosa will obsess over weight gain and show unusual anxiety related to weight gain. Depending upon the type (binge-eating/purging type or restricting type) a person will either consume food and then attempt to “purge”, a term used to describe a method of forced removal of food from the body such as self-induced vomiting, or they will restrict the amount of food consumed. In most cases the person will be under healthy weight and often see themselves as average weight or even overweight. In bulimia nervosa and binge eating disorders the affected person will eat excessive amounts of food. People suffering from these diseases report feeling out of control during their binge eating episodes. In bulimia nervosa binge eating episodes are followed by some method of purging whereas in binge eating disorder they are not, although the person normally expresses feelings of guilt or embarrassment afterwards. People suffering from bulimia nervosa are usually average weight which can make detection difficult. Those with binge eating disorder are normally
Perhaps as many as one in six cases of anorexia nervosa occur in males, (ANRED http://www.anred.com). Binge eating disorder seems to occur almost equally in males and females, although males are not as likely to feel guilty or anxious after a binge as women do. It is difficult to known exactly how many males have bulimia. Some researchers believe about 15% of all cases of this disorder occurs in men. Clinics and counselors see many more females than males, but that may be because males are reluctant to confess what has become known as a "teenage girl's problem." My health professionals do not expect to see eating disorders in men and may therefore misdiagnose them.
In my research, I explored the world of eating disorders. I wanted to see if there was anything specifically encouraging eating disorders and if there was a way to stop it. Eating disorders affect the community greatly because often times, they go unchecked or unrecognized. As a recovered anorexic, I feel it’s very important to address this issue. It’s a very big problem that is often not addressed at all, or is seen as normal, like counting calories. I hoped to find a way to improve the way that eating disorders are viewed and explain to people about what defines an eating disorder, because many people will never know if it is not explicitly explained to them. My study’s purpose is to bring light into the dark world of eating disorders
Men and women with bulimia nervosa have recurring and frequent occurrences of eating unusually large amounts of food and feel a nonexistence of control over these occurrences. This behavior is followed by binge eating that compensates for the overeating such as forced vomiting or excessive use of diary laxatives. With anorexia nervosa, people will look sickly but people with bulimia nervosa they usually maintain what are considered a healthy weght. With all eating disorders, they fear weight gain and want to lose it in any way
Bulimia Nervosa is an addiction that can be a very destructive aspect in someone’s life because it can result in regularly engaging themselves in self-induced vomiting or the abuse of laxatives, diuretics, or enemas after binging. However, solutions to this problem include antidepressants, counseling, and therapy.
Bulimia is frequent in adolescents and young people and is ten times higher in women than in men. Bulimia is broadly classified in two ways: Purging bulimia: People who suffer from this type of bulimia often use self induce vomiting soon after excessively eating.
The population that is mostly impacted by this condition are females. Women between the ages of 15 to 24 years of age. Statistically 1 out of every 200 women suffer from anorexia nerves and 1 in 50 women are bulimic. 10 to 50 percent of college women report having done binge eating and have vomited to keep their weight down. About 40 percent of girls 9 to 10 years of age have gone on a diet to lose weight.
Bulimia Nervosa is the diet-binge-purge cycle. It is an illness that is mostly found in young females. This cycle involves a strict diet, uncontrollable eating and then unhealthy strategies to get rid of the food and therefore the guilt. This addictive eating disorder is based on guilt. The individual tends to under-consume and thereby becoming very hungry. Once the individual gives in and allows one’s self to eat, the person begins to over-eat. After finishing the large quantities of food, the individual begins to feel immense
This article gives a basic definition of bulimia, which states that it is the act of binge eating and then purging in a n effort to prevent weight gain. It also says that the physiological thinking behind this disorder has yet to be discovered. Over al the article and its context seem to be reliable it often refers to research and experiments that have been
“Bulimia Nervosa is characterized by massive food binges followed by self-induced vomiting or use of diuretics and laxatives to avoid weight gain.” (Columbia Electronic Encyclopedia)