Anorexia
Anorexia is a condition in which a girl's diet does not allow her to maintain her weight within 15% of the mean for girls her age and height. (Remember: daily requirements for calories, carbohydrates, and protein are greater for athletes).
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Warning Signs:
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Sudden weight loss or gain
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Distorted body image
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Obsession with weighing oneself;
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Avoidance of social eating (i.e. a girl who likes to eat alone);
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Preoccupation with food and dieting/unreasonable fear of being fat (girls on severe diets in one Australian study were 18 times more likely to develop an eating disorder; moderate dieters were 5 times more likely than those who did not diet; Harvard researcher says 44% of high school girls and 15% of boys diet);
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Hair loss
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Intolerance to cold
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Obsessive exercising
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Bulimia is where a girl engages in "binge eating" (i.e. eating too much uncontrollably in one sitting) and then purging (vomiting, exercising intensely) to get rid of the food just eaten.
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Warning Signs:
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frequent use of bathroom after eating
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Fluctuating weight
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Bloodshot eyes
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Swollen glands
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Swollen extremities
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Discolored teeth (i.e. eroded tooth enamel from frequent vomiting)
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Feelings of depression, guilt or shame about eating
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Suicide attempts
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Drug use
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Aches and pains
- Dramatic fluctuations in athletic performance
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