France has banned extremely thin models from appearing in fashion shows and editorial fashion shoots. Following the lead of Italy, Spain and Israel, this is a step towards fighting unhealthy eating practices, like anorexia nervosa—a fixation with extremely thin body figures, and fear of gaining weight. While anorexia is a eating disorder that is commonly talked about, there are others you may not be familiar with.
1. Bulimia nervosa: An eating disorder in which those with bulimia eat excessive quantities of food in relatively short periods of time. However, they regret this almost immediately, and take extreme measures to compensate for the excessive binge eating. They try to clear their body of the food by using laxatives, excessive exercise or even self-induced vomiting. Those with bulimia attach a great emphasis on body weight and shape, and face self-esteem issues.
2. Binge eating: Those with binge eating syndrome, face episodes of out-of-control eating, like those suffering from bulimia. However, they do not to attempt the force the food out of the body, or compensate for the excessive eating. They might eat much more rapidly than normal and until they feel uncomfortably full. Those with the disorder also end up eating large quantities of food even when they are not feeling hungry. Binge eating, which has been identified as one of the most common eating disorders, creates a sense of shame, loss of control, and depression in the individual during the binge.
3. Pica: This is an eating disorder which has nothing to do with food. Those with this syndrome experience an uncontrollable craving for non-food items like dirt, paint, pebbles and chalk. It is quite common in children between the age of 1 to 6, and are also seen in pregnant women, too. While consuming certain items like ice may not really pose a threat to life, those with this syndrome might consume hazardous substance like paint, or even small pieces of metal.
4. Orthorexia nervosa: Though eating disorders are often associated with unhealthy eating habits, this is a syndrome in which 'healthy' eating becomes a menace. Overly obsessed with healthy food, those with this syndrome, avoid food containing artificial colours, flavours, preservatives, fats and food containing excess sugar or salt. This fixation with healthy food even causes them to spend hours examining food labels, and researching about ingredients. In effect, ironically, they might suffer form malnutrition because they might avoid whole groups of food that they consider unhealthy.
