Symptoms Of A Beauty Pageant Eating Disorder
A beauty pageant eating disorder is a serious, sometimes life-threatening problem. One that if not properly eliminated could have devastating results on the health of the contestant and of those around her. The person who suffers from this disorder will exhibit signs of overeating followed by rapid weight loss and periods of starvation. She may also gain large amounts of weight rapidly and become extremely thin.
A person with this condition may enter a beauty pageant thinking she is at a weigh-down. On the day of the pageant, she may appear slim and beautiful, only to collapse two or three hours later. At first, her weight may be off the charts, but she will quickly regain all of her lost weight. After she is eliminated from the pageant, she may resume her binge eating until she is back in tip top shape again.
Many of the symptoms of this eating disorder are similar to the symptoms of anorexia nervosa and bulimia. However, there are distinct differences between the two. Anorexia usually requires the victim to starve herself in an effort to reach a specific weight; whereas, someone with a beauty pageant contestants may simply crave fatty foods.
A person suffering from this disorder will tend to purge her body of food once she achieves her desired weight. She may do this by severely restricting her caloric intake and combining every meal with exercise. In addition to severely limiting calories, she may also combine this with purging the body of its vitamins and minerals. When the purging process becomes too extreme, she may experience nausea and may even vomit. Her skin can become dry and flaky, and she may also develop headaches and high blood pressure.
When this happens, she may turn to comfort foods. Kale, cabbage, and cucumbers, or any other green leafy vegetable, will provide her with just the calories she needs. She can then build on this by indulging in alcoholic beverages. Eating while you are under the influence of alcohol can be very dangerous because you can completely ignore the symptoms that come about as a result of alcohol. You can drive home, pass out, and then have another drink.
Weight gain is also another symptom of this eating disorder that is noticeable. Once you have reached your desired weight, you may become obsessed with losing even more weight. You may start exercising in an attempt to speed up this process. You may also begin to use laxatives and other substances in order to control your bowels.