Eating disorders

How men and women differ in terms of eating disorders

Generally speaking, eating disorders in men look a lot like eating disorders in women. The symptom pictures are quite similar; for example, fear of fat, distorted body image, a narrowing of life focus to body/weight goals, and so on are present in both genders. So are the underlying psychological dynamics fueling the disorder — for example, worth that is based on weight and shape, perfectionism, obsessive-compulsive features, and so forth.

Men and women part ways when it comes to the body changes they’re aiming at and what these changes mean to them. Whereas women focus on becoming thin, men focus on becoming buff. The perfect male body has zero fat and its V-shaped, bigger-is-better muscular distribution is marked by huge biceps and “six-pack” abs. Women fear fat because it makes them unattractive. Men fear fat because it makes them appear flabby and weak.

Half of men who are dissatisfied with their bodies want to lose weight while the other half want to gain. What these two camps have in common is that, for the most part, both are aiming at the bulked-up cultural ideal. Steroid use to help achieve this muscular perfection is an essentially male addition to the scary things people can do when driven by eating-disordered thinking.

Other differences exist in the ways that men and women experience each of the three major eating disorders: anorexia, bulimia, and BED. These differences (by disorder) include

Anorexia: In men, starvation lowers levels of testosterone. This appears to have the immediate effect of killing libido. In some men, it may have lasting effects on their fertility even when their weight is restored.

Bulimia: Men are less likely to purge and more likely to rely on compensatory behavior, like cutting calories or compulsive exercising.

BED: Men who binge are generally less upset about their behavior than women who binge. Women feel shame in the act of bingeing, while men save their shameful feelings for the effect bingeing has on their bodies; males eat without shame, yet are embarrassed by the fat that results.

More on Business Intelligence

All organizations, whether business, government, charitable, or otherwise; have limited resources for performing their missions. Companies are forced to make do with what they have — all the time. You can’t put a Nobel laureate in every position, and you can’t pour unlimited dollars into an endless quest to make all your factories and offices more efficient.

The most precious resource is time. The marketplace is in constant motion, and companies must not only move correctly, they must move quickly. Otherwise competitors will fill any available vacuum in the market, resources will get used up, and your organization will inexorably wither away.

Businessintelligences entire raison d’être (that’s French for “shade of lipstick” — just kidding) is as an ally at those inflection points throughout the life of a business where a decision is required. Business intelligence is a flexible resource that can work at various organizational levels and various times — these, for example:

·         A sales manager is deliberating over which prospects the account executives should focus on in the final-quarter profitability push;

·         An automotive firm’s research-and-development team is deciding which features to include in next year’s sedan; and,

·         The fraud department is deciding on changes to customer loyalty programs that will root out fraud without sacrificing customer satisfaction.

The decisions can be strategic or tactical, grand or humble. But they represent two roads diverging in a yellow wood: Considered in the aggregate, the roads taken and those not taken represent the separation between successful and unsuccessful companies. Better decisions, with the help of business intelligence, can make all the difference.

On your children’s health-on going on a holiday

Ensure You’re Insured

Whether your child comes down with a dose of Delhi belly or needs emergency treatment for an accident, the last thing you want to worry about on holiday is medical costs. Taking out good medical insurance for your whole family is an absolute must, even in countries within the European Union (EU). Check that your insurance covers repatriation to fly you or your children home if medical treatment is needed.

All countries in the European Economic Area (the EU, plus Iceland, Liechtenstein, and Norway) have a reciprocal agreement with the UK for the provision of basic healthcare free of charge or for a minimal fee. To be eligible for this reciprocal healthcare, you need to travel with a European Health Insurance Card (EHIC), issued by the Department of Health. You can order an EHIC online at www.ehic.org.uk or by calling 0845-606-2030. Even if you have an EHIC, take out private medical insurance too, because the EHIC may not cover all your medical expenses abroad.

Your child under Sun

Take Care in the Sun

Everyone needs some sun exposure: The sun’s our primary trigger for vitamin D production, which helps us absorb calcium for strong, healthy bones. But most people get the vitamin D they need pretty quickly, and extended unprotected exposure to the sun’s ultraviolet rays can cause heatstroke, sunburn, skin damage, eye damage, and cancer. The sun’s rays are particularly dangerous to young children.

Ultraviolet (UV) rays are the most damaging of the sun’s rays. UV rays react with a chemical called melanin in the skin. Melanin is our first defence against the sun, absorbing dangerous UV rays before they do serious damage to the body. Melanin is found in different concentrations according to skin colour:

The lighter your child’s natural skin pigment, the less melanin it contains. But both dark- and pale-skinned children need protection from UV rays because any tanning or burning causes skin damage. Unprotected sun exposure is even more dangerous for children with moles, very fair skin and hair, or a history of skin cancer. You should be especially careful about sun protection if your child has one or more of these high-risk characteristics.

Follow these tips to stay safe in the sun:

Keep your baby in the shade. This one isn't negotiable. Babies under the age of 6 months should be kept out of the sun altogether.

Avoid the midday sun. The strongest rays of the day are normally between 10 a.m. and 4 p.m. If your child is in the sun between these hours, keep him covered up in light-colored clothing and apply protective sunscreen to his skin.

Use a sunscreen at all times. The higher the sun protection factor (SPF) of the sunscreen, the better – use SPF 15 or higher. Avoid sunscreens containing PABA (para-amino-benzoic acid), because this can cause skin allergies. Apply the sunscreen generously to your child’s skin about 30 minutes before he goes outside, and then reapply every two to three hours and after swimming, even if the sunscreen is waterproof.

Protect the skin even on cloudy days. UV rays pass through clouds. Your child may be unaware that he’s burning on cooler or windy days, because the temperature or breeze keeps the skin feeling cool on the surface.

Don’t forget that light reflects. Remember those panda eyes you see on people just returned from skiing holidays? Light reflects, especially off bright surfaces like snow, and can do every bit as much damage as direct sunlight. Sunlight can reflect off water, sand, or even concrete, so if you’re on a sunshine holiday, keeping your little one out of the sun means well and truly out!

Cover up. Get your child to wear thick-woven clothes and use umbrellas or a beach tent on the beach. Make sure your child wears a hat – preferably with a flap to protect the back of the neck. Buy a stretchy sun suit for your kids with built-in high protection sun protection. Not only do they look cool (kids usually love them!) but they really work. Kids can wear them in and out of the water, as well, and they’re made to dry off quickly. Look for one with a high SPF (25 at least) and check the cleaning instructions to avoid ruining it before the holiday even starts!

Keep the water flowing. Dehydration in babies and young children is dangerous and can happen extremely quickly. Carry fluids with you at all times, and encourage your child to drink frequently. If you’re breastfeeding, your baby may need more frequent feeds to quench his thirst.

Look cool in sunglasses. Sun exposure damages the eyes as well as the skin. Just one day in the sun can result in a burned cornea (the outermost, clear membrane layer of the eye). Cumulative exposure can lead to cataracts later in life, which may result in blindness. The best way to protect your child’s eyes is for him to wear sunglasses. Not all sunglasses provide the same level of protection: Darkened plastic or glass lenses without special UV filters just trick the eyes into a false sense of safety. Purchase sunglasses with a label that confirms they provide 100 per cent UV protection.

If your child’s skin does get sunburned, bathe the affected area with cool water or cold compresses. Apply calamine lotion and give him infant paracetamol if necessary. If the skin is blistered, keep it dry and cover any burned areas, because they can easily become infected. Extensive sunburn in a child can lead to hypothermia, because your child may lose a lot of body heat – so seek medical advice immediately if sunburn is extensive.