Russian Barbie doll wannabes fall victims to extreme dieting

Extreme diets exert a very negative influence on women's health – they particularly suppress the function of the ovaries

The girl was hospitalized with a horrible diagnosis – the stomach necrosis. When the stomach was dissected, surgeons were shocked to see that it was all filled with carrots. In addition, there was a hole in the stomach, from where the salad was coming out to the intestines.

Russian medics say that the society has been obsessed with diets recently. The dream to have a slim figure may often lead to serious digestion disorders, anorexia nervosa in particular – the pathological wish of an individual to lose weight at all costs. As a rule, the ailment is common with teenage girls from 16 to 18 years of age.

Nineteen-year-old student Evgenia Steapnenko was on a strict diet for six months. The young girl ate only vegetables and fruit. She even drank vinegar to get rid of the feeling of hunger. The girl was especially fond of spicy salads.

On December 3rd, 2004 Evgenia ate two kilograms of Korean hot carrots. The girl was hospitalized to a local hospital the same night. Doctors diagnosed the necrosis of the stomach. The girl's stomach was dead; the doctors had to remove it from the girl's abdominal cavity. Evgenia's life depends on a catheter now: doctors inject nutritious substances directly in the girl's body. She will have to experience several complicated operations in the near future too.

A diet killed another 19-year-old Russian student, Elena Lukecha, about six months ago. The girl totally exhausted herself, her weight was only 27 kilograms, but she still thought that she was fat. Doctors took life-saving efforts, but the patient eventually died.

Fourteen-year-old girl Marina was starving for nine months. She was only 155 centimeters tall, but she weighed 30 kilograms. The extreme diet made the girl's periods stop. Extreme diets exert a very negative influence on women's health – they particularly suppress the function of the ovaries. As a rule, exhaustion harms other vital functions of a human organism and deteriorates the endocrine system on the whole. Diets may often lead to infertility in addition to a whole bouquet of gynecological illnesses, gastrointestinal disorders, kidney diseases, anemia and even tuberculosis.

Extreme diets have become “popular” not only with girls and women, but with adult men too. If a man restricts his nourishment, he is likely to suffer from stomach ulcer, digestive disorders and serious sexual and psychological problems. A combination of all of those problems may even result in schizophrenia.

The male variant of anorexia nervosa bears the schizophrenic character, as a rule, whereas women usually suffer from neurosis. Specialists believe that modern people suffer from exhaustion simply because of fashion trends.

A Barbie doll has become a role model for a lot of young girls, even in Russia. A great deal of girls want to look like top models too. As a result, the majority of those girls suffer from dystrophy and a variety of psychological illnesses. Losing weight requires a scientific, thought-out approach, which totally excludes extreme dieting.