Health Literacy

Archive for March, 2010

Mothers are probably particularly concerned that their teenage daughter may develop the eating disorder Anorexia Nervosa.

This is a disorder that is seen to afflict girls between the age of 15 and 19 and is distressingly common.

Many sufferers also misguidedly think that eating disorders are a lifestyle choice and therefore seek no help, making the disorders all the more difficult to spot. This is why it is doubly important to know more about Anorexia and its two main kinds as well as about its telltale signs that parents would do well to watch out for.

There are two main types of anorexia and many sufferers often alternate between these two types. Restrictive Anorexia is when there is a severe restriction of the amount of calories consumed through food and compulsive exercise to burn off whatever they do eat. Fasting and excessive exercise are characteristics.

Compulsive Anorexia is also sometimes referred to as Binge and Purge Anorexia and is very similar in nature to Bulimia.

Many anorexics may go through phases of abstinence; near starvation which they alternate with periods of binging followed by purging by virtue to induced vomiting or use of purgatives and enemas to purge the system of perceived extra calories.

Though there is a certain demographic of middle or upper class teen girls who are most likely to have this disorder, it can happen to anyone really, and what you should be watching out for is this:

• Typically anorexics take great pains to hide their condition; however, there are certain medical conditions that may alert the sufferer and her family that help is required. Some young women may suffer from lack of monthly periods or irregular periods, some from marked anemia, or certain nutritional deficiencies.
• A marked weight loss may be noticed.
• The person has a horror of putting on weight, counts calories constantly and is obsessive about exercising.
• There is a fear of getting overweight even if the person is actually underweight at the time.
• The preoccupation with weight leads to frequent and obsessive weighing of self.
• Low self esteem is usually a characteristic of an anorexic.
• Many anorexics have a distorted body image.
• Inadequate nutrition may also cause constipation.
• Dry and pasty skin.
• Reduced nutrition could affect blood circulation resulting in cold hands and feet.
• Denial of hunger and lying about having eaten whereas in fact the food is hidden or thrown away.
• Fatigue
• Insomnia
• Fainting spells
• Hair loss

Source: admin2

We all probably grew up reading about Scarlett O’Hara having the stays of her corset done up so tight that she could barely breathe in Gone with the Wind and about how heroines in the days of yore were forever having their circulation cut off due to the whale bone corsets they had to wear or how they would faint clean away due to those.

So do modern corsets and bustiers do the same; are you likely to faint or have your circulation impeded due to this? Well in a word no, unless for some reason women want to wear their corsets ridiculously tight or wearing it forms part of a fetish that could be potentially dangerous.

In the days past, steel or whalebone were used to give corsets their stiffness and the shape that they would typically impart to the wearer.

However, modern corsets or bustiers are made from flexible and natural materials that offer comfort along with the aesthetics of contouring.

Now corsets may actually be prescribed wearing for those that have certain spinal problems.

So someone with scoliosis may well have to wear a corset, as may someone who has sustained the kind of internal injuries that need the torso to be supported or immobilized.

Source: admin2

Huh?

Shapewear for men is not an entirely new concept.  (See John Galliano photos below.)  But when I stumbled across the “Oh, Man!” section in the spring Spanx catalog…my jaw literally dropped.  In my mind, if Spanx is on board, the concept is set to go mainstream.  Are we ready for this?

Photo by Andrew Thomas courtesy of Style.com.

I’ll admit straight up that I’m a hypocrite on the subject.  When it comes to women’s shapewear – I’m all for it.  In fact, I dare you to try to take away my Spanx!  But for men?

Women have fought for years against the air-brushed, perfectly lit, size zero female images used throughout media.  Only recently have “normal” women been appearing more frequently.  And still, it’s a rarity.

Do men really want to start holding themselves to this idealized image too?  Aren’t they just opening the door to what could soon be their own set of impossible standards?

I personally wear Spanx with barely-there fabrics and form-fitting fashions.  These are the times lumps and bumps can’t hide.  And it’s why I believe some women’s fashions nearly require a supportive undergarment.  How many men’s fashions require shapewear?

I know there’s probably a tiny part of me that smiles at the idea of men finally jumping through some of the hoops women have been navigating for years.  But most of me just wonders: why?

What do you think?  Am I being old-fashioned?  Is it really time for men to start wearing shapewear?

Spanx for men. Photo courtesy of Spanx.com.

John Galliano Fall 2010. Andrew Thomas photo courtesy of Style.com.

John Galliano Fall 2010. Andrew Thomas photo courtesy of Style.com.

© 2010 DailyDivaDish. All rights reserved. ❤

Source: Editor

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Source: Emily Lapkin