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”

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