Dangerous obsession: for people with eating disorders, a focus on food can be a recipe for disaster

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At age 14, Kristin was a champion gymnast. But behind the scenes, she was in a battle for her life.

She'd become so obsessed with her weight that she counted every calorie that went into her body. Her weight--and energy level--dropped drastically. Even when the problem forced her to quit gymnastics, she still couldn't eat. She says, "The eating disorder had taken control of my life."

A similar scenario played out for Ari. In the summer before sixth grade, Ari went on a diet that veered out of control. Soon, like Kristin, she was starving herself. And when she did eat, she forced herself to vomit the food back up. Ari tried to hide her self-destructive behavior from family and friends. She says, "I wouldn't admit to myself that it was a problem because that was too scary for me." Feeling helpless, Ari sank into a deep depression.

Millions of Americans are in a life-or-death struggle with an eating disorder. The good news is that they can win--if they get help in time.

Dangerous DISORDERS

Kristin suffered from anorexia nervosa, an eating disorder in which sufferers starve themselves due to fear of gaining weight. Like someone looking in a funhouse mirror, anorexics can't see how thin they really are. Maria Rago, who runs an eating disorders program at Linden Oaks Hospital in Illinois, says, "They might see themselves much differently than they actually look."

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Other common eating disorders are bulimia nervosa, in which sufferers eat large amounts of food and then purge, or remove it from their bodies, and binge eating disorder, which involves eating large amounts of food without purging. Many sufferers, like Ari, develop symptoms of more than one eating disorder.

Even though the majority of anorexics and bulimics are young women, these deadly disorders can strike anyone: male or female, young or old, and people of any race. An estimated 1 million males suffer from anorexia or bulimia in the United States. Binge eating disorder strikes almost as many males as females.

Putting THE PIECES TOGETHER

Discovering what causes various eating disorders is like putting together the pieces of a complicated puzzle. Mary Pabst, a licensed clinical social worker, says: "There's no single thing that causes ah eating disorder--for anybody. It's sort of like the perfect storm. It's a bunch of different variables coming together at the same time."

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Recent research shows that eating disorders may be connected to genes (units of hereditary material) as well as personality traits. Perfectionism is a common personality trait among anorexics. Rago explains, "If you expect yourself to be perfect, not only is that going to make dealing with your body image very, very difficult, but it also doesn't help in coping with life in general."

Not everyone with certain genes or personality traits will develop an eating disorder. But these factors could put a person at greater risk when a stressful situation arises. Kristin, who calls herself a perfectionist, believes her eating disorder was triggered by the pressure to excel in gymnastics and in her schoolwork. "When the stress and pressures were getting out of control, the only thing I could control was what went into my body," she says.

Ari, now 16, also believes that her eating disorder arose from her need to control something when her life seemed out of control. Her eating disorder struck after her family lost their home and belongings because of an air-quality issue. For other teens, the triggering factor can be getting teased about being overweight or feeling embarrassed about natural changes that temporarily make their bodies look awkward during puberty.

Each sufferer has a different story, but the common factor is the pain they experience. Pabst says: "The food preoccupation is really just a manifestation of what's underneath, which is that pain that you want to make go away. And one of the ways you make it go away is by focusing on something other than the pain you feel." But focusing on unhealthy eating habits only leads to more problems--some of them fatal.

Deadly CONSEQUENCES

Anorexia kills an estimated 5 percent to 10 percent of sufferers. This self-starvation can cause heart and kidney failure, osteoporosis (bone mineral loss), and hair loss. People with other eating disorders might not be underweight, but their behaviors can cause serious physical damage. Bulimic purging can result in heart failure, damage to the esophagus, and tooth decay. Binge eating can lead to heart and gallbladder diseases, diabetes, and high blood pressure.

Because of the deadly consequences, sufferers need to get help right away. But most deny that they have a problem. Ari got help only after friends at school caught on and told her family, who put her in Rago's eating disorders program. Rago thinks Ari probably would have died if she hadn't gotten treatment.