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Eat Much? Negative Body Image Issues in Young Girls

Changing Body Images of Girls and Boys - Teens and Body Image

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Eating Disorders Help Guide
Find news and information about Eating Disorders specific to teenagers. Parents of teens with Eating Disorders can find resources and help. Visit eatingdisordershelpguide.com today to get your child the treatment they need.

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Teens at Great Risk for Developing Eating Disorders

By Hugh C. McBride

Marked by dramatic changes to both mind and body, it's no secret - and no surprise - that adolescence can be an awkward time. But for some young people, the tumultuousness of their teen years is exacerbated by a self-destructive behavior that can put their very lives at risk.

Youth in America are disproportionately affected by the deadliest of all mental illnesses - eating disorders. More than eight million Americans suffer from these disorders, and some experts estimate that as many as 95 percent of individuals with eating disorders are between the ages of 12 and 25.

Teens At Greatest Risk
Every year, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention conducts a Youth Risk Behavior Survey to capture a statistical picture of the various factors that affect the health of school-aged children. The 2007 version of the YRBS report included the following findings related to body image and weight control:

• Forty-five percent of American high school students who were surveyed said that they were trying to lose weight.
• More than 11 percent of these students said they had refrained from eating for at least 24 hours in the previous 30 days in an attempt to lose weight.
• Slightly more than 4 percent of students said they had vomited or taken laxatives in the previous 30 days in an attempt to lose weight.

Findings such as these are supported by other youth health studies. For example, the American Academy of Child & Adolescent Psychology estimates that as many as 10 percent of young women in the United States suffer from eating disorders, and the South Carolina Department of Mental Health has identified anorexia nervosa as the third most common chronic illness among American adolescents.

Although eating disorders affect more girls than boys, males are not immune to their devastating effects. In 2005, CDC researchers noted an increase in body dissatisfaction and disordered eating among teen boys, a fact that they attributed to "growing social pressure for males to achieve unrealistic body expectations."

According to the National Institute of Mental Health, boys account for one-fourth of all instances of pre-adolescent anorexia, and half of all cases of binge and emotional eating.

In a HealthDay News article that addressed the release of the 2006 YRBS report, writer Robert Preidt quoted CDC experts as advocating an expansion of eating disorder awareness efforts to address the conditions in boys. "Considering that males have negative attitudes toward treatment-seeking and are less likely than females to seek treatment ... future prevention efforts should target male as well as female adolescents," the researchers wrote.

About the Conditions
Three of the most common types of eating disorders in teenagers are anorexia nervosa, bulimia nervosa, and binge (or emotional) eating:

Anorexia Nervosa - According to the National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI), anorexia most often occurs in pre- or post-pubescent girls and young women, though the disease can affect boys and men, too. Marked by an unwillingness to maintain a healthy body weight, anorexia presents with the following symptoms:

• A distorted body image (for example, a virtually skeletal sufferer who still sees herself as "fat").
• An intense fear of gaining weight.
• A pattern of highly restricted eating or self-starvation.

Bulimia Nervosa - The National Institute of Mental Health describes bulimia as "recurrent and frequent episodes of eating unusually large amounts of food ... followed by a type of behavior that compensates for the binge." Bulimic individuals will often gorge on food, then either purge (by forcing themselves to vomit or taking large amounts of laxatives) or exercise past the point of exhaustion.

Binge/Emotional Eating - Similar to bulimia, but without the resultant purging, emotional eating is marked by feelings that one has no control over one's eating habits. The behavior is often "triggered" by stresses such as conflicts with family members, failures at school, or other events that prompt feelings of worthlessness. While individuals who suffer from anorexia or bulimia will lose unhealthy amounts of weight, emotional eaters tend to become overweight or obese.

Deadly Consequences
According to the National Association for Anorexia Nervosa and Associated Disorders (ANAD), disordered eating has the highest mortality rate of any mental illness - and the conditions can also have devastating effects on those who survive:

• Between 5 and 10 percent of anorexics die within 10 years of developing the disease.
• Anorexia can cause women to stop menstruating, and is associated with a higher risk of miscarriage in pregnant women.
• The bingeing and purging that is associated with bulimia can lead to an electrolyte imbalance, putting an individual at greater risk for heart arrhythmia (the leading cause of death among bulimics).
• The abuse of laxatives (another behavior associated with bulimia) can lead to tachycardia (abnormally rapid heartbeat), dehydration, and impairments in the bowel and colon.
• Emotional eating can increase feelings of depression and isolation, and the resultant weight gains can put sufferers at greater risk for a wide range of health conditions, including asthma, diabetes, heart disease, and certain types of cancers.

Help Is Available
Though much of the news about eating disorders is dire, there is hope. The National Institute of Mental Health reports that combinations of psychotherapy, nutritional counseling, and medication have been effective in treating a number of individuals who suffered from eating disorders - and new strategies continue to be developed.

In severe cases, inpatient care in a hospital or residential facility may be required, with the nature of the disorder demanding an individualized plan for treatment and recovery.

Among the several online resources that address the issue of teen health and eating disorders, the following provide a wealth of information about symptoms, diagnosis, and treatment options:

Anorexia Treatment: http://www.anorexia-nervosa-treatment.com

Bulimia Treatment: http://www.bulimia-treatment.net

Eating Disorders Help Guide: http://www.eatingdisordershelpguide.com

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