Death by FAT - AN ANA MUST READ

There are about 310,232,863 people in the United States.

Of the adult population, about 1,861,397 (0.6%) have been or are anorexic, and about 3,102,328 have been or are bulimic (1.0%).

Of the 4,963,725 combined people living with Ana and/or Mia, about 1000 die each year.

That means 0.02% of Ana/Mia girls and guys die every year. (That is 0.0003% of the U.S. population.)

"What does all this mean??"

Here is some perspective for you...

An average of about 1000 people die of bulimia or anorexia nervosa yearly. BUT almost 20,000 die of murders. About 25,000 die of the common flu. And over 40,000 die in car wrecks. If people think your ED is dangerous, they really should stay off the roads.

Now lets get to the FAT of the matter.

Anorexic AND Bulimics of the U.S. total 1.6% of the population. Guess how many suffer from BINGE EATING DISORDERS... 2.8%! More than Ana and Mia combined. A whole 66% of the adult American population is overweight or clinically obese. Now that is a real, large percentage.

Did you know obesity is the leading cause of preventable death in the U.S., second only to tobacco use? Yes, worse than smoking!! Why is this not all over billboards and magazines?

We usually look at obesity as an issue of looks, but it's not. It is a serious health risk. Fat people are at a very high risk of deadly conditions like high blood pressure, diabetes, stroke, and heart problems. It happens all the time!

Some people like Star Jones do things like getting Gastric Bypass surgery, which cuts out part of your stomach to shrink it, and bypasses part of your small intestine so it can't soak up as much calories. People who have that surgery can only eat tiny amounts or they throw up or get sick (sound familiar Mia girls?). They can't drink when they eat. Only before or after so it doesn't stretch their stomachs. They rely on highly nutritious food and vitamins to avoid malnourishment (sound familiar Ana girls?) They can't have sweets on their low cal intake because it makes them want to binge, and causes shaking, sweating, dizziness, rapid heart rate, and sometimes diarrhea. Hmm... Interesting. And how is this not considered an eating disorder? It sounds a lot like what we do every day, only they have it done to them by a surgeon. And why? Because of their Binge Eating Disorder.

Back to the poor souls who really did need treatment. The 1000 girls and boys (girls mostly) who die of Ana and Mia each year. It really is sad, and really can happen. Most of us will never be that far gone though. Most of us won't let that happen. Remember, the most popular actors and actresses, and all supermodels and runway models are among our numbers too. They are high profile and high performance. I follow the obituaries. Ana related deaths are few and far between. They may even contribute to complications, but most of those deaths are very obviously drug related (prescription and illegal).

So is there death? Yes, it does happen, and it's horrible that it does. BUT it doesn't begin to compare to the death caused by being fat. So why does everyone get all over the skinny person's case and not the fat person? Why is it ok to harass the thin ones. They are FAR less likely to become gravely ill or die than the fat person.

I have one theory. Fat people spend money. LOTS. They buy more food than a skinny person. Then they get sick and go to the doctor more than skinny people. They need meds more than a skinny person. They end up in hospitals more than skinny people. $$$ Money money money... Sometimes they need special care. Sometimes they get gastric bypass surgery... $$$. Skinnies are minimalists. We might buy more clothes... um... and more bottles of water? Not a real cure for economic slump or creators of huge corporate profits are we?

I hope this was good food for thought... I know it got me thinking.


More Fun Facts:

...more than 1000 people die of drunk driving accidents between Thanksgiving and Christmas alone in the U.S.
...1000 people die in the United States each year from electric shock.
...1000 people die in the UK each year from lung cancer caused by gas leaks.