What is a Eating Disorder?.
Eating disorders are actually serious and often fatal illnesses that cause severe disturbances to a person’s eating behaviors. Obsessions with food, body weight, and shape may also signal an eating disorder.
There are two common types of eating disorders, namely; Anorexia and bulimia. Each has its unique characteristics. Yet, as we shall see, both can be dangerous—even deadly.
Anorexia—Self-Starvation
Anorexia sufferers, anorexics, either refuse to eat or eat in such small amounts that they become malnourished.
Anorexics are obsessed with food, and they will go to extreme lengths to avoid gaining weight. “I started to spit my food out in a napkin pretending I was wiping my mouth,” says Heather. Susan strenuously exercised to keep her weight down. “Virtually every day,” she says, “I ran eight miles [12 km], or swam for an hour, or felt terribly anxious and guilty. And every morning I got my greatest pleasure, usually my only real pleasure, by getting on the scale to confirm that my weight was well under 100 pounds [45 kg].”
Ironically, some anorexics become excellent cooks and will serve exquisite dinners that they themselves refuse to touch. “When I was at my very worst,” says Antoinette, “I prepared every single dinner at home and made all the brown-bag lunches for my little brother and sister. I wouldn’t let them near the refrigerator. I felt like the kitchen was all mine.”
According to the book A Parent’s Guide to Anorexia and Bulimia, some anorexics “become obsessively neat and may demand that the entire family meet their unrealistically fastidious standards. No magazine or pair of slippers or coffee cup may be left out of place for a moment. They may become equally, or even more, obsessed with personal hygiene and appearance, spending hours in the bathroom with the door locked and refusing to allow others to come in to get ready for school or work.”
How does this unusual disorder called anorexia develop? Typically, a teenager or young adult—most often a female—sets out to lose a certain number of pounds. When she reaches her goal, however, she is not satisfied. Looking in the mirror, she still sees herself as fat, and so she decides that shedding a few more pounds would be even better. This cycle continues until the dieter’s weight falls to 15 percent or more below what is normal for her height. At this point friends and family members begin to express their concern that the dieter looks extremely thin, even emaciated. Over time, anorexia can lead to serious health problems, including osteoporosis and kidney damage. It can even be fatal.
Bulimia—Bingeing and Purging
The eating disorder known as bulimia nervosa is characterized by bingeing (rapidly consuming large amounts of food, perhaps up to 5,000 calories or more) and then purging (emptying the stomach, often by vomiting or using laxatives).*
In contrast with anorexia, bulimia is not easily recognized. The sufferer may not be unusually thin, and her eating habits may seem quite normal—at least to others. But for the bulimic, life is anything but normal. Indeed, she is so obsessed with food that everything else is unimportant.
What Causes Eating Disorders
EATING disorders are not new. Anorexia nervosa was first formally diagnosed in 1873, and the symptoms have reportedly been observed as far back as 300 years ago. Since World War II, however, the number of anorexics appears to have increased dramatically. The situation is similar with bulimia. The condition has been known for centuries, but in recent decades it has, as one book on the subject puts it, “exploded onto center stage.”
What is behind eating disorders? Are they inherited, or are they an unusual reaction to a culture that glorifies thinness? What part does family environment play? These questions are not easily answered.
Nevertheless, researchers point to a number of factors that may contribute to the development of eating disorders. Let us consider a few of them.
What is behind eating disorders? Are they inherited, or are they an unusual reaction to a culture that glorifies thinness? What part does family environment play? These questions are not easily answered.
Nevertheless, researchers point to a number of factors that may contribute to the development of eating disorders. Let us consider a few of them.
1. The Culture of Thinness
In affluent lands the fashion industry parades stick-thin models before young and impressionable onlookers, indoctrinating them with the notion that a girl is only as beautiful as she is thin. This distorted message compels many women to strive for a body weight that is both unhealthy and unrealistic. Despite this fact, some women will go to extremes to acquire what they perceive to be the ideal body.
For example, in a 1997 survey of 3,452 women, 24 percent said that they would be willing to give up three years of their life to attain their weight goal. For a significant minority, the survey said, “life is worth living only if you are thin.” Since 22 percent of those surveyed said that fashion magazine models influenced their body image when they were young, the report concluded: “It’s no longer possible to deny the fact that images of models in the media have a terrible effect on the way women see themselves.”
Of course, those who are most likely to fall prey to the media’s artificial ideal are those who do not feel good about themselves.
2. Eating and Emotions
Many experts say that there is more involved in an eating disorder than food. An eating disorder is a reminder that you aren’t giving voice to whatever stresses and frustrations you may be experiencing.
Sometimes an eating disorder has even deeper roots. For example, The New Teenage Body Book notes: “Studies show that those who have sexual trauma (abuse or molestation) may unconsciously try to protect themselves by making their bodies sexually unattractive and by focusing their attention on something safe like food.” Of course, people should not jump to the conclusion that one suffering from an eating disorder has been sexually molested.
The seeds of an eating disorder can be sown in what may appear to be tranquil soil. Indeed, a prime candidate for anorexia may be a girl who lives in an environment in which she is not free to make any of her own decisions or to express her negative feelings. Outwardly, she complies; but inwardly, she is in turmoil and feels that she has no control over her life. Not daring to rebel openly, she focuses on the one part of her life that she can control—her body.
It should be noted, however, that eating disorders are not always the result of family turmoil or sexual trauma. For some, eating disorders develop simply because weight is a dominant issue in the family. Perhaps a parent is overweight or is constantly dieting and engenders an overly cautious—or even a fearful—attitude toward food. For others, the onset of puberty is in itself a factor. The bodily changes that are part and parcel of the transition to adulthood can make a girl feel that she is fat—especially if she matures more quickly than her peers. She may take extreme measures to stave off the curves of womanhood if she finds this transition to be frightening.
In addition to citing emotional factors, some researchers say that there may be a physical factor involved. For example, they point out that bulimia may be rooted in the sufferer’s brain chemistry. They claim that the part of the brain that controls moods and appetite is involved and that this may explain why antidepressants are at times effective in alleviating the bulimic’s symptoms.
Eating Disorders—What Can Help?
Of course, experts have put forth a confusing array of treatments for eating disorders. Some recommend medication. Others endorse psychotherapy. Many say that a combination of both is most effective. Then there is family counseling, which some say is especially vital if the sufferer is still living at home.*
Although experts may differ in their approach, most agree on at least one point: Eating disorders are not just about food. Let us examine some of the deeper issues that typically need to be addressed when someone is being helped to recover from anorexia or bulimia.
A Balanced View of Body Image
As already discussed, the media can distort a girl’s concept of beauty. Recovering from an eating disorder may require adopting new beliefs about what constitutes genuine beauty. Since eating disorders can thrive in a climate of low self-worth, you may need to reevaluate yourself as a person.But what if you truly do need to lose weight? Perhaps a healthy diet and a program of exercise will help.
If you take a positive view of life and supplement this with a healthful diet and a reasonable exercise program, likely any pounds that need to come off will.
Finding “a True Companion”
A major step to recovery, therefore, is to break the silence. Both anorexics and bulimics need to talk about the problem. But to whom?
That “true companion” may be a parent or another mature adult. Some have also found it necessary to confide in someone who is experienced in treating eating disorders.
Clearly, recovering from an eating disorder is challenging, but ultimately it is worth the effort.
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