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Q: Controlling weight
asked by: DoctorQuestion on February 18th, 2008
Is this pelican like behavior unsafe? What do you recommend I tell her to refute what she now considers to be a medical pass to continue this practise?


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Dr. Nikola Gjuzelov , MD
replied on February 26th, 2008
Eating Disorders Answer A3741
YOU WROTE:

Current medical status: This is a question for my 14 yr old daughter. She is a 5'7'', 115 pound girl. She has a practice of controlling her weight that I suspect is unsafe. After a self imposed daily caloric intake has been met, ("and she has a taste for something else"), she will chew the food without fully swallowing. She says she is storing the food in her throat, I assume just above the esophagus, to spit out at a later time.
Current medical treatment: We are covered by Kaiser Helasth care in California. A doctor and therapist have told her this practise has no medical implications, after examining her.


I'd have to say that this is really a strange way to control food intake. I don’t see any medical implication from this behaviour, either, except that some pieces of food may enter into the respiratory tract (larynx). If you suspect that your daughter is experiencing an eating disorder, you might seek a second opinion from another therapist or mental health professional.




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