Medical researchers find a new discovery that anorexia (the male version is known as manorexia) is not limited to women and that the idea of starving yourself in order to achieve the perfect body is crossing gender lines. Manorexia is a serious eating disorder which needs to be detected at its early stages.

What is Manorexia?

Manorexia is an eating disorder. Dietary restriction is the most significant manifestation of the disorder/disease. It sometimes occur in its pure form however appears in the form of alternating crises restriction and bulimia with vomiting. The body is viewed as too big, despite been extremely thin. This physical state due to malnutrition is often times fatal.

Who is affected by Manorexia?

While anorexia is typically thought to be a disorder affecting only teenage girls or women, experts estimate that about 1 million American men suffer from manorexia and the figures seems to be rises.

At what stage in life?

Risk of manorexia is particularly said to be high during two main periods i.e. between ages 12 and 13 and then between ages 17 and 18. This latter part is made significant because it is at the end of high school when ‘serious’ dating occurs i.e. you want to get attention from girls.

How does it start?

For many it often starts as a simply attempt to get fit but it quickly turns into a deadly battle for the perfect body.

What are the underlying and predisposing factors of Manorexia?

In as much as there are biological factors, external factors like early like interactions e.g. family values, identity development and sense of worth/self esteem are vital I triggering the disorder. Pop culture is also a great influence here with some aiming to be wiry — think Mick Jagger, some want to be lean, muscular Brad Pitt, James Bond while other just want to be big and chiseled like Arnold [Schwarzenegger], the governor.”

Warning signs?

A sudden feeling of insecurity followed by a change in eating habits, an obsession with the mirror, an rate of loss of weight leading to general weakness are all signs of manorexia that should not be taken fore granted.

Are there consequences?

Since Manorexia is essentially depriving your body of nutrients dangerous consequences such as stated below may follow – abnormally slow heart rate, low blood pressure, changes in the heart muscle, risk of heart failure, electrolyte imbalance, anemia, changes in bones density (meaning your bones can break more easily, dental problems, loss of muscle tone, general weakness, severe dehydration, which can result in kidney failure, hair loss is common, death.

What should I do now?

It is important not to isolate yourself. The first thing to do is talk to a doctor. There are also a number of associations for parents of children with anorexia which offer good support and are good sources of information.

If you are going through it and you have a problem with manorexia, put away the pride, put away the ego, and don’t be afraid to seek the necessary treatment for it. It’s OK. It’s fine. Just because you are a guy doesn’t mean, ‘I can’t ask for help.’ Do not procrastinate consulting a medical practitioner as an early treatment facilitates cure.

Bulimia is a more common eating disorder than anorexia and often develops slightly later in life, from mid to late teens or the early twenties. Studies suggest that between 0.5 per cent and 2 per cent of young women in the UK have bulimia.

There are two main features of bulimia. Individuals regularly binge, which involves eating a large amount of food in private until they feel uncomfortably full. They feel they have little or no control during a binge and tend to eat ‘forbidden’ foods with a high carbohydrate content.

Bingeing is normally followed by intense feelings of guilt and shame. To compensate for the food consumed during a binge, the individual then uses other behaviors, such as vomiting, laxative misuse or excessive exercise. This is often termed as ‘purging’ behavior.

People with bulimia are locked in a regular cycling of bingeing and purging and usually have overwhelming feelings of shame about their eating disorder. The frequency of the cycle varies from one individual to another and there are also wide variations in purging behavior.

Teenagers who have tried unsuccessfully to diet but failed sometimes believe that this cycle of bingeing and purging will help them to lose weight successfully. But studies show people with bulimia are often of normal body weight and if untreated, over time, there tends to be weight gain rather than weight loss. Bulimia is often associated with low self-esteem or a general lack of self-confidence.

However, this cycle has a range of harmful effects on the body. Some of these side-effects will be evident from a fairly early stage in the bulimia. They can include:

• Frequent and major weight changes.
• Stretch marks.
• Sore throat, the erosion of tooth enamel and bad breath caused by excessive vomiting.
• Swollen salivary glands making the face round and puffy.
• Poor skin condition and possible hair loss.
• Irregular menstrual periods or loss or periods.
• Lethargy and tiredness.
• Abdominal pain and bloating.
• Chronic constipation and risk of bowel problems due to laxative abuse.

There are a range of very serious effects for people who continue to suffer with untreated bulimia during a long period of time. Many people with bulimia develop chronic dehydration, caused by vomiting and the use of laxatives. This can lead to low potassium levels, triggering a wide range of symptoms ranging from lethargy and muddled thinking to potentially life-threatening heart and kidney problems. Another serious complication of bulimia is the rupture of the stomach.

Bulimia has a lower mortality rate than anorexia. However, very rare and extreme cases, death can occur due to heart failure.

Fortunately, people with bulimia tend to want to overcome their eating disorders and feel less ambivalent about change than those with anorexia. The difficulty usually lies in seeking help, as people with bulimia often feel profoundly ashamed of their eating habits and worries that if they do seek support, their problem will be dismissed.

However, studies show that people with bulimia respond well to treatment. A form of cognitive behavioural therapy designed for eating disorders, called CBT-E is very effective for people with bulimia.

Bulimia, also called bulimia nervosa, is a psychologial eating disorder which mostly hit girls in the age of 15 to 25 years. It?s rare but it happen also to boys. Studies indicate that by their first year of college, 4.5 to 18 percent of women and 0.4 percent of men have a history of bulimia and that as many as 1 in 100 females between the ages of 12 and 18 have anorexia. Read the rest of this entry »

As we were all teenagers at one time, that is if you are twenty years of age or older today, you know that the teenage years are full problems, peer pressure, stress and the desire to fit in. It is not surprising then, with all of the peer pressure and images from the media, as well as the strong desire to fit in, that eating disorders are most common among teenagers. Read the rest of this entry »