Starving For Perfection

By: Mia, Tea C. and Jenna

Effects of Bulimia

Causes of Bulimia and Anorexia

• Often disturbs menstrual cycles

• Affects pregnancy/ infertility

• Premature aging

• Can cause low bone density (osteoporosis)

• Increases suicidal thoughts, self-harm, Impulsive behavior, obsessive compulsive tendencies and binge/purge compulsions

• Your body becomes depleted of electrolytes so you can suffer from a sudden heart attack which can lead to brain damage and comas

Effects of Anorexia

• Society sets unrealistically high standards on how your body is supposed to look (tall, beautiful, very slim, etc.) through media images, which causes girls to feel pressured to meet those standards, at any cost, including starvation.

• any kind of stress can trigger an eating disorder. Bullying, family issues, loss of a close friend, academic pressure, etc. can cause insecurity, which may lead to the development of eating disorder.

• Sports where a low percentage of body fat is crucial for success (i.e. cross-country, gymnastics, dance, etc.) may lead to eating disorders, especially if the athlete is considerably competitive (Whelan 48-49).

• Genes also contribute to eating disorders, as it has been proven that someone who is related to someone else with an eating disorder, the chacnes of them getting it is 8x greater. Genes also contribute when the person inherits a genetic tendency to be

overweight or thin.

How You Can Help

• Headaches

• Bruising easily

• Abnormally slow heart rate

• Hair thins

• Fainting

• Reduction in white blood cell count

• Constipation or diarrhea

• Anemia (iron deficiency)

• Dry skin/ chapped lips

• Dehydration

What is Bulimia Nervosa?

• When talking to someone with an eating disorder, make sure you are concerned about them, while respecting their privacy and avoid placing shame and guilt.

• Never comment on how they look and focus on feelings and relationships, instead of food and eating

• Don’t give them simple solutions like telling them to “just eat”, and never ask them to tell you what they ate today or force them to talk about it if they aren’t comfortable with doing so

• Be a good friend, show your love and support them, and don’t tell their secret unless it’s severe

• girls spend countless hours on websites that support anorexia (pro-ana blogs), so if you come across any sites like these you should report them immediately:

• Bulimia Nervosa (more commonly known as Bulimia) is characterized by two particular behaviors: binge eating and

purging

• Binge eating is medically defined as eating within a specific period of time, an amount of food larger than what most people would eat and having little to no sense of control

• Often times, the bulimic may feel powerless in that they cannot stop or control what they are eating, or how much they eat

• binge eating may allow a person to eat well over 50,000 calories in one day

• Some bulimics may panic and go to extremes if vomiting becomes harder to do (drinking toxic substances to make themselves sick, overdose or faking an overdose to get their stomachs pumped

in the hospital emergency room, etc.)

http://www.tumblr.com/tagged/pro-anna

http://ana-girl22.tumblr.com/

http://tinyandgorgeous.tumblr.com/

Citations

Starving For Perfection

Anorexia & Bulimia

What is Anorexia Nervosa?

Smolin, Lori A., and Mary B. Grosvenor. Nutrition and Eating Disorders. Philadelphia: Chelsea House, 2005. 75-104. Print. Nov. 2013

Harmon, Dan. Anorexia Nervosa: Starving for Attention. Philadelphia: Chelsea House, 1999. Print. 06 Nov. 2013

Whelan, Jo. Eating Disorders. New York: Raintree Steck-Vaughn, 2001. Print. Health Issues. 06 Nov. 2013

Wagner, Viqi. Eating Disorders. Detroit: Greenhaven, 2007. Print. Opposing Viewpoints Ser. 06 Nov. 2013

Kirkpatrick, Jim, MD, and Paul Caldwell, MD. Eating Disorders: Anorexia Nervosa, Bulimia, Binge Eating and Others. Toronto: Key Porter, 2001. Print. Your Personal Health Ser. 06 Nov. 2013

Favor, Lesli J. "Anorexia Nervosa." Food as Foe: Nutrition and Eating Disorders. New York: Marshall Cavendish Benchmark, 2008. 63-71. Print. Nov. 2013.

Lynette, Rachel. Anorexia. Farmington Hills, M Simpson, Carolyn. "Types of Compulsive Eating." Coping with Compulsive Eating. New York: Rosen Pub. Group, 1997. 6-14. Print.

I: KidHaven, 2006. 14-18. Print. Nov. 2013.

Simpson, Carolyn. "Types of Compulsive Eating." Coping with Compulsive Eating. New York: Rosen Pub. Group, 1997. 6-14. Print. Nov. 2013.

How Eating Disorders Affect Fertility And Pregnancy." Eating Disorders Review 23.1 (2012): 12. Academic Search Premier. Web. 5 Nov. 2013

Moreno-Domínguez, Silvia, et al. "Impact Of Fasting On Food Craving, Mood And Consumption In Bulimia Nervosa And Healthy Women Participants." European Eating Disorders Review 20.6 (2012): 461-467. Academic Search Premier. Web. 6 Nov. 2013.

"Bulimia Symptoms and Effects." Bulimia. N.p., n.d. Web. 05 Nov. 2013

Physical Effects – Anorexia” Eating Disorders Victoria. Eating disorders foundation of Victoria, 2009. Web. 06 Nov. 2013.

Wildes, Jennifer E., et al. "Emotion And Eating Disorder Symptoms In Patients With Anorexia Nervosa: An Experimental Study." International Journal Of Eating Disorders 45.7 (2012): 876-882. Academic Search Premier. Web. 6 Nov. 2013.

"Bulimia Symptoms and Effects." Bulimia. N.p., n.d. Web. 05 Nov. 2013

Caldwell, Paul J. “Anorexia Nervosa.” Eating Disorder: Anorexia Nervosa, Bulimia, Binge Eating and Others. By Jim Kirkpatrick Toronto, Ontario: Key Porter Limited, 2001. 13-57. Print. Your Personal Heath Ser. Nov. 2013.

“Physical Effects – Anorexia” Eating Disorders Victoria. Eating disorders foundation of Victoria, 2009. Web. 06 Nov. 2013.

• Anorexia nervosa is a type of eating disorder that is classified as a psychological disorder.

• It is a disorder that causes individuals to obsess about their weight and the food they are eating.

• People that suffer from this disorder try to maintain a weight that is far under the natural and healthy weight for their age and height category.

• Anorexia is a serious physical and emotional disorder where the fear of being fat/ becoming fat lead people to starve themselves.

• Anorexia nervosa is most common between ages of 13-25.