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Therehavebeenrumors.There’sbeengossip.AllHollywoodisshockedtolearnthatCalistaFlockhart,starofFox’shitTVshowAllyMcBeal,issothin.AndweinthemediaarefallingalloverourselvestryingtofigureoutwhetherFlockharthasaneatingdisorder,especiallynowthatshehasdeniedit.Well,I’mnotplayingthegame.Iftheentertainmentindustryreallycaredaboutsendingthewrongmessageonbodyimage,itwouldn’tneedsomanyslendercelebritiesinthefirstplace.
Butthefactremainsthat2millionAmericans—mostofthemwomenandgirls—dosufferfromeatingdisorders.Inthemostextremecasestheyliterallystarvethemselvestodeath.Andthosewhosurviveareatgreaterriskofdevelopingbrittlebones,life-threateninginfections,kidneydamageandheartproblems.Fortunately,doctorshavelearnedalotoverthepastdecadeaboutwhatcauseseatingdisordersandhowtotreatthem.
Thenumbersareshocking.Approximately1in150teenagegirlsintheU.S.fallsvictimtoanorexianervosa,broadlydefinedastherefusaltoeatenoughtomaintainevenaminimalbodyweight.Notsoclearishowmanymoresufferfrombulimia,inwhichtheybingeonfood,eatingperhapstwoorthreedays’worthofmealsin30minutes,thenremovetheexcessbytakingmedicinetomovethebowelsorinducingvomiting.Nordoesagenecessarilyprotectyou.Anorexiahasbeendiagnosedingirlsasyoungaseight.Mostdeathsfromtheconditionoccurinwomenover45.
Doctorsusedtothinkeatingdisorderswerepurelypsychological.Nowtheyrealizethere’ssomeproblematicbiologyaswell.InastudypublishedintheArchivesofGeneralPsychiatryrecently,researchersfoundabnormallevelsofserotonin,aneurotransmitterinthebrain,inwomenwhohadbeenfreeofbulimiaforatleastayear.Thatmayhelpexplainwhydrugshaveallowedalotofpeopletostopswallowinginlargedosesoffood.Unfortunately,thepillsdon’tworkaswellfordenialoffood.Nordotheyofferasimpleone-stopcure.Health-careworkersmustre-educatetheirpatientsinhowtoeatandthinkaboutfood.
Howcanyoutellifsomeoneyoulovehasaneatingdisorder?“Bulimicswilloftenleaveevidencearoundasiftheywanttogetcaught.”SaysTamaraPryor,directorofaneating-disordersclinicattheUniversityofKansasinWichita.Anorexics,bycontrast,aremorelikelytogothroughlongperiodsofdenial.
1.Wecaninferfromthefirstparagraphthat_____.
[A]themediahasmisleadthepublic’sviewofcelebrities
[B]thereismuchmisunderstandingabouteatingdisorders
[C]bodyimageconcernsareanindicationofeatingdisorders
[D]theentertainmentindustryiscombatingeatingdisorders
2.Thevictimsofeatingdisorders,moreoftenthannot,will_____.
[A]starvethemselvestodeath
[B]suffergreatlyfromthecomplications
[C]puzzledoctorsintheyearstocome
[D]recovercompletelywithnoaftereffects
3.Theword“binge”(Line3,Paragraph3)mostprobablymeans_____.
[A]eatexcessively[B]refusetoeat
[C]failtodigest[D]enjoyagoodappetite
4.Bulimiaisfoundtobe_____.
[A]relatedtothelevel,ofserotonin
[B]psychologicalratherthanbiological
[C]identicalwithanorexianervosainthecure
[D]aleadingcauseofdeathamongmiddle-agedwomen
5.Thewaytofindapersonwitheatingdisorders_____.
[A]focusesonhiddensymptoms
[B]varieswithtypeofthecondition
[C]isorientedatthevictim’sresponse
[D]remainsperplexingdespiteeffortsmade
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