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Lollipop Heads |
Lollipop Heads. Visualize the look. This catchy phrase was used in a recent newspaper article to describe the disproportionate head to body ratio commonly seen in grossly underweight women. To emphasize this picturesque quality, photos of several very successful female actresses were shown. I wish I could down- load these photos as a picture is worth a thousand words. My challenge to you is to note for yourselves who in the movies, magazines or TV shows fit the script of a lollipop head. You might recall the negative publicity Calvin Klein received with their ad depicting a pale, thin, drawn looking woman slouching against a bathroom wall. A major corporation glamorized the look of a strung out junkie for the purpose of selling their product. Fortunately, there was a strong public response denouncing this form of advertisement. Unfortunately, the damage was done. Thousands of young girls and women viewed this ad before it was taken off the air. The societal pressure on young women is tremendous. Daily, women are being bombarded with reminders of how they should look. Yet, this look is unrealistic and unhealthy. Hence, the lollipop heads. According to the National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH) more than 5 million Americans suffer from eating disorders. Five percent of adolescent and adult women and 1% of men have anorexia nervosa, bulimia nervosa, or binge-eating disorder. Greater than 30 percent of college women suffer from a binge eating disorder. Fifteen percent of young women have substantially disordered eating attitudes and behaviors. An estimated one thousand women die each year of anorexia nervosa. Risk Factors
Signs and Symptoms of Eating Disorders
Anorexia Nervosa
Medical Complications seen in Anorexia Nervosa
Associated Physical Signs and Symptoms
Medical Complications seen in Bulimia Nervosa
Treatments for Eating Disorders
Early treatment can be the key to preventing the medical complications resulting from eating disorders, and more importantly, can help the emotional distress and impaired social, academic and athletic functioning that these diseases cause. Bulimia Nervosa can be effectively treated with psychotherapy, antidepressant
medication, or a combination of the two. Treatment for anorexia nervosa
usually requires long term psychotherapy, nutritional counseling, medical
monitoring, and often antidepressant medication. Self-help groups can
be extremely helpful for any eating disorder. |
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