Eating disorders such as anorexia and bulimia affect millions of people every year. Most are teenage girls or young women, but eating disorders can also be seen in men and women of any age.

Risk Factors

Certain risk factors increase a person’s likelihood for developing an eating disorder. These people may have characteristics such as perfectionism and extreme self-discipline. Girls with mothers that diet frequently are much more likely to have an eating disorder. Other people’s influences, such as friends, boyfriends, or coaches, can also contribute to an eating disorder. In our society today, there are so many things that help drive young people to become desperate about their appearance and weight. Thin models and actresses, and unrealistic expectations for developing girls can put too much pressure on our young adults, and too often the result is anorexia or bulimia.

Studies

There have been a few studies published recently that took very simple looks at eating disorders. One found that eating disorders are connected to cutting and self injury, and the other found that college cheerleaders that wear midriff-showing uniforms are more likely to have an eating disorder. Conclusions from the one study looked like this: “Regardless of whether it was daily clothing, a full uniform, or a midriff uniform, they (the cheerleaders) all wanted to be smaller. But the thing that stuck out the most was they wanted to be smallest in the midriff uniform, which says a lot about the impact of a midriff.”1.  Not exactly far-fetched conclusions for either of these studies. In fact, many people could tell you the same things without doing a study on it.

Working for Real Prevention and Treatment

Let’s work to really get at the bottom of eating disorders. Let’s learn more about ways we can prevent it, and how to effectively treat those that already suffer from it. Let’s find out how an eating disorder affects the mind, and ways to reverse that damage.

There are things we know we can do to prevent eating disorders. Parents should be aware of their children’s attitudes and actions, and give encouragement for healthy eating, while discouraging self-hatred. Prevention programs at schools and community organizations should be more common. Education should talk about the dangers of these disorders, as well as address the cultural obsession with slenderness and the lack of developing self-esteem among our young people.

For those already suffering from an eating disorder, early intervention is important. Doctors need to screen patients for eating disorders, and work closely with parents to give the right treatment. Treatment is a long and hard journey for someone with an eating disorder, but more research can be done to learn the best ways to treat these illnesses so we don’t continue to lose lives to them.

Sources

Basic Principles for the Prevention of Eating Disorders

Stanford study links eating disorders and cutting

Memorial service for the victims of eating disorders

1. Study: Eating Disorders and Bare Midriffs – Cheerleaders “At Risk”

New websites have been popping up in recent years that encourage diseases like anorexia and bulimia. Parents need to add these to the list of things to keep an eye on their children for when they are using the internet.

The Statistics of Anorexia

An estimated 1 to 3 % of all women will become anorexic sometime in their lives, and 5 to 10 % of those with the disease will lose their lives to it. Anorexia has the highest mortality rate of any psychiatric illness, according to the National Association of Anorexia Nervosa and Associated Disorders.

Anorexic Websites

So it is frustrating to many that there are so many “pro-ana” sites, or websites that actually encourage the eating disorder. The sites are open in their expressions, with photos of deathly-thin teens, memoirs of anorexics, and support from others with the disorder. However, the support system they provide is not healthy, and certainly is not positive or encouraging. Those battling an eating disorder see the pictures as incentive to lose more weight, and read the accounts of others and feel they are part of an elite group because they have the disorder. There is no discouragement to dieting and trying to lose weight, only tips on how to shed more pounds, calorie counters, and “thinspiration” to further draw people in.

Healing Despite the Harmful Influences

Treatment professionals are, of course, concerned with the pro-ana sites, which number at least 180 on any given day. Many have been shut down, but others keep popping up. The fact that so many teens use these pages to fuel their obsession means that we can’t ignore that they exist. Counselors have begun to familiarize themselves with the sites, to see where the teens are coming from, who is influencing them, and what draws them to the pages.

One thing that no doubt draws people to the sites is the support that they receive. Teens with an eating disorder often are perfectionists, have a goal-oriented family, and also have a negative self image. These teens tend to go to extremes when working toward a goal, and are willing to sacrifice even their health to reach that goal. So when a website glamorizes a sort of exclusive group of anorexics that are able to exhibit extreme control over what they eat, some teens get caught up quickly. Even when patients know that what they are doing is unhealthy, it is extremely difficult to turn an eating disorder around. After all, giving up the control they think they have means the possibility of gaining weight and giving up all they’ve done to get to that point.

The first thing patients need to do as they recover is find a real support group that can provide true and healthy encouragement. Many of these people need to feel the support and approval of others, and are strengthened when they hear the positive stories of other people recovering.

