Eating Disorders Can Wreak Havoc On Overall Psychological and Physical Health: Study 

Eating disorders are often neglected as a state of mind but they may actually be related to emotional instability. They can have long-term health consequences if left untreated. Neglecting eating disorder among young adults especially, both men and women, can be a risky affair, a new finding has revealed.

The regular eating behavior of a person gets disrupted if and when he randomly cuts down his meal and anxiously starts counting his/her calories and sugary food intake. They are often a bit too harsh on themselves and constantly weigh themselves constantly, irrespective of how they feel, in order to achieve a weight loss. This condition is commonly referred to as anorexia nervosa. In binge eating and bulimia the victim stuffs himself more than what the body demands because his or her own personal body issues. 

The study published in the journal European Eating Disorders Review, revealed that that eating disorders could lead to higher body weight, larger waist circumference and lower psychological well being as well as a lower self-esteem. 


"Disordered eating is detrimental to the physical and mental health of young adults both in the short and long term," said Ulla Kärkkäinen, researcher at the University of Helsinki in Finland. "Previous research has established that low psychological well being and a poor self-evaluation of health are predictors of higher susceptibility to physical illness and mortality. To mitigate these long-term negative effects, we must recognise disordered eating early and direct sufferers to treatment," Kärkkäinen added. 

For the study, the team examined over more than 4,900 young men and women and questioned them on their eating behaviour, weight, health and psychological wellbeing. Prevalence of a lower psychological well being among both women and men, as well as a lower self-evaluation of health among men was distinct feature in most of the participants when they were analysed 10 years later. Previous studies have shown that eating disorders are more profound in females rather than males. 

(Inputs from IANS)