The “whys” behind the disorder of anorexia are many and varied. However, the result is the same: the person is obsessed with losing weight and being thin; so much so, in fact, that she will go to any length to achieve the desired end. However, the cost is high, due to the myriad physical complications associated with this disease.
When a woman has anorexia, her life is defined by dieting. She will try any fad diet that hits the market; unfortunately, not only do these diets rarely work, but they often backfire on the chronic dieter. For example, a woman may go on a quick weight-loss diet and experience the thrill of losing seven pounds in two days. However, at best she has lost a pound or two of fat and five or six pounds of water, muscle and minerals. When she quits the diet, her body retains the needed water and minerals. Weight lost as muscle is frequently regained as fat. Over time, her body is composed of less muscle and more fat, even if her weight remains unchanged. Since fat tissue requires less energy to maintain itself than does muscle tissue, her basal metabolic rate decreases and caloric needs actually become less. Clearly, this is the exact opposite of what she wanted to achieve in the first place. Now, she must eat even less in order to lose weight. This makes future dieting even more difficult. This “yo-yo” weight loss and gain that results from fad diets is very stressful for the body, which finds it hard to adjust to such rapid changes.
In addition to the physical stress, this dieting cycle is psychologically stressful, and often leads to alternate bingeing and fasting behavior. When the woman goes off her quick weight-loss diet and sees the pounds returning, she becomes depressed. In her mind, she has failed again. To ward off these negative feelings, she may overeat or binge. This is followed by feelings of guilt or remorse for having “lost control” and she again fasts to regain control or to punish herself and to lose weight. The cycle of fasting and bingeing continues, and a pattern of healthy eating and exercise is lost.
Often, women with anorexia turn to laxatives, believing they will help in the weight-loss struggle. Laxatives provide a false sense of security for the woman because they move food through the body more quickly. She thinks this translates into weight loss; but she is wrong. Laxatives do not prevent the calories from being absorbed. The temporary weight loss that is experienced after using laxatives is mostly due to loss of water, and will be naturally regained. Laxative misuse is harmful in several ways: they upset the body’s mineral balance; they lead to dehydration; they damage the digestive tract lining; and they burn out the colon, which usually results in severe constipation when laxatives are no longer used.
Another medication that is often misused is diuretics, or water pills. Because they increase urine excretion, they can cause a sudden weight loss. A person who fails to distinguish between loss of body fat and loss of water may see this as a desirable effect and start using diuretics to lose weight. But because the only loss induced is water, the only gain is dehydration. In addition to causing dehydration, diuretics are also dangerous because they can increase the loss of calcium, potassium, magnesium and zinc from the body. They can also cause a rebound retention of salt and water, making the body more sensitive to diet changes.
Diet pills are often taken to help with weight loss. The best-known prescription pills are Dexedrine and Benzedrine, but over-the-counter drugs are also misused. These reduce appetite, but only temporarily. Typically the appetite returns to normal after a week or two, the lost weight is regained, and the user then has the problem of trying to get off the drug without gaining more weight. These drugs are of little use in achieving and maintaining weight loss and can become dangerously addicting and cause abnormal heart rhythms that can be fatal.
Starvation symptoms include:
- Preoccupation with food
- Indecisiveness
- Sleep disturbance
- Loss of control when food is available
- Depressed immune system
- Water retention
- Binge eating
- Osteoporosis
- Fluid and mineral abnormalities
- Constipation due to low calories and fiber intake
- Slower emptying of food from the stomach, which can cause bloating and early satiety during a meal
- Modified sense of taste, leading to changes in appetite
- High cholesterol levels (This does not signify a cholesterol problem and does not warrant a low-cholesterol diet)
- Amenorrhea, related to overall malnutrition
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