Weight Loss Disease

Weight loss vs. Diseases: Is it Worth the Risk?

Majority of the American population, and many city people around the globe, whether we want to accept it or not, binge on fast food, potato chips and other junks. Gone are the days when the meals on the table were freshly-picked from the yard and the cows are milked daily. Because of this, obesity is one of the leading causes of diseases, it being a disease by itself. Knowing this, most would enroll in exercise programs and diet plans that promise to burn the sinful fat they ingest.

Consider this for a moment before you jump into the latest diet bandwagon: looking good has its price. Think of losing weight and looking great in that dress but contemplate, too, on what’s going on inside your body. Health is, after all, wealth.

The nervous, circulatory and digestive systems are susceptible to illnesses when there are deficiencies in a person’s diet. There are many diseases associated with losing weight. But what comes to mind when the words ‘weight loss’ are mentioned? The Hollywood Star/International Model illnesses called bulimia and anorexia nervosa.

Excessive dieting causes a long-term deprivation of balanced eating which then causes malnutrition. Malnutrition causes the body to weaken and is the cause of anorexia or bulimia nervosa.

Both are psychological diseases. The patients are aware that they are losing weight drastically but would want to keep it that way. Anorexic women look at the mirror and they would always see a ‘fat’ woman. Although they are aware that they have to eat to improve their health, their system would not allow food intake. What could be a tempting glass of cold milkshake to one could be something that could cause an anorexic person to vomit. People under the anorexic state also tend to be depressed at all times.

Bulimic people, on the other hand, have normal (sometimes even beyond normal) appetites. They eat just like everyone else. They can wolf down a slab of meat, gulp down glasses of eggnog and not feel guilty about it. The problem begins after the ‘feast’. The bulimic would force herself to vomit all that she has gulped down. This not only irritates the esophagus but a more dangerous effect is digestive disorders.

Both psychological disorders need treatment immediately. They could both lead to more serious ailments or, worse, death.

Depression- this is a psychoneurotic illness which can be a result of weight loss. The person with this disease becomes unhappy, pessimistic and downcast. She also feels inadequate. The person would soon lack interest in any activity. The most common evidence of being depressed is ceaseless crying or weeping without a reason. This depressive state may occur with constipation, migraines, anxiety, sleeplessness and appetite loss. The most serious case of depression is a person that contemplates suicide.

Peptic Ulcer- the term ulcer has two types: gastric ulcers and duodenal ulcers. The gastric juice in the stomach, called pepsin, aids in digestion. But when food is not there when pepsin flows in the stomach, it eats up the stomach walls instead. The stomach has linings on its walls to protect it from being eaten by its own juice. Where those linings fail, ulcers develop.

Headache- perhaps this is the most common disease of mankind. But in actuality, it is not a disease but a symptom of something more serious. And yes, being obsessed in weight loss to the point of depriving the body of nutrition could cause this.

Nausea- or false sense of motion could result from disturbances in the digestive system which, in turn, is a result of lack of food/nutrition.

Stroke- not all types of strokes result from skull or brain abnormality. If the body lacks nutrients that nourish the blood, which in turn is needed by the brain, then the body would soon succumb to this illness.

Heart diseases- when nutrition is suppressed because of the sole purpose of weight loss, the heart is one of the first organs to suffer.

Cancer- is considered next to heart diseases when it comes to causes of mortality. And again, weight loss caused by lack of nutrition could lead to this ailment.

It is really scary to know that several ailments could result from obsessive weight loss. It would be safe to conclude then that everything should be done in moderation, even losing some of that unwanted weight. You see, beauty and health should always go hand in hand.