Losing weight and getting in shape are good goals to have. There are healthy ways to lose weight and unhealthy ways to lose weight. Developing an eating disorder is a common side effect of trying to lose weight quickly and by extreme means. While losing weight in itself is not necessarily unhealthy, losing it incorrectly can create complicated health issues.
Anorexia Nervosa
Anorexia is one of the most common eating disorders among teenage girls; it involves the cessation of healthy eating patterns to the point of extremely low weight and an obsessive fear of gaining weight. Poor body image can lead to demonizing food as harmful and instead of learning to manage a healthy diet, anorexics may stop eating or eat only tiny amounts of foods. In some cases, anorexics may engage in binging and purging behavior, which is more common in bulimia nervosa.
Bulimia Nervosa
Bulimia is another common eating disorder, in which sufferers will binge and purge; binging involves eating large amounts of food sporadically. Binging is followed by purging, which can take the form of self-induced vomiting or the use of diuretics or laxatives to eliminate food from the body quickly.
Illegal and Diet Drugs
Taking illegal or diet drugs as a way to lose weight quickly is very unhealthy. Illegal drugs are frequently mixed with substances like lead paint that, in addition to the drug itself, can cause severe illness or death.
Diet drugs are often either ineffective or cause short-term weight loss. When the diet drugs are not used, therefore, the weight may be quickly regained. A constant or frequent weight fluctuation due to yo-yo dieting or the use of diet drugs can be harmful to the immune system.
Smoking
Research studies have shown that cigarettes act as appetite suppressants and will boost metabolic rates; however, the negative impact of cigarettes on the body far outweigh any weight loss benefits.
Smoking causes over 85 percent of lung cancer cases, among numerous other health complications and illnesses; using cigarettes as a weight loss tool is inherently unhealthy.
Consuming Large Amounts of One Nutrient
Diet fads that promote excessive eating of one type of nutrient, like cabbage or protein, can be unhealthy for dieters. Eating a diet dominated by one type of food may cause quick weight loss for some, but the weight lost will only be maintained for as long as the individual is on the diet.
Using diet fad programs that do not promote healthy and balanced diets can lead to deficiency of certain nutrients, rapid weight fluctuation and the suppression of the immune system.
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