January 26, 2012 – National Eating Disorder Awareness Week will be held February 5-11 in Canada.
Eating Disorders Update
There are different eating disorders like anorexia, bulimia or binge eating, whose psychological causes are similar.
- THE’anorexia nervosa is linked to a conscious and voluntary refusal to eat which leads to significant weight loss.
- The bulimia is characterized by a first phase during which a large quantity of food is ingested, thus creating a feeling of guilt, then a phase of induced vomiting called “purging”.
- THE’overeating is comparable to bulimia by the phase of overeating. However, we do not find in binge eating the concept of weight control. There are many cases of obesity in people with hyperphagia.
Who are the victims?
The main victims of eating disorders are young women. These disorders can appear from adolescence, in sensitive and depressed young girls who undergo the “cult of thinness”. People with anorexia, bulimia and binge eating disorder often have to deal with a lack of self-confidence.
It is estimated that every year, 500 young women in 100,000, aged 15 to 29, are treated for anorexia in industrialized countries. In Canada, 3% of girls aged 15 to 25 suffer from eating disorders.
How to fight?
Information is essential, as these disorders are still very little publicized. They are indeed mental illnesses in their own right. During this awareness week, eating disorders will therefore be given priority, the objective being to have them recognized and diagnosed.
Anaïs Lhôte – PasseportSanté.net
