› › › Pointers for Parents›
› ›
An
educational newsletter from the desk of LMG Youth Options
A substance-abuse treatment
facility for adolescents and their families
Eating Disorders
The Facts: Did you know?
86% of people with eating disorders report onset by age 20; 10% report onset at ten years or younger.
Eating disorders may have long-term and irreversible consequences to one’s physical and emotional health.
Approximately 10% of all people with eating disorders are male. However many clinicians believe that this figure is underreported because many men are ashamed to admit that they may be suffering form this perceived "female" disease. Men may suffer from bulimia under the guise of "staying in shape."
Studies suggest that males may be receiving increasing media messages regarding dieting and plastic surgery options.
Among high school students studied (11, 476 students), 44% of females and 15% of the males were attempting to lose weight.
Gymnasts, runners, body builders, rowers, wrestlers, dancers and swimmers are particularly vulnerable to eating disorders because their sports necessitate weight restriction.
Approximately 50% of eating disorder individuals have a depressive episode or anxiety attack prior to onset of eating problems.
Vocabulary: What are the Different Disorders?
Eating disorders fall into three categories. Each disorder represented below is a serious and potentially life-threatening condition. While eating disorders may begin with a preoccupation with food and weight, they are most often about much more than food. People with eating disorders often use food and the control of food to compensate for emotions that may otherwise seem overwhelming.
*Anorexia Nervosa: A disorder in which an individual refuses to maintain a minimally normal body weight; is intensely afraid of gaining weight; and exhibits a significant distortion in the perception and size of his/her body. Characteristics include excessive dieting; food rituals; difficulty eating with others; strong need to be in control; thinning hair.
*Bulimia: A disorder defined by recurrent episodes of binge eating followed by self-induced vomiting or other purging methods (laxatives, diuretics, excessive exercise) to prevent weight gain. Characteristics include recurrent episodes of binge eating; hoarding of food; misuse of laxatives; eating larger amounts of food in short time periods; secretive self- induced vomiting.
*Binge Eating (Also known as Compulsive Overeating Disorder): Characterized primarily by periods of uncontrolled, impulsive or continuous eating beyond the point of feeling comfortably full. While there is no purging, there may be sporadic fasts or repetitive diets and feelings of shame and self-hatred after a binge.
What Contributes to an Eating Disorder?
Low Self-Esteem
Feelings of Inadequacy
Depression, Anxiety, Loneliness
Conflictual family and/or personal relationships
Cultural influences that glamorize the "perfect" skinny body and vilify deviations from the media norm
History of physical, sexual or emotional abuse
Possible biochemical or biological causes (Scientists are researching the theory that some individuals suffering from an eating disorder may have a chemical imbalance in areas of appetite, hunger-control and digestion.
Warning Signs: Who is at Risk?
Does Your Child…
Frequently skip meals?
Feel dissatisfied with his/her body?
Spend lots of time reading or discussing topics related to food?
Plan food intake precisely?
Use laxatives, diuretics or appetite suppressant pills?
Eat the same meal day-in and day- out?
Consistently avoid family or social gatherings where food will be is present?
Argue with friends or family about how much or when to eat?
Have a significantly distorted sense of what is a normal body weight?
If you answered "Yes" to any of the above questions, consult
with a professional about available resources.
Treatment: What are the Options?
75% of individuals that are struggling with an eating disorder will completely recover if they receive adequate care.
Seek treatment that integrates nutritional, medical, and psychiatric care.
The earlier a person with an eating disorder seeks treatment, the greater the likelihood of physical and emotional recovery.
Many people with eating disorders respond to outpatient therapy, including individual, group or family therapy and medical management by their primary care provider.
Prevention: What Can Parents Do?
Avoid conveying an attitude which says in effect "I will like you more if you lose weight, fit into smaller clothes, look more like the slender models…etc.
Discuss the dangers of trying to alter one’s body through dieting.
Be a good role model in regard to sensible eating, sensible exercise, and self-acceptance.
Make a commitment to exercise for the joy of moving your body and function effectively, not to purge fat or compensate for calories eaten.
Make a commitment to help children (male and female) appreciate and resist the ways in which the media distorts the true diversity of human body types.
***Please Contact your local Youth Options if interested in presentations on the featured topic***
Youth Options thank their Communities and the United Way for their continued support.
|
Darien/New
Canaan Youth Options |
Greenwich
Youth Options |
Stamford
Youth Options |
|
2
Renshaw Road |
55
Old Field Point Road |
159
Colonial Road |
|
Darien,
CT 06820 |
Greenwich,
CT 06830 |
Stamford,
CT 06906 |
|
203-655-8973 |
203-869-1349 |
203-325-1511 |