How Eating Disorders Impact Fertility

Out in the Open Now

Once a secretive and silent behavior, eating disorders have taken their toll on many young women and men. When Karen Carpenter, a young pop singer, lost her life to anorexia in February of 1983, her death triggered studies into a previously ignored arena. Now, nearly 30 years later, the known numbers are staggering. In the United States alone there are more than seven million women suffering with the devastation of eating disorders. The numbers are likely much higher as so many women with the illness remain secretive. Part of the physical impact of eating disorders, anorexia in particular, is the loss of fertility. Since the illness is found predominantly among young women of childbearing age, it is estimated that one in five women who seek fertility help are there because of an eating disorder.

Best Known and Most Common

Perhaps the best known eating disorder is anorexia nervosa, which is characterized by a distorted and unhealthy sense of body image accompanied by extreme dieting and starvation in order to control weight gain. Now recognized as a mental illness rather than a choice, anorexia affects nearly two percent of the American population. The anorexic has a perception of being fat and needing to lose weight, even when she is already dangerously thin. This belief drives her to erratic eating habits, self-starvation and excessive exercising. Obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) often exacerbates the need to be perfect and fuels the disorder.

Many times it is easy to pick out a woman who is suffering with anorexia. It is more difficult to determine who has bulimia. Even though bulimia is less obvious, it is more common. Binge eating then vomiting or using laxatives to purge excess calories characterize bulimia, which affects about five percent of the population. Because a bulimic is able to maintain a normal appearance and body weight the signs are less obvious and consequently the disorder often goes undetected.

How Eating Disorders Affect Fertility

The negative effects of eating disorders are myriad and far-reaching. Abdominal pain, constipation and fatigue are common signs of eating disorders. Organ damage to the liver, kidneys and heart is unseen and dangerous. Tooth decay, hair loss, anxiety and depression are yet other side effects. The negative effects include reproductive problems as well.

Table of Contents
1. Eating Disorders
2. Eating Disorder? What happens to baby?
 
 
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