Brideorexia

I found an interesting article from Newsweek on BuzzFeed.com about Brideorexia.

Researcher Lori Neighbors, an assistant professor of nutrition at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, recently took a more scientific look at the relationship between looming nuptials and weight loss. In a study recently published in the journal Appetite, Neighbors followed the dieting patterns of 272 engaged women who were, on average, six months away from their wedding day. She and her co-author, Jeffrey Sobal, professor of nutrition at Cornell, found that 70 percent of them were trying to lose more than 20 pounds and another 20 percent were closely tracking their weight to ensure that they didn't gain anything. "People take their bodies on as projects, and one of the times you want that project to be the most successful is on your wedding day," says Sobal. The study found that most engaged women choose healthy ways to achieve their goals: they cut the junk from their diet and increase their exercise levels. But the researchers were distressed that more than 20 percent of the women they studied used methods they characterized as "extreme," including skipping meals, going on liquid diets, fasting, or taking laxatives or unprescribed diet pills and supplements. A small percentage even started smoking as a weight-loss strategy, while others began vomiting after meals. "With the current high prevalence of anorexia nervosa and bulimia, the pressure of a wedding is one thing that may trigger this kind of unhealthy behavior," says Sobal. (The National Eating Disorders Association estimates that as many as 10 million women and girls in the United States suffer from a serious eating disorder.)