Eating Disorders Awareness and Solution

What is an eating disorder?

An emotional and physical problem that is associated with an obsession with weight, body, food, or body shape. 

The three most common types of eating disorders are anorexia, bulimia, and binge eating. Each type has its own characteristics and diagnosis. 

These behaviors can have serious health consequences and can even be life threatening. Often, a person with an eating disorder diets, exercises, and/or eats excessively.

What causes an eating disorder?

Although no one is certain about what causes eating disorders, experts suggest that a variety of factors may increase the risk. Eating disorders can arise from a variety of physical, emotional, social, and familial issues. 

For example, a young person who has a close relative with an eating disorder, or whose parents or siblings are overly critical of him or her, may develop an eating disorder. 

Eating disorders also are common in people who experience depression, obsessive-compulsive disorder, and other forms of anxiety disorders. 

Young people often develop eating disorders as they search for a way to cope with the physical and emotional changes involved in becoming a teen. 

They also may be influenced by media images of unrealistically thin teens. Athletes such as dancers, gymnasts, and figure skaters may succumb to eating disorders because of the extreme pressure they feel to have thin bodies.

What are the signs of an eating disorder?

People with anorexia have an intense fear of gaining weight, so they eat very little, even though they may be thin. 

They may avoid mealtimes, pick at their food, weigh their food, and track every calorie they eat, and/or exercise excessively. 

People with bulimia also have an intense fear of gaining weight. They, however, eat excessively and immediately purge themselves of the food by vomiting or taking diet pills, laxatives, or water pills. 

 

They also may exercise excessively. Those with binge eating disorder have frequent episodes of eating to excess but do not purge. 

Persons with this disorder eat whether or not they are hungry, usually alone, and often very quickly. 

Only a qualified professional can provide an accurate diagnosis of an eating disorder and prescribe an appropriate treatment that meets individual needs.

What can be done to help people with an eating disorder?

Seeking treatment for an eating disorder is a personal decision. A person must want to address the problem and get professional help. 

Parents play an important role in this matter. They can provide their children with an environment in which to develop healthy eating habits and can help to change existing unhealthy habits. 

Parents also can teach their children how to identify hunger. Perhaps most importantly, parents can help their children to develop a positive body image, self-esteem, and appreciation for different body types. 

 

 Teachers or friends also can help by expressing their concern in a respectful manner. 

However, they should be prepared with accurate information on these disorders before approaching an affected individual. 

Many organizations offer information, education, professional care, and support to help people with eating disorders. 

The sooner a person with an eating disorder finds help, the sooner he or she can begin to enjoy daily activities. For some, finding help early can even mean the difference between life and death.