Facts

What is the female athlete triad?

The female athlete triad is a disorder that has three parts. It affects

(1) your eating habits,
(2) your menstrual periods and
(3) the strength of your bones.

Body Image

Body image is the mental picture you have of your body

• what it looks like,
• what you believe about it, and
• how you feel about your body.

Self-esteem is the "real" opinion you have of yourself,

Binge Eating Disorder (BED)

Individuals with binge eating disorders eat excessive amounts of food at one time. They do this for two reasons:

· They are very hungry because they have been dieting or restricting their eating in some way. The binge is a response to that hunger.

· They over-eat to comfort themselves, to avoid uncomfortable situations, or to numb their feelings. The binge is an attempt to soothe themselves emotionally.

IN CANADA...

* Eating disorders are the most common chronic illnesses in the female adolescent population, with an incidence of up to 5% (Golden et al., 2003).

* 95% of reported hospitalized cases of anorexia and more than 90% of hospitalized cases of bulimia in Ontario were women (Gucciardi et al., 1995)

* Some studies have found that young men represent about 10% of individuals with eating disorders (Steiger and Séguin, 1999)

Physical Signs

• Loss of 15% or more of one's original body weight
• Menstrual periods become irregular or stop
• Sensitivity to cold
• Lowered blood pressure which may cause fainting, dizziness

Main features of bulimia nervosa:

Main features of anorexia nervosa are

· a refusal to maintain body weight over a minimum normal weight for age and height;
· weight loss of 15 per cent or more of ones original body weight;
· an intense fear of gaining weight or becoming fat; fear that weight gain is out of ones control;
· distorted body image;
· loss of menstrual periods;
· dietary restriction;

LIBRARY LOCATION AND HOURS

Hopewell's reference library is located at 153 Chapel St. in our offices.

The library is open Thursdays and Fridays from 9am - 3pm, and you will have access to a small office to browse the books, read, and make notes. Books can only be removed from the office with a $10 deposit.

Please call to make an appointment!! 613-241-3428