Teen Eating Disorders
A Result Of Wrong Perception
About Your Body Image

The Root Cause

Teen eating disorders - the root cause traces back to wrong perception about your body image.

You're a teen. And you're suffering from eating disorders.

Sure, you won't like it when I say you've these eating problems because vehemently you want to deny - that something's wrong with you and your eating habit.

My heart goes out to you and I want to uncover the truth about these wrong eating habits.

This is when you've an obsession with food and weight that harms your health and well-being. You'll go to obvious extremes to keep from putting on weight.

You're obsessed with thinness even though you're already thin. You think that even with the little food you eat, it'll make you fat.

You constantly exercise and do way too much, thinking that it helps keep your weight down.

Or you eat lots, then induce yourself to throw up the foods or use laxatives to get rid of them.

In short, you see food as your enemy.

It's a very destructive thing to do to your body.

Hey! Don't get me wrong here. Nothing wrong with trying to be thin.

It's good to watch what you eat and to exercise.

What isn't good is when you worry all the time about your weight and what you eat. You then do harmful things to your body because you're obsessed about your weight.

1. Anorexia

This one causes you to be obsessed with being thin.

Believe me, you just don't want to eat because you're so afraid of putting on weight.

You constantly worry about how many calories you take in or how much fat is there in the food.

You would resort to taking diet pills, laxatives or water pills to lose weight.

You also exercise way too much.

You think you're fat even though you're already "reel" thin. You may get to a stage where you're so thin that you look like you're sick.

Would you like this picture: a thin girl with gaunt face, hollow cheeks and bones jutting out from all over her body?

Frightening and ugly, right?

If not treated, anorexia causes health problems such as:

• Dizziness
• Heart problems
• Low blood pressure, low temperature and fainting spells
• Hair and fingernails become brittle and loss of hair on the head
• Dry skin, dehydration, and constipation
• Growth of soft furry hair on face, back and arms
• Result in slow or stunted growth
• Periods usually stop since there isn't enough estrogen to maintain your body's normal function.

  Not having enough estrogen or other hormones can lead to osteoporosis or weak bones. The combination of osteoporosis and over exercising can lead to stress fractures

I want to stress here - This teen eating disorder can cause serious damage to your body, and in some severe cases, it may lead to death.

This one causes you to eat lots of food at once (binging) and then you throw up or you use laxatives to remove the food from your body (purging).

After a binge, you don't eat or you exercise excessively to keep from gaining weight when in fact you're of normal weight.

You also use water pills, laxatives or diet pills to "control" your weight.

You always do your binging, throwing up and purging in secret.

If untreated, bulimia can cause health problems such as:

• Serious electrolyte problems
• Irregular periods
• Dehydration, swollen face, sore throat, tooth decay
• Dry, flaky skin
• upset stomach, heartburn, constipation, depression, or weight fluctuations
• Low potassium levels as a result of losing too much potassium from vomiting which can lead to serious heart arrhythmia and even death

You can carry on with this unhealthy eating habit and not detected by your family members, friends and teachers since you don't have obvious signs for them to see, like in the case of anorexia.

That means it could be a fatality if no one knows of this eating plight of yours and if you yourself think it's OK and don't seek treatment or shy away from treatment - you could die.......

Please, if you've what I've described here regarding these 2 teen eating disorders (and especially bulimia), tell your parents, friends, teachers or someone you can trust, to help you and to seek treatment.

It's a no joke matter.

I think teen eating disorders are caused by this major, major factor: unhealthy body image

You're at an impressionable age and very conscious about your body shape and weight.

And no thanks to magazines, movies, TVs and commercials which present unrealistic role models for beauty and weight. These are images with girls who are unnaturally thin and unlike most girls.

Also, the craze for dieting has its fair share of pushing you to change your body into something you are not.

You would think that dieting is part of your growing up! Wrong!

Extreme dieting and restricting calories can cause serious problems like: you're unable to focus at school, you're tired and depressed.

I want to say this - You must know that in shape and size, you're unique and different. You can't be like the unnatural thin girls in magazines, TVs or movies. And you never will. Period.

No point you accept and imitate these kinds of unreasonable standards to measure your body which cause you plenty of harm.

It's a futile and foolish thing to do. It costs you a lot, you know - your precious health!

If you believe thin = happiness, success and acceptance......

How about thin people who aren't happy, not successful and rejected? So there.

The gist is - you can be happy, successful and accepted, in whatever shape and size, if you've positive self and body image.

I know it isn't easy being a teen in today's age and society, as you face many challenges and pressures.

Teen eating disorders are very much about control. If you feel like everything around you is out of control, you can easily go into one of these eating disorders, to gain a sense of control.

Don't.

There are better and higher ways of gaining controls in life.

Like adopting a lifestyle of moderate exercise and healthy diet and practicing self acceptance, self worth and self esteem.

These are healthy forces that can propel you on positively.

My parting plea - if you've these 2 teen eating disorders: anorexia or bulimia, please seek help and treatment immediately, for your health's sake!

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