Bad Eating Habit among Malaysians- BEL 422

INTRODUCTION

Bad eating habit is abnormal behaviors of eating. Most people afflicted with these problems are adolescent girl and young woman. According to Brefere. L (1997) approximately 1 percent of adolescent girls and young woman develop anorexia nervosa, a dangerous condition in which they can literally starve themselves to death. Another 2 to 3 percent of adolescent girl and young woman develop bulimia nervosa, a destructive pattern of excessive overeating followed by vomiting or other compensatory behavior to control their weight. A more recently recognized eating disorder, binge eating disorder could turn out to be the most common about 3 percent. With this disorder, binges are not followed by purges, and so these individuals often become overweight. Eating disorder also occurs in men and older woman, but much less frequently.

Bad eating habit among Malaysians will effect on psychological disorder, change in social life and diet style. People that have psychological disorder are high imaginary rather than real, they have stringent dieting (Brefere. L, 1997). According to Brackney (1979), social life cans change when people have thinking about body image, feeling of self esteem and personal identity that can lead to social problem. Social problem may lead to depression, anxiety and stress. These will effects on health and self esteem. Bad eating habit also will effect on diet style. People will practice unhealthy diet and not followed of what they have normally eaten. Some of them may desire to eat or overeats, they always feel hungry. Other than that eat a little of food because fear of fat and some make themselves vomit after eat.

In Malaysia, Khor (2002) has found bad eating habit have relationship with psychological disorder, social life and diet style. Some people with eating disorders or bad eating habit refuse to admit that they have and do not get treatment. So, as a family members and friends must help to encourage and advise these persons to seek treatment.

There are several psychological disorder problem caused by bad eating habit. The problems are anorexia nervosa, bulimia and binge eating disorder (O’Dea, 1995). Anorexia nervosa is an illness that people refusal to maintain body weight at above a minimally normal weight for height, body type, age and activity level. These people feel they are overweight even when they are bone-thin. Dr. Walker. L (2007) said that, anorexia nervosa found almost in female teenager between fourteen to twenty-five years old. The effect from anorexia nervosa is damage vital organs such as the heart and brain. Reduced body fat leads to lowered body temperature and inability to withstand cold.

People with bulimia nervosa may tend to eat large amounts of food and then vomited, taking enemas and exercising obsessively. People with this disorder may binge and purge as much as several times a day. They always repeated of binging and purging while they can hide their problem for years. The person was extreme concern with body weight and shape. As with anorexia, bulimia also can give bad effect. This illness can damage body by frequent binge eating and purging. When vomiting, the acid in vomit wears down to outer layer of teeth and can cause scarring on the backs of the hands when fingers are pushed down the throat to induce vomiting. Further, the esophagus becomes inflamed and the glands hear the cheeks become swollen (Goldfab,1985).

Binge eating disorder people feel that they hungry often. They tend to uncontrolled eating everytime they eat. They will eat large quantities of found and do not stop eating until they are uncomfortably full. People with disorder may binge everytime they feel depressed. According to Khor (2002), 28.9 percents of students will overeat when they depressed. Binge eaters usually have more difficulty losing weight and keeping it off than do people with other serious weight problems. Most of the people that have binge eating disorder are obesity.