Howt in is toot in?

How your weight can affect your chances of getting pregnant, can increase your risk of osteoporosis and more

If you can you hide behind telephone poles, or pass thrnugb cracked doorways, then you are too thin. ln this world full of overweight and obese people we sometimes forger char there are too skinny people around.

The social pressure ro be chin beckons each one of us at all rime.,;. Television, magazines, movies, and the internet, all o f which are Aooded with information a bout how to be slim , tell us being thin is symbolic of intelligence and beauty

Adver tisers heavily market weight reduction progran1s and present anorexic young model s as the symbo ls of achievement and sexual desLrability. Cl o the s are des igned and disp layed for thin bodies in sp ice of the fact that few women could ,vear them successfuJJy l n countries wbere o bes ity is widesp read, young adolescents who tend to remain d1 in feel chat they have achieved a grea t pe r so nal vicrory. This vi c to r y is further applauded by friend s and relatives w h o are heavier and m a ke the adolescent feel d1e urge to maintain their dlin p h ysique even more. Therefore weight loss is viewed as a sign o f extraordin ary ach ievement and self discipline, whereas weight gai n is looked upon as a loss o f self control and d eternlination.

Most o f us envy these peop le but we do not r ealise th at these peopl e might have their own set of prob le m s which might be. as se r ious as being ove rweigh t.

Nutritional Deficiencies

Being unde rweight is u sually accompanied by a deficie ncy o f essential nutrients and / or trace elements. Anemia and lowered immun e system s are just two defic iencies that might be prevalent in skinny people.

Anem ia is a disease o f t he blood d1at occurs when there 's a deficie nc y of red blood cells

Anemia is caused by nutriti onal defic ie nc ies of iron , B- 12, a nd folate. There is lack of energy and fatig u e, irregular heartbeat, shortness of breath, dizziness, a nd headach es

Unaware of risks

VI.le n o rmall y as so ciate overweight with diabet es and high cholesterol but sometimes thin or skinny people are more at r isk of d1ese problems. It's very easy to be thin yet unhealthy, as naturally thin p eop le might in dulge in fast food, or eat more high fat or high calorie foods and think they can get away with it. No matter the weight tbough, b lood sugar levels and bad choleste ro l counts can

\ - be risi ng. Thin people might also skip our o n the regular check- up s a nd blood tests tha t can detect these problems because they think they'r e in good sha pe.

Osteoporosis

Being mo skinny increases th e risk of d1e bon e- th in ni ng disease os teoporosis, and th e ch a nce of breaking b mes. Fat fuels me production of th e hormone estrogen, wh ich wome n need for stro ng bones. Too little estrogen can make bon es poro u s a nd brittle, and more prone co fractures As a result, a sim ple fa ll or accident is m ore likel y to cause serious i n j ury.

Eating Disorders

Alth o ugh we all worry about o ur weight sometim es, people with an earing d iso rder go to extremes co keep themselves from gaining weight. Al th ough we al l worry about our weight som etim es, people with an earing disorder go to extremes co keep themsel ves &om gaining weigbt. Th ese are mainly ano rexia m:rvosa or b ulimia

VP eople with an orexia a re. obsessed wid1 being t h in . T hi s c o n di ti on is characte r ised by selfstarvation and ema ciation. They don't want to eat, and they are afraid of gaining weight. T hey may constantly worry abour how many calories they ta ke in o r how much fa t is in their food. Th ey may take diet pill s, laxatives or w ater pills to lose weight, o r d1ey may exerc ise too much. Anorexi cs usually thi nk th ey 're fat even th o ugh they're ve ry thin Bulimia is eati n g a lot of food at once (called bingeing), and the n throwing up or using laxa tives tO remove the food from the body (called purgi ng). After a binge, so me b ulim ic s fast (don't eat), or over exercise to keep from gaini n g weigh t. P eop le wid1 bulimia may also use water pills, laxatives or diet pills co " control" d1eir weight. P eople with bulimia often cr y to hide their bingeing and purging They may hide food for binges B ulimics are usually c lose to no rm al weight, but th eir weight may go up and down.

T h e re is n o s ingle !mown c ause fo r these disorders m o ug h physical, psych ologic al, pe r so n al, and soc ial issues have been associated w i th triggering eating diso rders The gastro intes tinal tract is profow1dly affected in anorexia as iL may result in constipation or bloating. Excessive vomiting in bulimia may cause dehydration and also severe potassi um defi cie ncy L1 ve r y seve re cases medical com plications such as seiz ures, heart failure, or irregular h eart rh ythms may also exist.

Fertility

Being underweight can affec t your ch a nces of ge t ting pregnan t. A shortage of fat can mean your body is n ot producing enough estrogen , w hich is needed for conception. It's a form of narural pro tection - when yo u get very d1in, your body knows that ir will be harder for you to s u stain a h ealthy p regnancy, so makes it more difficult for you to conce ive in the. firs t place.

It is n o t b ad to be skinny, bur those who are u nderweight shoul d assess their conditio n wid1 the help of a heal d1 professional a nd work coward attai ning a health y weight in order co minimise h ealm pro blem s and achieve perso na l well bein g