Eating Disorders and Diabetes

Anorexia Nervosa afflicts around 3.7% of young girls mainly. Girls that have anorexia have this very distorted idea of their true body image, thinking that they are fat, when they are rail thin. Girls with anorexia will also avoid meals, or else choose only certain foods, eating very little of them.

In cases of bulimia nervosa, girls will pig out eating very large amounts of food, and then purge afterwords. Other measures taken are laxatives, enemas, and water pills to rid themselves of food. The key is to prevent digestion, so that rapid weight loss takes place.

In girls with type 1 diabetes. the effects of eating disorders can include diabetic ketoacidosis, a dangerous medical condition that can result in death if not treated properly. So the earlier this is recognized by a parent, the better. Treatment is often hospitalization to restore the weight in both bulimia and anorexia, antidepressant medications, and counseling with all people involved.

Other eating problems or disorders, are connected with type 1 diabetes. This is referred to as diabulimia. What is diabulimia? It is the skipping of insulin injections in order to take off weight since insulin is a protein that can promote weight gain. Diabetic type 1 girls cut back on their insulin, way back much to the sacrifice of their health, in order to lose weight. This also leads to ketoacidosis and other serious diabetic complications like acute kidney failure. This also will eventually lead to a medical emergency since blood glucose levels are going extremely high from lack of insulin treatment.

Night eating syndrome is another eating problem that is defined as heavy snacking, usually after the evening mealtime. Those people with night time eating problems tend to take in foods that are rich in carbohydrates and also fat. They will often end up eating during the night as an emotional response to depression, or worry. People eating too much at the night time hours tend to gain weight faster and have higher A1C levels. The best advice on eating disorders is often counseling, Learning proper nutrition is best for eating disorders and working with your health care team to get back on the path to the right diabetes care for sustaining life. Eating problems cause death if not treated properly, especially for diabetics.