Janie races down the hallway of her home and runs into the bathroom. She slams and locks thedoor behind her, turning up the radio full blast to assure that nobody will hear. Janie quicklysqueezes her eyes shut, preparing her for the discomfort that follows. On impulse and routine, shequickly jams a finger down her throat and relieves herself of all the food she has recently bingedon. After she is all done, she stares in the mirror, and bursts into tears. I am so fat andworthless, she thinks to herself even though she is only 130 pounds. Janie sits on the floor andpulls her knees tight to her chest, I cant eat for a whole week because I am a stupid, fat, ugly,pig! However those were the same words she has spoken to herself for the past week. A glimpseof hope comes to Janies mind, At least I have won the battle for now. The food I just shoveleddown my throat wont affect me today.What Janie doesnt know is that she is a victim of a destructive disease called bulimia.Bulimia, which comes from the root word meaning oxhunger due to the person's appetite, affects5% of American teenage people. She wont know how desperate she needs help until its too late.Bulimia is a growing trend among our teenage girls. The many causes, effects, and treatmentsmust be shared with todays youth so they can prevent themselves from becoming a target.A lot of people dont know anything about bulimia. Bulimia is an overwhelming obsessionwith food and being skinny. Basically, its a fear of becoming fat. Bulimics consume largeamounts of food in a small period of time called binges. When doing that, they usually feeldesperate to relieve themselves, so they then force their body to rid itself of the food, which iscalled purging. To be officially diagnosed bulimic, this person binges and purges at least twice aweek for 2 months. According to Leigh Cohn, bulimia is an addiction that takes over a personsthoughts and self esteem. The longer the person is bulimic, the harde...
