People suffering from eating disorders may have body image issues, unhealthy eating habits, and lifestyles. These types of disorders first appear generally in adolescents aged 12-25 but anyone can develop them. Eating disorders only affect adults can be a misguided idea. Anyone from any age can have eating disorders. Today we are focusing on bulimia nervosa also known as bulimia.
What is bulimia nervosa?
Bulimia nervosa is an eating disorder that can be life-threatening. Patients under this condition consume large amounts of food without any control and then try to get free from the extra calories in an unhealthy way. They are conscious of their appearance and shape.
Symptoms
A person suffering from bulimia will always be worried about weight gain and experience mood changes. Due to body image issues, they also withdraw themself from social outings.
Eat a lot of food without control. And then to maintain their weight, they take up excess workouts, fasting and forcing vomiting. Bulimia also causes a person to suffer from a deficiency of nutrients in the body. In short, they are trying to lose weight all the time.
Causes
The exact cause of bulimia is yet not discovered but yes, there can be below written causes:
Societal expectation
Genetic
Emotional health
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Risk factors
Biology: People suffering from eating disorders, may have (siblings or parents) suffering from the same problem. Thus, directing towards the genetic link.
Psychological and emotional issues: People with emotional disbalance and suffering from traumas like depression and anxiety have sometimes body image issues which cause them to have eating disorders.
Complication
A person suffering from bulimia may face the below-written complications:
- Irregular menstrual cycle in females
- Digestive problem
- Severe tooth decay and their erosion
- Self-injury, suicide
- Dehydration
- Heart problem
How can you help someone with bulimia?
- Have a healthy and happy meal at home with a full family.
- Do not talk about body image at home or judge anyone else.
- Talk about a healthy lifestyle.
- Doesn't matter, whatever size and shape your loved one, should reflect a healthy body image in them.
- Help build confidence in your loved one suffering from bulimia.