Many people decide to follow diets to lose weight. There are a large number of diets available to anyone, whether through the Internet, social networks, health centers, etc.
Furthermore, these diets are of all types: to lose weight, to gain muscle, to define oneself, to reduce sugar levels…
But what happens when an obsession with low-calorie diets appears? That then we can be faced a case of permarexia What does this disorder consist of? What are its symptoms, causes and treatments? We are going to answer all these questions through the following article.
We have mentioned the fact of following a certain diet… A priori, following a diet should not be something dangerous or pathological, but… what happens when The fact of following certain diets becomes the central axis of our lives and our main concern is to lose weight and control everything we eat? So we are no longer talking about a more or less healthy habit, but rather about a psychological disorder called permarexia.
Thus, permarexia is an eating disorder, which is mainly characterized by an obsession with diets that lead to weight loss and by compulsively counting the calories ingested. Permarexia is classified as an “eating disorder not otherwise specified” within the reference diagnostic manuals (such as the DSM-5).
This way, The diets that a person with permarexia follows are low-calorie diets, that is, with low calorie content, in order to lose weight constantly. The patient compensates for this unhealthy fear of gaining weight by practicing this type of diet, which he follows to the letter and obsessively.
Following these diets adds up to constant scrutiny of the labels of the products you are going to eat, due to that great fear of gaining an extra calorie, which you want to avoid at all costs.
Permarexia is actually a disorder that It can be the prelude to other even more serious eating disorders (ED), such as bulimia or anorexia nervosa To these last two disorders, other serious behaviors can also be added such as: intense physical exercise, compensatory behaviors (use of laxatives, self-induced vomiting…), etc.
Symptoms
There are key symptoms to detect permarexia; Thus, experts talk about some of them, and assure that when a person changes their diet more than three times in a period of between two and four months, added to a constant concern about weighing themselves and writing down the results, and an obsession with counting the calories of what they buy and eat, that person is at risk of suffering from permarexia.
But let’s look at the most typical symptoms of permarexia in a little more detail:
1. Obsession with calories ingested
People with permarexia show an obsession with the calories they eat. This translates to the patient compulsively counts how many calories he or she is eating with each food or product, and what type. To do this, it is not that he looks at the labels, but that he directly scrutinizes them and analyzes them in detail.
2. Miracle diet tracking
Another symptom of people who suffer from permarexia is a constant following of miracle diets to lose weight.
3. Deprivation of certain types of food
By constantly following diets, people who suffer from permarexia deprive themselves of certain foods necessary for the proper functioning of the body in every sense. These foods may contain essential vitamins or proteins that are being lost with this type of low-calorie diets which very negatively affects your health.
4. Influence of weight on self-esteem and mood
Another primary symptom of permarexia is the fact that people who suffer from it have both their mood and self-esteem dependent on their weight and physical appearance. That is to say, They “measure” their well-being, their happiness and their self-love through how much they weigh and what their body shape is like
This, logically, on a psychological level means great damage to the person, since they are feeding on external things to value something purely internal.
5. Oscillations in body weight
Another symptom of permarexia is the appearance of fluctuations in body weight. Thus, even if they are people who try by all means to follow the strict diets to which they are subjected, they suffer variations in their weight, which affects their health very negatively on a mental and physical level, because if they have gained any “extra” kilo they feel very bad.
6. Consumption of slimming products
In addition to following low-calorie diets, in order to lose weight and always stay slim, People with permarexia also consume products of different types to achieve its goal: slimming products, vitamins, diuretics…
Causes
Like most psychological disorders, permarexia also usually has a multifactorial cause. That is to say, There are several factors that influence its appearance Some of the most frequent (which, in turn, shape the traits of a person who suffers from permarexia) are.
1. Low self-esteem
Low self-esteem is at the root of many eating disorders. In turn, this low self-esteem can be caused by many other factors.
People with permarexia, as we have seen, tend to value themselves based on how much they weigh and how their body is/is physically, which ends up further undermining their self-esteem, turning this situation into a vicious circle
2. Body dissatisfaction
Another cause of permarexia is a dissatisfaction with one’s own body. This, in turn, may be influenced by the current beauty stereotype in society which rewards thinness – in many cases extreme -, added to a general obsession with the cult of the body and its exhibition, etc.
3. Emotional instability
The profile of a person with permarexia often consists of an emotionally unstable person, who needs to “control” this instability through actions such as: following a highly strict diet, analyzing the calories they consume, etc. emotional instability It is also frequently translated as “neuroticism.”
Obsessive traits are also one of the causes of people with permarexia (we insist, always added to other causes). That is to say, the typical profile of these people is that of also obsessive people, who They need to control many aspects of their life to feel “at peace”
5. Great importance given to the opinions of others
Finally, another cause of permarexia is the fact of giving excessive importance to the opinions of others when valuing oneself.
This is directly related to the low self-esteem already mentioned. Thus, these are often insecure people, who constantly “need” to be liked, as well as the approval of others.
Treatment
In the treatment indicated to treat permarexia, logically, it must be assessed and adapted to each particular case. On a psychological level, Irrational thoughts associated with the body and the importance of being thin should be worked on
Thus, one of the objectives will be to increase the patient’s self-esteem, as well as analyze their coping strategies when solving problems. Once the strategies have been analyzed, work will be done so that the patient acquires healthier and more adaptive coping strategies.
On the other hand, It will also be essential to work on your obsessive traits and, ultimately, the entire most emotional sphere that is influencing the maintenance of the disorder.
For all this, we can opt for cognitive-behavioral therapy, since it is one of the most effective when it comes to working on coping strategies, irrational thoughts, healthy habits, etc. However, other approaches can also be used, such as systemic therapy.
Finally, it should be noted that psychological treatment should always be carried out with the support of a nutrition specialist who helps regulate and adapt the dietary guidelines and diets that the patient is following.
