Eating Disorders Blog

According to new research, individuals suffering from anorexia exhibit especially high levels of fat in their bone marrow, which may explain why these individuals often suffer from osteoporosis. The findings appear in the February issue of the Journal of Bone and Mineral Research.

For the study, researchers conducted and analyzed MRI scans of 40 girls aged 16 to 20. Half of the girls suffered from anorexia and half did not. The researchers found that the anorexic girls had significantly higher levels of fat in the marrow of their knees, thighs and upper shin bones, as well as significantly less red marrow.

Earlier studies have also confirmed that malnourished individuals experience hormonal changes that cause the bone marrow's mesenchymal stem cells to turn into fat cells rather than bone-forming cells. This change may help to explain why some anorexic individuals develop osteoporosis.

Dr. Catherine Gordon, an endocrinologist and director of the Bone Health Program at Children's Hospital Boston, explained the phenomenon in a hospital news release: "It's counterintuitive that an emaciated young woman with almost no subcutaneous [below the skin] fat would be storing fat in her marrow. Bone formation is very low in girls with anorexia, and that's a particular problem because they are growing adolescents who should be maximally forming bones.

"But because of the hormonal alterations induced by malnutrition, the bone marrow stops yielding the needed cells to form bone. Instead, the stem cells are pushed toward fat formation."

Experts hypothesize that the body makes this change in a "last ditch" effort to preserve body fat and increase body temperature. With little or no body fat, anorexics often suffer from dangerously low body temperatures (hypothermia) and must be hospitalized because of it.

(Source: www.businessweek.com)

Labels: anorexia, osteoporosis

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Actress Gwen Paltrow admits that she goes on extreme diets, including the "Master Cleanse." This regime involves drinking maple syrup, lemon juice, water, and red pepper in order to lose 20 or more pounds very quickly.

"It's not what you'd characterize as pretty," she said. "Or easy. But it did work."

Paltrow began a macrobiotic diet in 1999, which consists of vegetables, grains, soup, and fish. Her six-day-a-week exercise routine involves 40 minutes of cardio-dancing followed by leg crunches and arm exercises.

The intensity of her meat-free, dairy-free diet and other routines may be taking its toll on the 37-year-old's health.

• After breaking her leg last year, Paltrow underwent a bone density scan and found out she had osteopenia, a precursor to osteoporosis.
• Usually only elderly women develop these conditions after menopause.
• Paltrow's doctors told her she had the lowest levels of Vitamin D they had ever seen, and advised her to spend more time in the sun.
• She also has to take prescription strength Vitamin D. This vitamin is found in sunlight and necessary for bone health.

ABC news medical consultant Dr. Stephen Honig said Paltrow's condition is a warning to young women at risk for eating disorders.

Dr. Honig, director of the Osteoporosis Center at New York University Hospital, said teenagers should consume milk and other dairy products, exercise moderately, and maintain a healthy body weight.

"Don't get too crazy," he advised.
 

Labels: extreme diets, osteoporosis, diet

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