Megarexia: obese people who look thin

The megarexia It is an eating disorder (TCA). The most popular TCAs are bulimia, the anorexia nervosa and the vigorexia or the orthorexia (the obsession with healthy food), but there are also others, such as megarexia.

This latter disorder, however, It is not listed in the DSM (Statistical Diagnostic Manual of Mental Disorders). Doctor Jaime Brugos cited the term for the first time megarexia in one of his works collected in his book "Isoproteic Diet" in 1992.

An eating disorder is a serious, chronic and progressive illness that, despite its characteristic The most important has to do with the alteration of eating behavior, there are other types of symptoms such as a distortion of body self-image, a great fear of gaining or losing weight and the acquisition of certain beliefs and values ​​about aesthetics and the image of their body.

Nowadays, in western societies, it is common to come across people who are obsessed with their appearance. physical, an obsession that can prevent the normal functioning of your daily life, and that puts your health. In extreme cases, it can even endanger your life.

• Related article: "Do you really know what self-esteem is?"

Megarexia: what is it?

Megarexia is an eating disorder that consists of the obese person who suffers from it does not see himself as overweight, that is, he perceives her body as thin. Therefore, it engages in a series of behavior patterns designed to gain weight and, usually, to gain muscle. For this reason, megarexia is associated with the tendency to exercise a lot and eat a lot to try to gain muscle mass.

Despite the fact that megarexia is not technically part of the addictive disorders, part of its characteristics make it resemble an addiction: the person who has developed this psychological alteration feels the need to carry out actions related to winning very frequently weight, and if you spend more time than usual without, for example, having eaten meat, you have trouble not falling into these types of actions so compulsive.

However, it should be noted that this predisposition to eat a lot is not due to a feeling of hunger, but to a disagreement with one's own body image.

Since it is not a well-known disorder, there are difficulties in fighting this disease. Obesity is not only a matter of aesthetics, but can cause serious health problems in people who suffer from it.

Symptoms

These are the main symptoms of megarexia:

• A distorted and unrealistic perception of one's own body, which is seen as too thin
• Low self-esteem derived from insecurity before the mirror and before others
• Tendency to eat a lot and / to consume an excess of hypercaloric foods
• Tendency to underestimate the effects of a poor diet on health

Effects and consequences of megarexia

As we have mentioned, obesity and being overweight are risk factors that significantly increase the possibility of suffering diseases such as, diabetes, metabolic syndrome, cardiovascular diseases, gout, etc.

People who suffer from megarexia not only consider that they are not obese, but also do nothing to change their harmful lifestyle. For example, instead of eating nutritionally adequate foods, they eat foods that are harmful to their health. Not being aware of their disorder, they do not lead an active life or do physical exercise, which increases the risk of suffering from other diseases related to a sedentary lifestyle.

Also, the physical exercise It not only affects on a physical level, but also provides benefits on a psychological level. To learn more about this, we invite you to read our article: “The 10 psychological benefits of exercising”.

How to combat megarexia?

A first step to combat this disorder has to do with the acceptance of the person who suffers from this disease. But you must not only accept that you have an eating problem, but you must also be aware that you have a serious psychological disorder. In this context, the person's environment is critical to help him overcome this psychopathology.

The close environment should persuade the patient to place himself in the hands of an expert in the treatment of eating disorders: going to psychotherapy is essential. If this is not possible, the GP should be contacted, as this may be the first option for progressive improvement of the disorder.