Eating disorders
Diet is one of the most important aspects in deciding one’s health. Diet should be well balanced, i.e. it should contain all the necessary elements (nutrition) that a body needs. Nutrition is vital as it is responsible for various activities inside human bodies such as healing of the wounds, building new cells, developing rich immune system thereby preventing diseases etc. Poor diet can lead to various diseases.
Some of the most important elements that a body needs are carbon, hydrogen, oxygen, nitrogen, phosphorus, calcium, iron, zinc, magnesium, manganese. These occur in various compounds and their usual compounds are in the forms of hormones, vitamins, phospholipids, and hydroxyapatite.
Eating disorders are usually caused due to mental and physical stress or trauma (for example, sexual abuse). It can also be due to genetic reasons, family and other factors in the environment. The effects are both physical and mental. Not just the obesity, in several cases it is even known to cause heart disorders and other medical complications like kidney failure.
In extreme cases, eating disorders can lead to severe malnutrition and even death. Doctors have identified the most common occurring eating disorders as Anorexia nervosa and bulimia nervosa. one of the most common misconceptions is that keeping a check on fat is same as being healthy. Encourage your children to go vegetarian and have meat very rarely. Also avoid junk food especially those that are fried items. Junk food is addictive as well.
If you at any time feel that you or your child may be suffering from eating disorder, never hesitate to consult a physician to be diagnosed and treated. Though it is not easy, kids with eating disorders can be found out as they show many abnormal behaviors and physical signs. Eating disorders are evaluated using various instruments such as the Questionnaire of Eating and Weight Patterns (QEWP), which has separate versions for adolescents and parents (QEWP-A, and QEWP-P).