Diabetic Diet - Half A Million American Diabetics Risk Critical Illness In A Bid To Be Thin
A frightening eating disorder is sweeping the diabetic population according to recent medical reports. Coined Diabulimia, this is a psychological condition affecting an estimated one third of diabetic women, including nearly half a million women in the US. These women, who need to take insulin regularly to survive, are skipping insulin injections in an attempt to lose weight.
Determining the exact number of women affected is tricky as most diabulimics are unlikely to admit to skipping insulin injections whilst they are actually in the habit of doing so, but it is clear that this is a growing phenomenon.
Many people believe word is spreading via internet message boards and chat rooms, where existing diabulimics are encouraging more and more women to lose weight by not taking their required insulin doses. Although the practise of losing weight by skipping insulin injections in not a new one, it seems to have grown out of control with the advent of the internet.
- So how does missing insulin shots result in weight loss?
Skipping insulin injections can cause diabetics to lose weight rapidly in a number of ways:
a. They are not getting any calories from the food they are consuming as there is no insulin to break down sugars and transport them to the bodys cells.
b. Very high blood sugar levels can cause muscle breakdown resulting in weight loss.
c. Excessive urinating caused by high blood sugar could result in dehydration which also leads to weight loss.
- The risks for diabulimics are extremely high
For a diabetic who is dependant on insulin shots, missing their medication can be extremely dangerous. The risks range from kidney and heart disease, to nerve damage resulting in blindness or amputations. Missing vital insulin injections can ultimately increase the risk of a coma and even death.
Matt Hunt, Science Information Manager from the research charity Diabetes UK made the following statement:
This eating disorder is extremely dangerous. Blood glucose that is too high for too long can cause serious complications, with diabetes being the leading cause of blindness amongst the working population in this country. Cardiovascular disease can also result from long periods of insulin abuse as well as kidney disease and nerve damage.
- Do you think someone you know may be diabulimic?
If someone you know is skipping insulin injections in order to lose weight you may notice the following symptoms.
1. They have low energy levels and excess fatigue
2. They are going to the toilet more frequently than usual
3. They are eating more than usual but still losing weight
Always encourage someone that you know is skipping insulin injections to get professional help. This is a psychological disorder, and although it may seem illogical to you to risk serious health issues just to be slim, it may not seem that way to the diabulimic.
- Balancing the fear of being fat against the fear of critical illness
Those suffering from Diabulimia are often aware of the potential damage they could do by skipping their insulin, but their worries about this are far outweighed by their fear of being fat. The weight loss that results from missing insulin shots is almost immediate and visible, the damage being done to the body is less obvious, occurs more gradually, and is easier to ignore.
Many people suffering from this disorder start small, perhaps missing just a couple of injections to fit into a particular dress for a big night out. Before they know it they may be missing most of their shots, taking just enough stay alive. They reason that they will begin to take their medication again once they are thin enough, but somehow, no matter how much weight they lose, they never believe they are thin enough.
Although gradual weight loss can be very positive for overweight diabetics, enabling them to control their blood sugar more effectively, missing insulin shots is never a good way to lose weight. Although diabulimia is not currently an officially recognized medical condition, it is as serious an eating disorder as anorexia or bulimia and it affects a frighteningly large number of diabetic women.
Lisa Janse is a professional writer specializing in health topics. learn more about living with Diabetes by reading more practical and interesting facts about Diabetes Diets and Diabetes Type 2 at http://www.sugardiabetes.net
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