"Eating Disorders can be Fatal"

I am amazed by how far behind public knowledge the media appears to be in recent days. Previously we saw the shockingly outdated articles discussing the "new phenomenon" of prinking, an activity which has been around long before our generation took it up. Most recently, the BBC published an article entitled "eating disorders can be fatal".

No shit Sherlock.

It is not unreasonable to assume that it is public knowledge that routinely starving yourself can have serious health implications on the body. I would hazard a guess that the majority, if not all, people suffering from an eating disorder know full well that there is the potential it can be fatal. They are told it on a frequent basis by doctors, psychiatrists, family and friends.

A quick glance at any of the pro-ana and thinspiration websites online, and there are many, shows numerous references to the fact that the disorder is fatal. People suffering from ana, mia or any other eating disorder, don't continue out of ignorance, out of some misguided belief that their behavior is healthy or cannot kill them. They know that the disorder can be fatal. Instead, they continue restricting, calorie counting, binging and purging because they have a psychological illness which, on the most part, they cannot choose to stop.

Moreover, when the BBC says "eating disorder" it is merely referring to anorexia and bulimia. However, binge eating and obesity can surely be included as eating disorders as well. The compulsion to keep on putting food in your mouth long beyond the point of being full, as a result of emotional or psychological desires. This can just as easily be fatal. It is just as harmful to your body to over eat as it is to under eat.

Shows such as Supersize vs Superskinny have made great steps into demonstrating the health implications of both over eating and under eating. I learnt many new things from there that i had not previously been aware of, the dangers of not eating enough fiber, the risk of scurvy from being deficient in vitamin c, the myth that only fat people have heart attacks. However, one thing that the show did not need to tell me is that both conditions can be fatal.

Sufferers of eating disorders know full well their condition can be fatal, how could they not in contemporary society where the knowledge is widely available. Maybe the BBC, and other media outlets, need to spend a bit more time in reality to understand what is really going on with eating disorders, rather than naively proclaiming that it is down to ignorance over the dangers.

Lets just continue to remind ourselves that both over eating and under eating is extremely dangerous for our health. The only way to be healthy is to have a balanced diet and to exercise.



Sources:

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-northern-ireland-26227243
http://www.myproana.com/
http://www.pro-thinspo.com/proanatipsandtricksindexpage.html
http://www.2medusa.com/2008/09/pro-ana-mia-nothing-tastes-as-good-as.html