An Eating disorder is a serious health threat. However, often its detection and diagnosis is delayed because of the myths surrounding this disease. The following are some of the most common ones-
Myth - Only women suffer from eating disorders
Fact- Do only women suffer from anxiety, stress or poor body image? No right? Research also suggests that eating disorders could be the result of certain gene variants and chemical imbalances in the brain, these biological factors are not gender specific.
Myth- Only teenagers suffer from eating disorders.
Fact- Eating disorders do not respect age!
Myth: If someone does not throw up after eating he/she is not a bulimic
Fact- Puking is just one of the ways that bulimics may resort to get rid of calories, a lot of bulimics either fast for a period after eating to make up for calories they consumed or use laxatives and diuretics.
Myth: Anorexics do not eat sweets or chocolates.
Fact- Anorexics only concentrate on the number of calories they consume in a day. Some of them might eat chocolates or candies, but then that would be their meal for the day
Myth- Anorexia and bulimia are the only eating disorders
Fact- Many people ignore compulsive eating as they do not consider it to be an eating disorder. The fact is food addiction or compulsive eating is an equally dangerous eating disorder
Myth: No one dies of an eating disorder
Fact: In extreme cases eating disorders can pose a serious threat to one’s life. There have been reported cases of anorexics dying of starvation, bulimics dying of cardiac arrest and compulsive eaters having developed life threatening diseases.
Myth: A person who eats only salads and a no-fat diet is healthy
Fact: Such a person in all likelihood suffers from an eating disorder. Some fats are essential for our bodies. Moreover a healthy diet is a balanced diet and not a minimal calorie diet. Any one who is overtly focused on how many calories he/she consuming as against eating a balanced diet, could be suffering from an eating disorder.
A complete recovery from any eating disorder is possible and the sooner it is detected the better it is.
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