Not so sure if this is the right place to ask, but here goes. Have you noticed how the starved children in Africa always have a huge bloated stomach? I heard this was caused by accumulated liquids and gas from malnutrition, lack of protein to be exact.

So how come anorexics, who also suffer from malnutrition and most likely severe lack of protein, don't have bloated stomachs like that?

Good question... I don't know the answer but you've got me curious too.

Well, the kids in africa might have swollen stomches because of malnutrition, parasites, and infection...
Anorexics don't tend to have parasites, and they drink clean water that is most likeley not contaminated.
That's my guess anyway..

Another reason could be because those children probably have the infections that cause liver problems. Cirrhosis of the liver (scarring) causes ascites (fluid in the abdomen) and this could be caused by co-infection of HIV/Aids and Hepatitis C or infections from other types of liver disease.

Simple answer some anorexics do, when they get malnourished enough. It's very sad as it does tend to freak them out more. Although the reasons above probably explain why it seems more prevalent among those children.

Another thing to consider is that a westerner who is in such a condition will be hostpitalised and treated quickly. You won't see them walking the street.

“The manifestations of starvation depend on the context, the person's previous nutritional status, his or her age, and the severity of food deprivation.” from George G Graham article "Starvation in the Modern World" in the New England Journal of Medicine Vol328:1058-1061 (1993). This is the "conventional wisdom".

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Originally Posted by LoveHound

Not so sure if this is the right place to ask, but here goes. Have you noticed how the starved children in Africa always have a huge bloated stomach? I heard this was caused by accumulated liquids and gas from malnutrition, lack of protein to be exact.

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This is what is called kwashiorkor and, your right, it is due to a lack of protein in the diet. These are kids who are not nursing & are trying to survive on an adult famine diet.

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So how come anorexics, who also suffer from malnutrition and most likely severe lack of protein, don't have bloated stomachs like that?

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Simply, anorexics are just starving & suffer a set of famine symptoms. I don’t think that anorexics are suffering from a specific lack of protein compared to the young children with kwashiorkor. Anorexics will have a much larger protein reserve (size) & have a lower (relative to size) nutrient need for protein (compared to young children).

You can imagine a famine where the surviving mothers would look anorexic while the babies would have kwashiorkor.

That looks like a very plausible answer, jem, thanks for answering. Thank the rest of you for your answer too (:

Anorexics do have bloated belly, sometimes face is also puffy.

The bloat is from waste leakage and liver swelling though it sounds like mainly leakage. Just adding that to above info http://indianapublicmedia.org/amomentofscience/the-bloated-look-of-the-starving/

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kwashiorkor

The answer is- anorexics do get really bloated etc. if not eating regularly. How do I know? I suffer eating disorders for last 10yrs. Currently my BMI is around 15.2-15.4 and I do get extreme bloating, sometimes to the point I look like a child from Africa... Once someone told me- How did u manage to get pregnant when being so emaciated... It didn't help my mind but made me realise I am not well... And yeah water helps, gas-x, etc. and children in africa can't get such remedies... Just a thought!

I have an answer guys!

First of all, African children bloat because their bodies are extremely malnourished to the point where their bodies stop creating the enzymes required to break food down because it is too much work (and because their bodies can tell they're not using the enzymes anyway.) For this reason, when a starving child DOES get a meal, their body has to do a whole lot of extra work to digest the food, causing a lot of gas and water to be retained in their stomachs.

I am a recovering anorexic and I will be the first to tell you that this DOES HAPPEN to anorexics too.
It DOES IT DOES IT DOES SO MUCH AND IT SUCKS SO SO MUCH.
Before I started refeeding, I could see my ribs and my hipbones very clearly. I never got bloated because I never ate anything that was hard to digest because things that are hard to digest typically have more calories (and I learned what foods made me balloon up). If I did make a mistake and ate something wrong, I would take like twelve gas-x and starve myself again until the bloating went down, and I would take diuretics to get rid of the water or I would exercise to sweat and get rid of the water that way. (Many anorexics also may limit their water intake as well. Generally, I only drank coffee or tea because I knew the caffeine would flush it all out anyway. If I got really dehydrated and drank a bottle of water, I would panic and throw it up or take diuretics.)

Once in recovery, when I started eating again it was hell. Every single meal I would lie down in pain for hours afterwards. I was bloated all the time and I was literally unable to carry out every-day tasks because I was in so much pain. (Before this, I was unable to carry out every-day tasks for lack of energy. Needless to say, the bloating alone caused countless relapses.)

If someone in recovery adds in a new food, and DOESN'T do all of the things to avoid the bloat (which is actually what you're supposed to do but it's just so hard to ignore it) they will seriously look just as bloated as those African children. One time my boyfriend actually seriously asked me if I was pregnant.

Me yesterday (relapsed: ate an apple over the course of two days):
Me today (ate a bowl of cereal with flaxseed milk and an apple for breakfast, and a serving of chicken two servings of vegetables for lunch and then took this picture.)

Now, I'm still in recovery and I'm almost up to the minimum requirements for a 'regular diet.' (set by my recovery program: I work with a dietitian, therapist, psychiatrist, and medical doctor. I have three appointments per week and an additional two every month.) I still get bloated, but not nearly as badly and only when they're adding new things to my diet. So in short, YES this DOES happen to anorexics, but it is only visible if they are RECOVERING. And even when they're recovering, it might not be visible because of all of the things you'll do to avoid the bloating-- like relapsing or taking gas-x and diuretics.
As we speak, I'm farting up a storm.