?Diabulimia? is a life-threatening disorder for some teens

[Northerner]

It was Cassady Kinter's little secret.

"I was 14 so I was going into high school which I think is a really common time for people to start messing with that stuff," she said.

Cassady has Type 1 Diabetes. What she "messed with" was her insulin, skipping doses. It's not so rare, according to Seattle Children's Doctor Yolanda Evans.

"Diabulimia is a term for kids who have diabetes who use insulin, but they'll withhold their insulin in order to lose weight," Dr. Evans said.

Trouble is it works better than any diet. That's why got Cassady hooked.

"You can lose like 10 pounds in two days which is really appealing to a young kid who doesn't really care about consequences later on."

http://www.king5.com/health/Diabulimia-is-a-life-threatening-disorder-for-some-teens-205313591.html

 

[Cleo]

Thanks for posting this Northerner. I have heard about this before and it sounds absolutely dreadful for everyone involved. Its so sad that young beautiful people are bombarded with unrealistic and often photoshopped images of what 'beauty' represents, they seem to be under so much more pressure than teens back in my time. Its incredible when you think about the amount of DAMAGE that they do to their health just to look beautiful.

 

[Northerner]

Thanks for posting this Northerner. I have heard about this before and it sounds absolutely dreadful for everyone involved. Its so sad that young beautiful people are bombarded with unrealistic and often photoshopped images of what 'beauty' represents, they seem to be under so much more pressure than teens back in my time. Its incredible when you think about the amount of DAMAGE that they do to their health just to look beautiful.

There is a charity I support called DWED (Diabetics With Eating Disorders) that is working to try and improve the care that people affected get from the NHS. Often, care is not 'joined-up' i.e. a person may be treated by people with knowledge of eating disorders, but no knowledge of diabetes, and vice versa, so it can be very difficult for people to get appropriate care that addresses all their problems.