Megarexia: obese people who look thin
The Megarexia it is a disorder of the alimentary behavior (TCA). The most popular TCAs are bulimia, anorexia nervosa and vigorexia or orthorexia (the obsession with healthy food), but there are others, such as Megarexia.
The latter disorder, however, it is not covered in the DSM (manual statistical diagnosis of mental disorders). Dr. Jaime Brugos cited the term for the first time Megarexia in one of his works collected in his book "Isoproteic Diet" in 1992.
An eating disorder is a serious, chronic and progressive disease that, although its most important characteristic has to do with the alteration of eating behavior, there are other types of symptoms such as distortion of the body self-image , a great fear to increase or lose weight and the acquisition of certain beliefs and values about the aesthetics and the image of your body.
Nowadays, in western societies, it is common to run into people who are obsessed with their physical appearance, an obsession that can prevent the normal functioning of their daily lives, and that puts their health at risk. In extreme cases it can even endanger your life.
The Megarexia: what is it?
Megarexia is a disorder of the alimentary behavior that consists in that lan obese person who suffers it does not look overweight, that is, perceives his body as thin .
Since it is not a well-known disorder, there are difficulties in fighting this disease. Obesity is not only a matter of aesthetics, but can also cause serious health problems in people who suffer from it.
Consequences of Megarexia
As we have said, obesity and overweight are risk factors that significantly increase the possibility of suffering diseases such as diabetes, metabolic syndrome, cardiovascular diseases, gout, etc.
People who suffer Megarexia, not only consider that they are not obese, but that they do nothing to change their harmful lifestyle. For example, instead of eating nutritionally adequate foods, they eat foods that are harmful to their health. When not being aware of their disorder, they do not lead an active life or practice physical exercise, which increases the risk of suffering from other diseases related to sedentary lifestyle.
In addition, the physical exercise not only affects the physical level, but also brings benefits at the psychological level. To know more about this, we invite you to read our article: "The 10 psychological benefits of practicing exercise".
How to fight the Megarexia?
Therefore, a first step to combat this disorder has to do with the acceptance of the person suffering from this disease . But not only should you accept that you have a feeding problem, but you should be aware that you have a serious psychological disorder. In this context, the person's environment is critical to help him or her overcome this psychopathology.
The close environment must persuade the patient to put himself in the hands of an expert in the treatment of TCA. If this is not possible, you should contact your family doctor, as it may be the first option for a progressive improvement of the disorder.
