1 Eating disorders have the highest mortality rate of any mental illness – higher even than depression. This is both from suicide and from medical complications associated with the illness. One of these can be heart attack after a patient’s body mass becomes very low due to lack of nutrition, and the body’s muscles, including the heart muscles, start to eat themselves. This naturally puts a strain on the heart. In addition, when a person makes themselves sick frequently, they lose much of the body’s potassium, which can trigger a heart arrhythmia (irregular heartbeat), again raising their risk of a heart attack.
2 Both men and women can develop eating disorders, which include anorexia, bulimia and binge eating – although around 90 per cent are women. On the plus side, we do know that women are better at seeking treatment than men.
Read the complete article and many more in this issue of
Healthy Magazine
Purchase options below
If you own the issue,
Login to read the full article now.
Single Digital Issue
September 2016
 
This issue and other back issues are not included in a new Healthy Magazine subscription. Subscriptions include the latest regular issue and new issues released during your subscription.