anorexia & malnutrition.

[mollykins]

If your anorexic you can be malnurished but . . .

will you not be malnurished if you take supliment tablets so the only thing that your not getting is the calories and fat or do you need them to not be officialy malnurished?

ps. i'm not thinking of doing this, just curious.

[LazyGun]

Molly - The definition of malnutrition can be stated as follows;
"Poor nutrition caused by an insufficient, oversufficient, or poorly balanced diet or by a medical condition resulting in inadequate digestion or utilization of foods."

So yes, you would still be defined as malnourished if you take supplements in the absence of calories. And calories and fat are not different things - fat is just one source of calories.

We are all biological organisms Molly, and it is really , really important that we obtain calories from a properly balanced diet - This should include calories from all sources - fat, protein, carbohydrates etc, and the various trace elements and vitamins required to ensure the body works smoothly. Without a sufficiency of calories, the body cannabilises fat and muscle within the body -you literally consume yourself and this is dangerous, potentially deadly.

Even the laziest, most sedentary adult will require at least 1000 calories a day merely to maintain the body.

For anyone wishing to lose weight, or improve body tone, the answer is simple - control calorific intake by not overeating and snacking, and excercise frequently. Not something someone as fond as food as myself, or as lazy, wishes to hear, but there you go ;)

[mamasaurus]

Questions like this really worry me. I fear that too many young people are overly concerned about wieght. Being too thin is just as bad as being to fat. Both cause medical complications and can kill you. LazyGun gave a perfect response to this question. I hope it helps you and anyone who might be consdering this. Suppliments will not keep you alive!!!

[mollykins]

I was wondering if models do this because many say that they are not malnurished so i thought that they may be taking supliment tablets to do this.

[mollykins]

And do vitamins and minerals contain calories?

[mollykins]

Or are they negative calories like celery is ie. your body uses more calories in digesting and transporting the nutrients around your body than the food actually contains.

ps i'm slightly chubby and like my food so i would never starve myself or advise any friend to do so. Infact one of my friends tried to but i kinda forcefed her.

[mollykins]

Thats a thought, on packaging it usually says how many calories the food contains but it doesn't take into consideration how many calories your body uses to digest ect. it else if it did stuff like celery would be minus calories.


So does your body need the 1000 calories plus calories to digest the food?

[LazyGun]

I am pleased to hear you aren't planning to embark on any weird starvation style diet Molly.
You have raised more than a few points here ; I'll try to answer as best I can.
1. Do Vitamins and supplements contain calories - Everything has a certain calorific value, but vitamins are so calorie poor that they can be practically discounted as a source of calories. With respect to supplements, their calorific value depends on what type of supplement you are talking about - There are dietary supplements for bodybuilders and suchlike, and they may have quite a high calorific value, for example - but those supplements designed to offer vitamin or trace element support are likely calorie poor.

2. Just because the model or the press article says that the person in question is not malnourished does not mean or guarantee that they aren't. A personal statement or gossip based opinion does not constitute evidence.

3.Again, in general terms, the calorific cost of digesting, breakdown and transport of food is practically negligable with respect to the calorific content of most food groups and can be discounted, with certain specific exceptions, such as celery, or drinking a cold low calorie drink.

4. Dont take the 1,000 calories as gospel, Molly - That was meant as an illustration only of an absolute daily minimum. The exact amount varies depending on which study you look at, and will also be dependant upon whether you are male or female, child, adolescent or adult, pregnant or not, etc. A number of studies recommend 2,700 calories a day for a healthy adult active male, and 2,000 calories a day for a healthy adult active female.