*Flashback Friday*

*This post originally appeared on The PediaBlog on February 25, 2021.

 

Eating Disorders Awareness (2)

 

 

For its annual observance of National Eating Disorders Awareness Week (February 22-28, 2021  February 21-27, 2022), the organizers hope to “shine the spotlight on eating disorders by educating the public, spreading a message of hope, and putting lifesaving resources into the hands of those in need.”

Yesterday we learned that the reasons why children and teenagers develop eating disorders are complex. The American Academy of Pediatrics lists some of the main risk factors:

• Family history of eating disorder or obesity

• Affective illness or alcoholism in first-degree relatives

• Ballet, gymnastics, modeling, “visual sports”

• Personality traits (eg, perfectionism)

• Parental eating behavior and weight

• Physical or sexual abuse

• Low self-esteem

• Body-image dissatisfaction

• History of excessive dieting, frequently skipped meals, compulsive exercise

 

The three most common types of eating disorders in children are anorexia, bulimia, and binge eating disorder. Katherine Kam describes anorexia as “a condition in which a child refuses to eat adequate calories out of an intense and irrational fear of becoming fat.”

Children and teens with anorexia have a distorted body image. People with anorexia view themselves as heavy, even when they are dangerously skinny. They are obsessed with being thin and refuse to maintain even a minimally normal weight.

According to the National Institute of Mental Health, roughly one out of every 25 girls and women will have anorexia in their lifetime. Most will deny that they have an eating disorder.

 

Anorexia occurs much more commonly in girls than boys. Symptoms include:

• anxiety, depression, perfectionism, or being highly self-critical

• dieting even when one is thin or emaciated

• excessive or compulsive exercising

• intense fear of becoming fat, even though one is underweight

• menstruation that becomes infrequent or stops

• rapid weight loss, which the person may try to conceal with loose clothing

• strange eating habits, such as avoiding meals, eating in secret, monitoring every bite of food, or eating only certain foods in small amounts

• unusual interest in food

 

The consequences of anorexia if left untreated are frightening. It can lead to serious health problems such as:

• damage to major organs, especially the brain, heart and kidneys

• irregular heartbeat

• lowered blood pressure, pulse, body temperature, and breathing rates

• sensitivity to cold

• thinning of bones

Anorexia is fatal in about one out of every 10 cases. The most common causes of death include cardiac arrest, electrolyte imbalance, and suicide.

 

Bulimia also results from a distorted self-regard of body image:

Like children and teens with anorexia, bulimic young people also fear weight gain and feel extremely unhappy with their bodies.

They will repeatedly eat too much food in a short amount of time. Often the child or teen senses a loss of control. Feeling disgusted and ashamed after overeating, young people with bulimia try to prevent weight gain by inducing vomiting or using laxatives, diet pills, diuretics, or enemas. After purging the food, they feel relieved.

 

Kam says the body weight of people suffering from bulimia can fluctuate between high, low, or normal. Symptoms and complications of bulimia are serious and include:

• abusing drugs and alcohol

• abusing laxatives and other treatments to prevent weight gain

• anxiety

• bingeing on large amounts of food

• eating in secret or having unusual eating habits

• excessive exercise

• mood swings

• overemphasis on physical appearance

• regularly spending time in the bathroom after eating

• sadness

• scarring on knuckles from using fingers to induce vomiting

• unusual interest in food

• vomiting after eating

 

Complications can be serious. Stomach acids from chronic vomiting can cause:

• damage to tooth enamel

• inflammation of the esophagus

• swelling of the salivary glands in the cheeks

In addition, bulimia can also lower blood levels of potassium. This can lead to dangerous, abnormal heart rhythms.

 

Binge eating can also cause serious health problems if left untreated including high cholesterol and heart disease, high blood pressure, and type 2 diabetes:

Binge eating is similar to bulimia. It includes chronic, out-of-control eating of large amounts in a short time, even to the point of discomfort. However, binge eaters do not purge the food through vomiting or other means. As a result, they tend to become overweight or obese.

Binge eaters may be struggling to handle their emotions. Anger, worry, stress, sadness, or boredom may trigger a binge. Often, binge eaters are upset about overeating and may become depressed.

 

The goal of treating eating disorders is to restore adequate nutrition, stabilize body weight at a healthy level, eliminate excessive exercise, and stop binging and purging behaviors. This is accomplished at the direction of primary care doctors and specialists using psychotherapy, nutritional education and counseling, and sometimes medications like antidepressants.

The good news is that full recovery is possible. But first one must reach out, define the problem, and accept help. Watch the video below from National Eating Disorders Association (NEDA) to learn more.

 

 

 

source http://www.thepediablog.com/2022/02/25/flashback-friday-195/