Eating Disorder Research

Health Risks To Developing An Eating Disorder
By Sandra Kim Leong

It is important that you understand about the risks to having an eating disorder. An eating disorder is a serious problem that will not only affect your entire self-image but also affect your health. These consequences can result in life threatening conditions. This is why eating disorders prevention is so important.

You should seek immediate attention from your doctor if you are suffering from an eating disorder. Some of the most common health consequences that you can get because of having an eating disorder include:

1. If you are anorexic you are denying your body some important food and nutrients. When you stop eating your body grows weak and its natural processes slow down as your body tries to conserve energy. You will grow weak and lose muscle and bone density. If this happens for an extended period of time, you may end up with several serious health complications.

You may have heart problems, specifically a slow heart rate and lowered blood pressure. This is because you have damaged your heart muscle. You may also have kidney failure if your body is dehydrated for long enough. Some of the physical symptoms that you will also have are dry hair, dull skin, and hair loss. You may also grow fine hair over your entire body because your body is trying to stay at a steady temperature. Some other things that you will be susceptible to are fatigue, fainting spells and always feeling weak.

2. If you are bulimic, then you are engaging in a cycle of binging and purging. This cycle is unhealthy and there are eating disorders prevention methods for it. Ordinarily, this eating disorder is harder to detect because you appear to be eating properly and you will usually maintain a normal weight. However, there are still some serious health risks associated with bulimia.

The binging and purging sessions will lead to chemical and electrolyte imbalances. This will seriously affect your heart and other vital organs.

You can get irregular heartbeats and heart failure because of this. Since you are suffering from dehydration and the loss of potassium and sodium you may end up with gastric rupture and other serious digestive problems.

You may also rupture your esophagus because of your repeated vomiting. You will also have dental problems including serious tooth decay because of the stomach acids that you are frequently vomiting.

Of course, you can also suffer from irregular bowel movements and constipation. Since these things are so dangerous, you really should seek some eating disorders prevention tips here.

3. If you are a binge eater, then you probably cannot control how much and what kind of food you eat. Eating disorders prevention for this can be more difficult.

You will suffer from high cholesterol and high blood pressure due to this. Of course, you should also know that you are at a higher risk for clinical obesity, diabetes, heart disease, and gallbladder disease. If you find that you have a tendency to binge eat, then work out an eating disorder prevention plan with your doctor.

About the author:
Sandra Kim Leong writes and publishes on eating disorder prevention. Please visit her site at http://www.eating-disorder-research.com .

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