America’s children are afraid to eat. It is a fear that consumes, shatters lives, even kills. It is an obsession that takes away from their joy, their curiosity, their energy and their sense of normal life. To be overweight is to fail. It is irrational, but children are succumbing to the same destructive cultural messages about body and weight that plague adults. Instead of growing up with secure and healthy attitudes about their bodies, …showed first 75 words of 2316 total…

…showed last 75 words of 2316 total…the esophagus may be chronically sore or otherwise irritated, and the person may complain of difficulty in swallowing. The abuse of laxatives exacerbates the digestive problems created by starvation. For example, stomach discomfort, cramping, and paradoxically, constipation are all worsened by chronic laxative abuse. Such abuse also leaves the anorexic weaker by making it more difficult for the intestines to absorb fat, protein, and calcium. In cases of extreme abuse the bowel becomes completely dysfunctional.