iarrhea. Absence from school or work Susceptibility to fractures Deceptive or secretive behavior Disrupted menstruation Excessive exercise Source: Adapted from the New England Journal of Medicine, April 8, 1999 Female moderate dieters (which included 60 percent of girls at the beginning of the study) were five times more likely to develop an eating disorder than nondieters and over 12 months had a 1 in 40 chance of developing a new eating disorder. Neither weight nor extent of exercise was associated strongly with developing an eating disorder, although psychiatric illness was. The findings, reported in the March 20 British Medical Journal, suggest that two-thirds of new cases of eating disorders arise in females who have dieted moderately. All the new cases were bulimia nervosa, which involves binge eating followed by purging (self-induced vomiting or use of laxatives) or excessive exercise to prevent weight gain. This is more common than the more visible anorexia nervosa, in which weight drops to an unhealthy level. Eating disorders are serious: They can lead to stomach problems and tooth decay, bone loss, blood and endocrine abnormalities, infertility and ultimately death from starvation, suicide or heart problems. Treatment described in an April 8 summary in the New England Journal of Medicine involves education about nutrition, medical supervision, and a combination of individual, group or family therapy. Fluoxetine (Prozac) and other antidepressants have been helpful, especially in bulimia. Anorexia nervosa and bulimia nervosa the more severe eating disorders affect approximately 3 percent of young women. More than twice that number have other forms of disordered eating, a precursor that includes daylong preoccupation with food (counting calories and fat grams and planning or avoiding food), and weight loss or bingeing not severe enough to meet the official criteria for an eating disorder. Older adults, men and p...
