Bulimia

Bulimia is a terrifying eating disorder. This disorder affects young women from their teenage years up to their late 20's the most. Bulimia is characterized by an individual eating very large amounts of food at one time, and then using something to help them get rid of the food. Often, the individual will get rid of it by self-induced vomiting or through the use of laxatives. This process is called 'binging and purging.'

After the sufferer completes an 'episode' of binging and purging, they will often feel very guilty, ashamed, or depressed. Most of the time, people who are afflicted with this disorder don't eat around other people. They are embarrassed by the amount of food they eat, or what types of foods they eat. Bulimics can consume up to 20,000 calories in one sitting.

Doctors and Researchers aren't sure exactly what causes Bulimia, however, there are a few things that are most likely to blame. Girls and women who have gone through some type of traumatic event or abuse at some point in their lives often develop one type of eating disorder or another. This is because usually, when abuse or trauma happens to a younger person, or even sometimes in older people, they are unable to deal with the resulting emotions in a 'normal way.' They turn to food for their comfort. Bulimia can cause massive physical problems, including decayed teeth and loss of tooth enamel, thinning hair, dehydration, electrolyte imbalance, heart attack or stroke, and in 14% of the cases, Bulimia causes death.

What if there is another leading cause of Bulimia? Girls in the United States are exposed to media images from a very early age. On television, in movies, and even commercials, the 'pretty girl' is always thin, and some are even to the point of downright bony. There is never an overweight girl who is the object of the hero's affections in movies.

So much exposure leads the girls of our country to believe that if they do not look a certain way, they are not pretty, they are not worth much, they are 'wrong,' and they end up thinking they will never fit in or have a boyfriend. This kind of thinking leads to self hate, which can lead to eating disorders.

In fact, in countries where there is little to no media referencing, or in cultures where many body types are accepted and even encouraged, there are no eating disorders! Studies show that even until recently, women of African American heritage had a lot smaller numbers of eating disorders. This is because in African American society, there are more voluptuous, beautiful body types that were accepted. Curves were something that a woman was supposed to be proud of. However, as the women were exposed to more and more media references, the eating disorder numbers grew.

While the images of bony girls we see on television grow, so do the chances of our children developing an eating disorder. Stop and think about it for a moment - when was the last time that you saw a pretty, overweight woman on television playing the heroine, or the love interest? Do overweight women not exist? Are every one of them ugly? We need to stop this process and reduce the chances of our young women developing these terrible disorders.

Let's teach our girls that any body type is okay, as long as they are healthy, and maintain good nutrition and exercise. People aren't supposed to be 'one size fits all.' Let's show our countries' young women that we love them for who they are and that everyone is beautiful in a different way. Teach them to be proud of their bodies, and proud of who they are as a person!