RSU Expert: Dieting and Eating Disorders Adversely Affect Women's Reproductive Health

Nowadays, we are well aware of the adverse effects of eating too much, but women's health is also adversely affected by the opposite problem - diets and eating disorders such as anorexia and bulimia. This problem is also acute in Latvia where 10% of 15-year-old girls are overweight or obese, but 25% of girls of this age follow diets. Laila Meija, Associate Professor and dietitian at Rīga Stradiņš University (RSU), explains the damage that this can do to a woman's reproductive health.

If a woman follows an unnecessary diet she will lose weight, but can in the process damage her reproductive system and even risk infertility. ‘If she were to become pregnant, dieting could cause a lot of problems for both the mother and the child. There is a risk of miscarriage, premature birth, weight loss, and problems with breastfeeding. Mothers are often depressed and the child’s organ systems can be affected. Later, eating and behavioural disorders can develop, and the child’s stress responses could be altered,’ explains Assoc. Prof. Meija.

‘The root of all of these problems often lies in the past - in a time when the expectant mother was still in her mother's womb where her mother’s dieting or eating disorders affected the foetus.’ The risk is exacerbated by several factors in the family like if the family does not share meals together, or there are conflicts, or overly restrictive, strict rules about eating. ‘By accumulating many of these factors, and if there is a harmful view of body image in society, a girl is at risk of developing an eating disorder, especially during puberty, with consequences that will be felt throughout her life,’ says the expert.

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Asoc. prof. Laila Meija