The Teens At Risk series deals with powerful and relevant issues facing teenagers today. This series reveals first-hand how young people deal with and overcome the very real challenges encountered as part of their growing up. In this program, you will see the struggles teens face with Bulimia Nervosa and Anorexia Nervosa from individuals that have suffered from this affliction and survived. For reasons that are unclear, some people, mainly young women, develop potentially life-threatening eating disorders called bulimia nervosa and anorexia nervosa. People with bulimia, known as bulimics, indulge in bingeing (episodes of eating large amounts of food) and purging (getting rid of the food by vomiting or using laxatives). People with anorexia, whom doctors sometimes call anorectics, severely limit their food intake. About half of them also have bulimia symptoms. Bulimia is also a very deadly physical illness as intentionally purging causes many debilitating effects including severe tooth erosion, tears of the esophagus, life threatening potassium imbalances and more. More than 20% die form complications relating to their eating disorders. Anorexics similarly are affected by their illnesses in many ways ranging from fatigue and lack of energy, amenorrhea (loss of menstruation), loss of bone mass and even cardiac arrest and death.

_

_

_