Fatima Sana Shaikh Reveals Battle with Bulimia; How the Eating Disorder Damages Health

Fatima Sana Sheikh opened up about her long struggle with eating disorders, saying she suffered from bulimia. Admitting that her relationship with food has often been “toxic”, the 33-year-old Dangal actor said her co-star was the first one to notice the signs. On a podcast interview, Fatima explained that the intense training and diet control for her role in the debut film led to a difficult relationship she had with food. “I have had a love-hate relationship with myself, and I’ve been addicted to a certain image of myself. I’ve had a toxic relationship with food. I put on weight in Dangal because I had to. When I’m goal-oriented, I’d do everything. I was training for three hours, so I had to consume 2,500-3,000 calories every day for me to gain

weight,” she said during her appearance on actor Rhea Chakraborty's podcast. Fatima said even after the film was over, her diet did not change, leading her to eat more calories than her body needed. Food became her comfort, and she found herself eating continuously for hours. “When the movie got over, I wasn’t training as much, but I was still having 3,000 calories because I was used to it,” she said. Reflecting on that period, Fatima said she began to starve herself, avoiding stepping out because she feared bingeing again. Reflecting on that period, she admitted she thought about food constantly and had a rigid, unhealthy approach to dieting. Fatima said she battled bulimia for two years and described how her strict approach to dieting contributed to her struggles. “My understanding of diet was so rigid. I have to consume only these many calories in a day. Even now, I think about food all the time. I’m always hungry. But I’ve gotten awareness of it because that unhealthy relationship has been changing for years,” she added.

What is bulimia?

Bulimia, also known as bulimia nervosa, is a serious eating disorder characterized by eating a large amount of food in a short amount of time, followed by getting rid of the food. While you may feel you have no control over what you eat, you may eat large amounts of food in one sitting, which later makes you feel guilty. To cope, you may try to compensate by vomiting, using laxatives, or exercising excessively.

How does bulimia damage your health?

According to doctors, those who battle bulimia nervosa often experience body dissatisfaction, distorted body image, and overvalue their body shape or size, which influences their engagement in compensatory behaviours after binge eating. Compensatory behaviours are not a lifestyle choice but a sign of a complex mental health problem. Dieting is the primary risk factor and trigger across all types of eating disorders. A few long-term issues that may be caused by ongoing bulimia nervosa include:

• Gastrointestinal conditions associated with compensatory behaviours
• Heart-related issues
• Ongoing dental problems
• Weakened bones
• Infertility in men and women
• Electrolyte imbalance from self-induced vomiting, which causes severe dehydration and damage to nerves, muscles, and organs.