Dubai: The alarm clock rings, Laila, 19, hits the snooze button and slowly gets her weak, shivering body out of bed. \u201cI feel exhausted every morning, but the thought of me weighing myself excites me. The first thing I do when I wake up is weigh myself; the number on the scale determines whether or not I can have breakfast that day,\u201d said Laila.<\/p>\n
She offers the reporter a cup of coffee, \u201cIf I\u2019m unhappy with my weight on a particular day, I usually rely on several cups of coffee to keep myself awake,\u201d said Laila. Looking around her dorm room, there was not a single food item to be seen; however, water bottles and cups of coffee covered her entire desk space.<\/p>\n
Obesity may be all over the headlines in Middle East, but behind closed doors, Anorexia and Bulimia are dominating the country and destroying lives. In an area where obesity has become pandemic, it may come as a huge surprise that many are suffering from the inability to eat. Dr. Jeremy Alford, founder and president of the Middle Eastern Eating Disorder Association, said, \u201c1.9 percent of girls aged 13 to 19 in the Middle East are anorexic, compared to the 1 percent in the United Kingdom\u201d.<\/p>\n
Even more worrying was a review compiled by Zayed University, in Dubai. When female undergraduates were asked to pick their perfect body shape from nine outlines, practically 80% of students picked the extremely thin body frame. Eating disorders are very convoluted; of all mental issues, they are the leading cause of death. People with eating disorders strictly monitor and control their food intake. Dr Rumia Justine, a Clinical Nutritionist and consultant in Soor Center for Professional Therapy and Assessment in Kuwait, said in an interview over the phone, \u201cEating disorders don\u2019t develop overnight, that\u2019s what most people don\u2019t understand. They develop from a series of difficult and stressful events in a person\u2019s life. Most patients lack control over their life and so they turn to food to make up for it.\u201d Examples of eating disorders are anorexia nervosa and bulimia nervosa. Each of them offer large portions of the same underlying issues of low self-confidence, depression, nervousness, and sometimes trauma.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhile treating eating disorder conditions, it is essential to handle the basic issue that the patient is confronting,\u201d said registered dietitian and vice president of the Middle Eastern Eating Disorder Association, Hiba Safieddine. Compulsiveness, the need to succeed, the trepidation of disappointment, and the requirement for control are just a percentage of the normal attributes found in individuals battling with eating disorders. Anorexics and bulimics will control their food intake secretively and rigidly with the aim of losing weight.<\/p>\n
Underweight girls and boys walk into hospitals in UAE almost every day wanting help. Dr. Hany Shafey who works in the psychiatry department of Emirates Hospital said, \u201cI have met a lot of anorexic girls and, believe it or not just as many boys, in this hospital. I have also come to realize during my time here that the numbers are undoubtedly rising. Maybe it\u2019s because of the fashion industry or something similar.\u201d Dr. Shafey then explained that he actually had no expertise in the field of eating disorders and that throughout his 37 years of experience in the UAE and Saudi Arabia, he is yet to meet a doctor who entirely specializes in the field.<\/p>\n
A nurse at the American University in Dubai called the issue \u201cA crisis on campus\u201d; she said, \u201cOur campus is filled with girls who look severely underweight and within my years in AUD, I can remember several incidents of girls collapsing, having extremely low blood pressure, and even having seizures as a result of dehydration and starvation.\u201d<\/p>\n
Laila is one of the many people suffering from the inability to eat healthily without any guidance. Like many other mental disorders in the Middle East, eating disorders are regularly pushed aside and swept under the mat. Sarah, Laila\u2019s 38 year old sister, said \u201c3 years ago when my mum took Laila to a hospital in Saudi Arabia, she was transferred to a psychiatrist who straight away suggested anti-depressants and blatantly told Laila that she should start eating more\u201d. Sarah refused to give the names of both the hospital and the psychiatrist but said, \u201cTrust me, it\u2019s not just that hospital; I can assure you that many hospitals in the Middle East would\u2019ve reacted in the same way.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cMore than five people- a specialist, psychoanalyst, psychotherapist, dietician and GP- are needed to treat an ordinary eating disorder case. The normal time period to bring a person suffering from anorexia to totally recuperate is seven years; with bulimia it can take up to 14 years or even more\u201d said Dr. Alford<\/p>\n
As suggested by Egyptian psychiatrist and writer Mervat Nasser, eating disorders are not cultural issues, and they do not just exist in the United States. As a matter of fact, they exist right here down in our streets, and you probably interact with someone who has an eating disorder almost every day. Contrary to the popular belief, eating disorders are not a choice; people do not choose to experience having an eating disorder, just like a cancer patient does not choose to experience the agony of cancer. Nasser also said that eating disorders are not like tantrums thrown by irritated children. Contrary to what is commonly believed by Middle Eastern societies, people suffering from anorexia and bulimia cannot just simply \u2018snap out of it\u2019 or \u2018start eating more\u2019.<\/p>\n
Experts have stated multiple times that people suffering from eating comlications in the Middle East need proper facilities to reach to for help, they need rehab centers just like those found in almost every single state in America, and they need specialist clinics, not mental institutions. In the words of Laila\u2019s own sister, Sara, \u201cThe Arab society needs to wake up stop living in repudiation. Eating disorders are fatal mental illnesses and do not only exist in the West; the solution is not filling bodies with antidepressants and hoping for the best.\u201d The world is up against a real challenge; worldwide supermodel Kate Moss said that her very own motto is, \u201cNothing tastes as good as skinny feels.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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