Sources

Anorexia Nervosa

Anorexia

Pro-Anorexia Websites Send Convoluted and Deadly Messages, Study Finds

Teenage girls can be so impressionable. Magazines, movies, advertisements, and friends all play a large role in how young girls feel about themselves as they grow up. This is one reason why teenage girls have the highest incidence of anorexia and other eating disorders. For those that suffer with an eating disorder, food and body image take over the person’s life – nothing else matters.

Body Image

It’s easy for us to identify the causes of eating disorders in today’s ultra-glamorized world. Models are getting thinner and thinner, and stars that are an average size are considered overweight. Teens put so much pressure on themselves to look good that the thought that they might be gaining weight is sometimes enough to cause a panic in their minds. For some of these teens, gaining weight is their worst fear.

It is probably not beneficial, then, when companies design their clothes to fit only the smallest sizes, or use the sickly-thin models to show their clothes. Urban Outfitters has a new t-shirt that reads “Eat Less”, which unfortunately is going to send the wrong message to some people that are already insecure about their size.

The Effects of Anorexia on the Body

Anorexia, or the disorder that causes someone to starve themselves, causes damage to the entire body. The lack of nutrition is the main cause. Weak bones and muscles, skin, hair, and eye problems, and organ failure can all occur because of anorexia. The brain is also affected. A recent study from Yale University shows that women with anorexia have less brain volume then healthy women. Those that had suffered with the eating disorder for a longer time had the greatest reduction in brain matter.

Getting Help for an Eating Disorder

The good news that the Yale study found, however, is that when these women started gaining weight again through good nutrition, they were able to regain some of the gray brain matter that they lost. Treatment can be effective for these patients, but the sooner help is found, the better.

It’s good for us to be healthy, and to watch what we eat. Our country has seen a trend in recent years of increasingly overweight children and adults. But disorders like anorexia are also increasing, and more and more people are starving themselves in order to achieve a body they are satisfied with. Someone with anorexia spends years of their life trying to gain control. They want to get well, but their addiction to controlling their food intake is too powerful.

We must continue to work to put an end to anorexia. It starts with offering help to those with the disorder. Then we need to change the images we are bombarded with, and focus on health and wellness, rather than the best looking body.

Sources 

Gaining weight may also bulk up brain volume for anorexic women

New Urban Outfitters T-Shirt Promotes Pro-Anorexia Movement

Brain Volume Lost to Anorexia Reversible

Eating disorders are more than just a teen trend. They are dangerous and potentially fatal, and they can affect a wide variety of people.

Just like with substance abuse and mental illness, there is usually a complex web of factors that cause an eating disorder. Usually, things like volatile family relationships, social pressures, and media influences can cause an eating disorder. Other factors like stress, depression, and anxiety are often found to be behind the disease. An eating disorder is a mental illness, and requires professional treatment from a group of trained physicians.

Effects of Eating Disorders

There are different types of eating disorders. There is anorexia, where the individual restricts their food intake so much that they starve themselves. There is bulimia, where the person eats in excess, and then throws up or takes laxatives in order to purge themselves of the food. Then there are variations and combinations of the two. Eating disorders dominate a person’s life and they cause an obsession with food and body image. Someone with an eating disorder will take what might start as a healthy consciousness of the body and turn it into a deadly disease of the mind. Nearly 20% of people with an eating disorder die from it, either from starvation or complications because of the unhealthy eating or purging. Organs shut down when not nourished properly, but people with this disease are so wrapped up in it that they can’t see the harm they are doing to themselves. It is very much like substance abuse, in that the individual tries so hard to control something in their life, or deal with stress or anxiety, but they actually ruin their health and life, and are so out of control they can’t help themselves.

Treating Eating Disorders

There are many programs out there that treat people with eating disorders. Usually, these programs incorporate things like medical treatment, weight management, therapy, and nutritional education. Support groups are important for follow up care and to prevent relapse. Researchers have found recently that activities like yoga are beneficial as a supplement to typical treatment for eating disorders. Yoga focuses on reconnecting the body with the mind, and helps individuals cope with stress. Other activities that relieve stress and help focus the mind might prove to be beneficial as well.

Eating disorders are manageable, but often require professional help. Early intervention provides the best chance at full recovery. In order to prevent eating disorders, we should educate the public about these disorders and about healthy exercise and eating. We should also be aware of the super-thin body images portrayed in the media and be wise to the fact that real people have different kinds of body types. Parents should watch for signs that their child has an eating disorder, but be aware that people with these disorders will go to great lengths to conceal them.

Sources

A stand against eating disorders

Study shows yoga helps battle eating disorders

How an Eating Disorder Affects Your Life