Yesterday, casually while ironing, I heard on the radio about this very latest study concerning anorexia.
Anorexia, like other eating disorders, are behavioural disorders. Science has found that multiple factors lead to it. In anorexia, there are also genetic causes, among others.
Through the study, they identified eight genes that linked anorexia to other mental illnesses such as anxiety disorders or depression, among others. Surprisingly, they also found genes that are normally responsible for metabolic processes in the body – for example, fat burning or factors in the development of type 2 diabetes (quoted from the zeit.de article).
In addition to the well-known anorexia nervosa (anorexia), there is a whole range of other eating disorders: Binge eating disorder (BES), orthorexia nervosa (pathological healthy eating), pica syndrome (eating unusual things, often in people with mental disabilities or dementia), anorexia athletica (sports addiction to avoid weight gain), feeding disorders in early childhood, and many more.
Multiple factors lead to these disorders. Early childhood experiences, dealing with physical changes during puberty, experiences in the course of life, self-perception, dealing with emotions, lack of resilience.
In the past, anorexia mainly affected girls in puberty. Today, girls from the age of 9 already suffer from this disease, closely followed by women from the age of 40, who develop different forms of eating disorders. Men are also increasingly affected by eating disorders.
It is a great concern of mine to enlighten. Please stay away from diets, “metabolism programmes”, “cleansing cures” etc. advertised on social media. Don’t be fooled by all the photoshopped posts.
Change takes time, and you have it. It’s not about getting the perfect bikini body in a fortnight, but about developing a sustainable and individual strategy in which the topic of “food” is connected with pleasure again and leads to your feel-good weight in the long term and in which there are no forbidden foods.
You are already today, exactly as you are, lovable, valuable and beautiful. Do not compare yourself with others but only with the you that you were yesterday.
In this sense, have a wonderful day!
Sincerely yours,
Alexandra