MEGAREXIA: SYMPTOMS, CAUSES, EFFECTS, TREATMENT - ECONOMÍA - 2025

The megarexia is an eating disorder whose main symptom is the perception of the body as healthy or thin, in cases where the person is overweight or obese. In many respects, it is the opposite problem to anorexia, although it is a much less well-known pathology than the latter.

The name “megarexia” was mentioned for the first time by the Spanish nutritionist Jaime Brugos, who defined it as an eating disorder in which the individual suffers from obesity but refuses to admit it. Therefore, it is a distortion of one's perception with a purely mental origin, which can cause a large number of both physical and emotional problems.

Generally, people with megarexia maintain a series of very unhealthy lifestyle habits, among which are the intake of hypercaloric and unhealthy foods and the lack of physical exercise. As a consequence, your life can be put at risk, and your health will end up suffering if you do not begin to take proper care of yourself.

Megarexia is not yet included in the main diagnostic manuals for mental disorders; but taking into account that more than 500 million people are affected by obesity around the world, it is to be expected that this problem will end up in clinical practices in different countries.

Symptoms of megarexia

Distorted perception of one's own body

One of the main characteristics of megarexia is the inability to see one's own body as it really is. This symptom is present in all other eating disorders, such as anorexia and bulimia; but in megarexia it appears differently.

Thus, while in the rest of disorders of this type, cognitive distortion causes the person to look fat when they really have a lower weight than normal, in megarexia the individual is perceived as having a normal or healthy weight, even if they really suffer from being overweight or obese.

This inability to perceive the body as it really is causes all kinds of complications, since the person is not aware that they have a physical health problem. In fact, some experts believe that all other symptoms are produced from this.

Little concern for health

Practically all of us know that taking care of our physical health is fundamental. Thanks to the information that is available, almost all individuals try to eat as healthy a diet as possible and to engage in physical exercise at least sporadically. However, people with megarexia do not care about this issue.

It is very common for those who suffer from this disorder to have an extremely unhealthy diet, in which fatty foods or foods full of sugars are abundant, and very low in nutrients. At the same time, they tend to avoid any type of physical exercise, leading in most cases a very sedentary lifestyle.

Low self-esteem

Although this is something that is not seen as clearly as in the case of other eating disorders, people with megarexia often show levels of self-esteem well below the average for the population. In fact, some psychologists consider that their self-destructive habits arise precisely from this lack of self-esteem.

Individuals with this disorder often display behaviors that indicate a lack of self-acceptance, in addition to typical symptoms of low self-confidence. Among others, we can highlight the avoidance of complex social situations, the difficulty in expressing one's own needs and desires, and the constant attempts to please others.

Reality avoidance

According to research in this regard, people with megarexia are unable to perceive that they have a physical and psychological health problem. To avoid having to face a reality that would harm them, they use all kinds of strategies that prevent them from having to accept their overweight.

For example, many megarexia patients will try to go shopping as little as possible, because the fact that the clothes in a store do not fit them can force them to face their overweight.

For the same reason, most of them avoid having mirrors at home or uploading photos in which they are clearly seen to any social network.

Causes

It is not known exactly what are the causes that can lead a person to develop a problem such as megarexia. As in other eating disorders, the appearance of this syndrome can have to do with a mixture of genetic, environmental, educational-related and psychological causes.

For example, some people are more likely to gain weight from birth, so their body weight will be higher than normal if they do not take great care of their diet and exercise habits. At the same time, other individuals have difficulty controlling their food intake and are more likely to develop an addiction to high-calorie foods.

If to this we add the social tendency to avoid talking about obesity, our increasingly unhealthy habits and the presence in all areas of extremely tasty foods that are not very suitable for our well-being, it is easy to explain the growing obesity epidemic that it affects the entire developed world.

On the other hand, some people find it difficult to cope with a reality that they consider negative, and unconsciously choose to avoid thinking about their problems or deny them altogether. When all these factors come together, megarexia or any other similar disorder is very likely to appear.

Effects edit

The fact of maintaining a very high body weight for a long time, added to the intake of unhealthy foods and the lack of physical exercise, can cause all kinds of dangerous consequences for the well-being of individuals with megarexia.

Poor eating and exercise habits have been shown to correlate with an increased chance of cardiovascular disease, cancer, and other serious physical problems. In addition, the life expectancy of these people is usually significantly reduced.

On the other hand, the psychological state of individuals with megarexia is usually not particularly good. The combination of their low self-esteem, the social stigma that exists against obese people, and the hormonal and chemical imbalance caused by unhealthy diets and lack of exercise can end up leading to other psychological disorders such as depression or anxiety.

Finally, and although it seems counterintuitive, people with megarexia are usually undernourished, because the food they eat is full of what are known as "empty calories." As a consequence, their life can be put at risk even if they do not develop a more serious illness.

Prevention

As in the case of other eating disorders, the best solution for megarexia is to prevent it from occurring in the first place. For this, it is necessary to use both a social and personal approach, mixing the education of the general population as well as the development of certain capacities and ways of thinking in each individual.

On the one hand, it is essential to begin to make the population aware of the dangers of leading an unhealthy lifestyle, and to offer realistic alternatives that make it as easy as possible to follow a healthy diet and exercise regularly. The importance of this action becomes apparent when we see the increasing number of obesity cases around the world.

In addition to this, it is necessary to educate people so that they take the greatest responsibility for their actions and habits. If we get each individual to realize the control they have over their own life, it will be much more difficult for problems as serious as megarexia to occur.

Treatment

But what happens in cases where the person has already developed this disorder? Because megarexia can seriously endanger an individual's life, it is essential that actions are taken to alleviate the symptoms and solve the underlying problem as quickly as possible.

In cases where the risk to the physical health of the individual is very high, generally medical professionals will choose to hospitalize them for a time to stabilize their condition. At the same time, they may recommend that you undergo a stomach reduction operation or similar to help you lose weight as quickly as possible.

On the other hand, the individual will have to manage to change their eating and exercise habits. To achieve this, it is usually necessary to also carry out some type of psychological therapy, to understand what were the causes that led to the development of the problem in the first place and to be able to solve them.

There is no simple solution for megarexia or obesity. However, with the help of a good professional and appropriate change in habits, it is possible for a person to regain physical and mental health and remain in good shape for the rest of their life.

References

1. "What is megarexia? A growing eating disorder ”in: Very Healthy. Retrieved on: November 23, 2019 from Muy Saludable: muysaludable.sanitas.com.
2. "Megarexia" in: Webconsultas. Retrieved on: November 23, 2019 from Webconsultas: webconsultas.com.
3. "Fatorexia" in: Wikipedia. Retrieved on: November 23, 2019 from Wikipedia: es.wikipedia.org.
4. "Megarexia: when obesity is perceived as healthy" in: El País. Retrieved on: November 23, 2019 from El País: elpais.com.
5. "Megarexia" in: Wikipedia. Retrieved on: November 23, 2019 from Wikipedia: es.wikipedia.org.