EATING DISORDERS

This is National Eating Disorders Awareness Week. I know that most of us understand that any extreme in eating is an eating disorder. Sometimes it involves eating very little, anorexia, and sometimes it involves overeating and purging, bulimia. Both conditions are very deadly and involve poor or exaggerated body image. Overeating that cannot be controlled resulting in morbid obesity is also an eating disorder.

It's easy to recognize those who suffer from these disorders, but it's not always so easy to spot them when they are first beginning, or when the victim is our self.

Keep your eye out for changes in eating habits. Sometimes it starts out small with the person just eating a little less, or a little more and it can build from there. It's important to maintain an accurate body image. When you look in the mirror and you are thin, a thin person should be looking back at you, and when you are fat, a fat person should be looking back.

The two main disorders of anorexia and bulimia usually hit young girls but can appear in women too. So watch the ones you love and yourself for signs of the disorders before they progress to deadly stages.