Eating disorders affect many families not only physically, but emotionally as well. It can affect any range of ages from children through adulthood. Sometimes it may be difficult to tell if someone in your family has an eating disorder, as the symptoms are easy to hide and clothing can mask the body’s physical changes to the disorder. Below are a few ways parents can tell if their child has an eating disorder.
The two most frequent eating disorders are anorexia and bulimia. Anorexia is defined as extreme limiting of calorie intake, restriction of foods, and an irrational fear of gaining weight. Most people with anorexia have a distorted body image and will see themselves as overweight no matter how many pounds they actually weigh. Anorexia can sometimes include excessive and compulsive exercising in an attempt to lose weight.
Bulimia is often called the “silent” eating disorder because its sufferers still maintain a normal body weight or may tend to be slightly overweight. Bulimia includes both binge eating, which is consuming mass quantities of food in short amounts of time; and purging, which is the act of inducing vomiting in order to avoid digesting food and consuming calories.
In a person with an anorexia, physical changes can be subtle over time. The extreme weight loss is the most recognizable sign of anorexia but can be camouflaged with baggy clothing. Other physical changes can include thinning hair and brittle fingernails due to a lack of vitamins and nutrients being absorbed by the body. Late signs of anorexia can include an irregular heartbeat, low blood pressure, and an inability to regulate body temperature.
A person who has bulimia may still have a fairly normal body shape but will have some recognizable characteristics. They may have thinning hair, similar to those with anorexia, because of the lacking diet. Bulimics are sometimes found to have scratching or bruising on the backs of the hands from repeated and forceful purging. Teeth enamel may be come eroded and transparent due to repeated and prolonged exposure to stomach acids.
It is important for those who may be suffering from anorexia or bulimia to seek proper medical attention to avoid progression of the disorder. Early treatment can lead to better success and an overall improvement in physical, emotional, and mental health.
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