Have you ever forced yourself to throw up after a meal because you wanted to purge your body of calories? Do you exercise rigorously and subsist only on apples, diet pills and slimming teas to stay slim? If you young, single Chinese female teenager (most prevalent) suffering from any of the following eating disorders: anorexia nervosa, bulimia and bingle-eating disorder.

Coventionally seen as a western lifestyle disease, eating disorders have now permeated Asia with worrying consequences, alhough the prevalence is still lower than that in western countries.

Physical and psychological
Eating disorders is described as "this most hideous of disorders", but the words seem almost too sanitised and inadequate to convey the graphic, ugly reality.
Self-starvation, one of the most dangerous symptoms of eating disorders, denist the body of nutrients it needs to function normally, as it is forced to conserve energy. This can lead to a number of adverse consequences:

• Abnormally slow heart rate.
• Low blood pressure
• Increased risk of heart failure
• Reduction in bone density (osteoporosis)
• Severe dehydration that can result in kidney failure.
• Dry hair and skin
• Hair loss
• Anaemia
• Muscle loss and weakness
• A severely emaciated appearance
• Growth of a downy layer of hair over the face and body to keep warm.

Repeated bingeing and purging, another distintive feature of eating disorder, can throw the digestive system into whack, leading to electrolyte and chemical imbalances in the body that may severely impact organ function. Other consequences include:
• Possible gastric rupture during bingeing.
• Tooth decay from stomach acids released during vomiting.
•Chronic irregular bowel movements and constipation from laxative abuse.
• Inflammation and rupture of oesophagus from frequent vomiting.
• Bingeing also leads to health risks associated levels with obesity, such as high cholesterol levels, heart disease and Type 2 diabetes.

However, the key to breaking out of the death grip of eating disorders is to dismantle the accompanying psychological disturbances. Accroding to psychologist Daniel Koh of Insights-TSE, Singapore important issues to be addressed include distored body image, low self-esteem, conflicting feeling towards food ) both comfort and shame), a general lackof control in life, depression and painful emotions such as stress.

Detecting a disorder
Eating disorder are difficult to spot, but there are many signs that something is wrong. koh, who practices at insights-TSE, a private behavioural health outfit that specialises in eating disorders among other issues, provides a list of give-aways for family and friends:
1. Changes in eating habits, such as amount and type of food, or cooking methods.
2. Decreased socialisation when food is involved such as avoiding a party.
3. Weakened physical conditions, such as sickness or weight loss,
4. Charges in mood, interaction or communication with others
5. Any sign of throwing away food.
6. Excessive evercising.
7. Dry skin or dropping hair.
8. Frequently ask to be excused to the toilet after meals, or use laxatives when is no need to.
9. Obessesion with information regarding to foods.
10. Sudden changes in sleeping pattern.
11. Anxiety, despression, mood swings, anger and guilt feelings after eating