OxfordPress.com

Eating disorders strike more than seven million American women each year. Ninety percent of those suffering from eating disorders are women.

Eating disorders begin early, usually during the teenage years, and can develop as early as age 12, although the average age is 17. About five percent of young women suffer from eating disorders.

Women with anorexia, though often well-liked and admired for their competence, often strive to seek approval, and may actually have very low self-esteem and feel inadequate. They may use food and dieting as ways of coping with life's stresses.

An eating disorder usually does not go away without treatment. Eating disorders are mental illnesses that can be deadly if not treated and are difficult to recover from; but many women have recovered successfully and gone on to live full and satisfying lives.

Treatment for eating disorders encompasses a mixture of strategies, including psychological counseling, nutritional counseling, family therapy, and possibly antidepressant medications.

There is a high incidence of depression among women suffering from bulimia, thus the effectiveness of antidepressants. But antidepressants alone, without cognitive-behavioral therapy, have a poor success rate.

The self-starvation of anorexia can cause anemia; shrunken organs; low blood pressure; slowed metabolism and reflexes; bone mineral loss, which can lead to osteoporosis; and irregular heartbeat, which can lead to cardiac arrest.

The binging and purging of bulimia can lead to liver, kidney and bowel damage; tooth erosion; ruptured esophagus; and electrolyte imbalance, which can lead to irregular heartbeat, which can lead to cardiac arrest.

If obesity results from binging, medical consequences include high blood pressure, high cholesterol, gall bladder disease, diabetes, heart disease and certain types of cancer.

You should be aware of how you think about all the components that make up your self-image; if your self-image becomes too reliant on looking thin, you should consider how that may be laying the groundwork for an eating disorder. Examine your own attitude about your body, and make sure that it is one of healthy acceptance.