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Our world is based upon social stigmas that we must all look thin. This idea of thin begins to hit our children as early as 10 or 11 years of age. Young girls are the ones hit hardest by this social disease and when simple dieting turns into an obsession wit weight, that is when dieting can turn fatal.

Control. Control is at the heart of the reason why many girls choose to try an eating disorder to lose weight. The eating disorders that are most common are anorexia nervosa and bulimia nervosa. Anorexia is the starving of the human body in order to lose weight and bulimia is most commonly a disorder involving eating large amounts of food and then throwing that food back up.

The occurrence of this form of extreme dieting is growing by leaps and bounds. This can be directly attributed to the main stream medias idea of perfection. On television, in movies, and walking the runways of the world are women who are supposed to be perfect. When, in reality, these women are often underweight and suffer from some sort of eating disorder themselves. Men are even getting into the eating disorder world with bulimia being a common occurrence in male models.

In order to solve this social disease, we need to first look at the causes more closely. Again, control is at the heart of these diseases and the phrase, the one thing I have for me, is used quite often with people suffering from eating disorders. But, there are genetic predispositions, familial problems and even sexual abuse that have led young girls into the world of starving, binging and purging.

The real facts about these dieting harms can turn the young girl from a potential eating disorder waiting to happen in to a healthy young girl. The fact, the real facts are what a young girl needs to see and know when they begin saying negative things about their body and their weight. Brushing these comments off as normal can lead to disaster and even death if the young girl becomes addicted to weight.

The real facts... eating disorders cause rotten teeth, bad breath, kidney failure, liver failure, stomach diseases, osteoporosis, arthritis, heart failure and death (just to name a few). The stomach acids forced into the throat during purging can burn holes in the throat leaving the bulimic with a stoma for the rest of their lives.

Young girls are impressionable, yes, and they will want to fit in with their peers. But, they are also old enough to know the REAL effects of a choice that could cost them their lives. Do not sugar coat the effects of extreme dieting. More parents focus on sex education and pregnancy awareness that the disease that is right in front of their faces. Pregnancy does not kill and sex if natural, but trying out anorexia and bulimia just for the fun of it is not a good dieting choice and can lead to death. These are the real facts of life and they need to be flatly explained to young girls.