Eating Disorders

Filed in archive Weight on February 12, 2007

I've mentioned several times the dangers of obesity. However, it's just as dangerous, if not more so, to go to the other extreme. Eat a well balanced diet that includes lots of vegetables and fruit, whole grains and dairy products, keep the proportions small, and you'll be fine.

But I'm not talking about ordinary dieting, not even the fad diets. I'm talking about dieting to the extreme. Women who suffer from eating disorders ruin their health. The two best known eating disorders are anorexia nervosa and bulimia nervosa. Eating disorders are dangerous. The Canadian Mental Health Association tells us:

Our society's preoccupation with body image is reflected in the fact that, at any given time, 70% of women and 35% of men are dieting. More seriously, a 1993 Statistics Canada Survey reported that in women between the ages of 15 and 25, 1-2% have anorexia and 3-5% have bulimia. Eating disorders have the highest mortality rate of all mental illnesses, with 10% to 20% eventually dying from complications.

One place where eating disorders are not uncommon is the fashion industry. About Eating Disorders has this to say:

The Academy for Eating Disorders (AED) has gone much further than a ban, providing extensive guidelines it would want the fashion industry to adopt. In particular, the AED suggests that eating disorder intervention be proactive, giving attention to identifying models who need assistance and providing education to prospective models.

The old saying - You can never be too rich or too thin - is way off base. Stop and think about it. What man wants to hold a skeleton.