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Eating Disorders: Obesity, Anorexia, and Bulimia

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Eating Disorders: Obesity, Anorexia, and Bulimia
Eating Disorders: Obesity, Anorexia, and Bulimia

Obesity in America has become rather traditional for our nation with over 60 percent of adult Americans are overweight and 30 percent actually being considered obese. Obesity is a condition in which an individual weighs 20 percent or more above the desirable weight for his or her height. People try to get rid of excess weight by starving or sweating it off, which can lead eating disorders like anorexia and bulimia. Studies have shown that children with parents, who are both of a normal healthy weight, have less of a chance in becoming obese. On the contrary, parents who are overweight, the odds of their child being overweight are two out of five. Even though obesity may run in families has no reason to have a healthy child of normal weight. The most valid reason is that obese parents overfeed their children, creating an unhealthy eating lifestyle. Many reasons may contribute to obesity like metabolic factors as well as reactions to emotional stress. Metabolic syndrome has been also responsible for obesity with people converting food into fat at a faster rate than others creating trouble to maintain a desired weight. Also many Americans tend to eat while under stress. People, who are frequently stressed, depressed, or under a lot of anxiety have a habit of over eating. Another factor that may play a role to emotional stress or depression is that certain foods, those particularly high in carbohydrates, create a calming effect by altering levels of neurotransmitters. Avoidance of obesity can lead to eating disorders as in anorexia and bulimia. Anorexia nervosa is an eating disorder that causes people to obsess about their weight and the food they eat. People with anorexia nervosa attempt to sustain a weight that's far below normal for their age and height. To prevent weight gain or to continue losing weight, people with anorexia nervosa may starve themselves or exercise excessively. Anorexia

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