Dieting to Death

It has been 15 years since I was diagnosed with Bulimia Nervosa and I have been recovered for 12 years. To this day if I head for the washroom after a meal my mother feels the panic start to well up inside of her. Her first reaction to the news that her daughter was bulimic, like so many other mothers, was shock. This had been going on for 7 years and she never knew and she just couldn't understand why.

Bulimia and Anorexia are eating disorders that affect girls primarily in their teens (but can start as young as 10 years old) to their early twenties. Although it is mostly girls that are affected approximately 10% are boys and this number continues to increase. Bulimia is the reoccurrence of binging and then purging. Binging is when a larger than normal amount of food is eaten in one sitting. It is like there is a total loss of control and a young girl can consume 3 times that of a grown man. Purging is when vomiting is self-induced after eating and often, excessive amounts of laxatives are used. Girls who are bulimic become very good at hiding it from everyone even their families, primarily by saving the binging and purging till alone. To people with bulimia their physical appearance has become the determining factor as to their worth as a person. The ability to binge and purge gives control to girls that have somewhere along the way lost it in their lives.

So as parents what should you look for? An abnormal occupation with weight, which will in turn lead to your daughter being preoccupied with dieting. With some bulimics there will not be a drastic weight loss, as with anorexia, however this is not always true. In the case of obesity it is unfortunately usually undetectable. I know that the clothes in my closet ranged in size from 5 to 12. If you have an 11 year old girl who says she needs to go on a diet, that is a good sign that there is trouble. Dieting can be the most dangerous enemy that your daughter ever faces.

If she decides to become a vegetarian but also gives up cake and cookie or eliminates dairy from her diet but also eliminates all high calorie foods; if she starts to constantly make excuses as to why she can't eat, like she is running late or ate with a friend; if she also starts to withdraw and seems depressed a lot of the time and spends more and more time alone. These are all very strong signs of an eating disorder.

The one thing that parents need to realize is that this is not something that will just go away or that they'll grow out of. It is a serious problem that can result in a variety of medical problems and even death. If you see some of these behaviors in your child, you need to seek professional help for her. If you start attacking your child they will become defensive and the situation can worsen. There is help available and treatments such as antidepressants are proving very successful. The first step is realizing there is a problem and then the most important step is getting help. I am living proof that there is life after bulimia.

Cass Hope is a registered massage therapist who has studied and counseled in nutrition. Cass regularly contributes to online and offline publications dealing with weight loss and nutrition. She is currently sponsoring this site: http://www.naturalsuccess.info

(for web reprints please ensure this URL is hyperlinked)

weekly home cleaning Highland Park ..

In The News:

FoloToy restored sales of its AI teddy bear Kumma after a weeklong suspension following safety group findings of risky and inappropriate responses to children.

Threat intelligence firm Synthient uncovers one of the largest password exposures ever, prompting immediate security recommendations.

Viral video shared by Elon Musk shows Tesla's Optimus humanoid robots performing tasks from cooking to construction, garnering over 58.5 million views on social media.

Chinese hackers used Anthropic's Claude AI to launch autonomous cyberattacks on 30 organizations worldwide, marking a major shift in cybersecurity threats.

Apple's new Sleep Score feature gives you a rating for your nightly rest quality. Learn how to set it up on your Apple Watch and iPhone today.

Essential phone settings to enable before losing your device, including Find My network, location services and security features for iPhone and Android.

The Fox News AI Newsletter gives readers the latest AI technology advancements, covering the challenges and opportunities AI presents.

Cybersecurity research shows weak passwords remain a major threat, with simple patterns and number sequences putting millions of accounts at risk.

New Android malware BankBot YNRK silences phones, steals banking data and drains crypto wallets automatically. Learn how this advanced threat works.

FDA approves first human trial for Paradromics' brain-computer interface that could restore speech for paralyzed patients through neural technology.

New phishing platform QRR targets Microsoft 365 users across 1,000 domains in 90 countries. Learn how to spot fake login pages and protect your accounts.

OpenTable now uses AI to track your dining habits and share insights with restaurants. Learn what data they collect and how to protect your privacy.

Google's discontinued Nest thermostats still secretly upload home data to company servers despite losing smart features, raising serious privacy concerns.

New Android malware NGate steals NFC payment codes in real-time, allowing criminals to withdraw cash from ATMs without your card. Learn protection tips.

DoorDash confirms data breach exposing customer names, emails, addresses after social engineering attack. Learn how to protect yourself from scams.

Concerned about Google's AI scanning your Gmail? Learn how to disable Gemini features that access your emails, Drive files and Chat messages for privacy.

Google warns Android users about dangerous fake VPN apps hiding malware that steals passwords, banking details and personal data from phones and tablets.

Apple's digital passport feature lets iPhone users breeze through TSA checkpoints this holiday season using Digital ID technology at 250+ airports.

A new phishing scam targets family photos with fake "Cloud Storage Full" alerts. Criminals steal credit card information through fake sites. Learn protection tips.

South Korean scientists create ultra-thin fabric muscles that turn clothes into robotic assistants, lifting 33 pounds while weighing under half an ounce.

Archer Aviation has acquired Hawthorne Airport for $126M to launch an LA air taxi network ahead of the 2028 Olympics, featuring AI-powered eVTOL operations and next-gen aviation tech.

Stay up to date on the latest AI technology advancements and learn about the challenges and opportunities AI presents now and for the future.

Fake AI apps disguised as "ChatGPT" and "DALL·E" are flooding app stores with dangerous malware that steals data and monitors users without detection.

Fake buyers demand specific vehicle reports from unknown sites to steal credit card information from car sellers, but warning signs can help identify these scams before paying.

Android users can now manage apps across multiple devices more easily with Google Play Store's updated remote uninstall button in the latest update.

Dieting to Death

Weight Loss