Anorexia from Excessive Dieting

Anorexia from excessive dieting

Among various kinds of side effects of excessive dieting, some people are suffering from anorexia. Nicole Richie is one of the victims of anorexia and many doctors are warning that she is at risk of ruining her health. She still says, though, she is in good shape. Is she really healthy? How can she recover from anorexia? Several questions like these can be raised from observing her experience. The three following articles from each of a web page, a book and a journal will answer to these questions by providing how anorexia affects peopleЎЇs body and which ways are used when treating anorexia.

When some one suffers from anorexia, how does it affect her body? Alexander R. Lucas, M.D. who is the author of Demystifying Anorexia Nervosa informs what physiological effects of starvation are and how fertility is affected by anorexia. Weight loss at first causes a depletion of body fat (Lucas, 83), and the loss of body fat decreases the bodyЎЇs insulation and contributes to anorexicsЎЇ feeling cold (Lucas, 85). In addition to insulating the body, the normal layer of fat beneath the skin serves as protective padding and prevents injuries (Lucas, 85). Therefore, bones can become weakened and brittle without fat and finally this phenomenon leads to osteoporosis (Lucas, 85). Not only losing fat but also sleep disturbances due to changes in the levels of neurohormones, constipation due to little food to pass as waste, and swelling of ankles, face and abdomen due to excessive amounts of fluid followed by changes in sodium and potassium excretion can occur with anorexia. He also says that anorexia profoundly affects the sex hormones and the reproductive system. Starvation eventually causes reduction in estrogen levels and results in the sex life of a 9-year-old housed in the body of a 15-year-old (Lucas, 89). Therefore, some girls with anorexia lose their menstrual periods and finally their sex organs become degenerated. These degradations of sexual abilities make the girls get in troubles with having children. Even though pregnancy rarely occurs even in the undernourished state, the maternal malnutrition affects the birth weight, development, and intelligence of the infant (Lucas, 93). However, he concludes that as soon as good nutrition and weight are restored, menstruation and fertility will restart. Even though it is difficult to notice what people with anorexia suffer from, the anorexics definitely have health problems inside their bodies. However, it is fortunate that they can recover their health if they only get rid of anorexia from their body.

To be released from anorexia, which form of treatment can be used? Philip S. Mehler and Cynthia K Crews stress the importance of restoration of weight as a goal of treatment in anorexia. Especially, patients with 75~85% of Ideal body weight need help not only from a mental health professional but also from a dietician. During the treatment, the dietician should teach anorexics how to eat based in physical signals. Furthermore, nutritional analysis must be undertaken to ascertain caloric needs so that patients should be started on 800~1000 kcal per day with increases of 200~300 kcal every three of four days (Mehler and Crews, 168). Although weight restoration with dietary treatment is the mainstay of treatment in patients with anorexia, they should be cautious of the refeeding syndrome defined as the presence of serious fluid and electrolyte shifts and cardiac complications (Mehler and Crews, 169). However, if refeeding is started slowly and caloric increases are modest, the syndrome can be usually preventable (Mehler and Crews, 170). In conclusion of this article, weight restoration not guarantees a favorable outcome but dramatically improves the patientЎЇs chance for success (Mehler and Crews, 170-71). Therefore, a multidisciplinary approach including an internist expert in the medical complications, a dietician and a mental health professional plays