Anorexia nervosa and bulimia

1998/01/01 Txakartegi, Xabier Iturria: Elhuyar aldizkaria

• Osasuna

These are complex diseases, usually of adolescent origin, with an incidence of 5% or higher and with a significant increase in recent years. It occurs more in women, about 10 times more than in men and has become their third chronic disease. In short, the main peculiarity of anorexia nervosa is the obvious self-induced weight loss, which in a few months is equal to or greater than 15%.

Bulimia nervosa, on the other hand, is an excessive swallowing hidden, light and intense, until it becomes completely full and full; after filling the patient shows a compensatory behavior and by means of laxatives (gums, purgatives, diuretics, etc.) or through intensive physical exercise. In general, although these and other major types are similar and are within the Food Behavioral Impairments, many of the anoretic patients fear becoming bulimic and many of them would want to make them anorexic.

The consequences of these diseases are many and very important, including metabolic, cardiovascular and musculoskeletal, and depression, the intention of suicide (70% anorexic and 90% in the bulimic) and the obsessive symptomatology (50%) at the psychological level. As we have said, these are complex diseases in which many factors intervene, but in short, and from the nutritional point of view we are interested that 45% of the anorexic girls have an excess of light weight at the beginning of puberty, and also they do not like their body shape, especially buttocks and skirts, and that 10% have had previous obsolescence, percentage that rises between 40% and 30% in boys and bulimales.

Preliminary factors (spontaneous biological predisposition, personal and family personality, etc.) among the causes of Food Behavior Inconvenience (E.P.E. ). ), motivating factors (facts of life, attitude of risk of weight loss,...) and maintaining factors (habits of great dependence, pride in fasting, etc.) we can distinguish them. The important cause we can place in these three blocks, which if the most important one is needed, would represent a dramatic growth of the P.R.V., is FASHION.

Fashion generates and channels desire, why and obsession of slimming, pursuing the slimming industry. Just review any social magazine to realize the intent and strength of fashion and this industry. Once the disease occurs, the children themselves are the vectors or transmitters of this slimming fashion, sometimes very proselytizing, in their gang, in the classroom of the institute, etc. In general, these propagandists do not suffer the disease in its entirety, they have the inconvenience of not totally getting sick but confuse other weaker.

In this area, restrictive anorexies are not very polluting because they do not have a sufficient population or effect; they are more dangerous those that become bulimic and, as we have said, girls who suffer the inconvenience. If we look at the above, we can take into account the importance of early obesity control, once ten years old (age at which the prevalence of obesity and overweight increases), in addition to being very difficult, we have to be very careful with those who are overweight, so that we do not give a new boost to LDC. to fall into one.