Eating Disorders

Top to bottom, side to side – eating disorders turn lives inside out.

For many years, eating disorders were thought to be purely emotional and/or behavioral problems. However, today’s experts agree that the origins of eating disorders may be as varied as the disorders themselves. Recent studies show that society, environment, and maybe even genetics may cause eating disorders.

Although some would have us believe that eating disorders are only an external sign of an internal problem, such as low-self esteem or an inability to cope with stress, each type of problem can start in a most insidious way, from wanting to lose a few pounds for a special occasion to eating that half-eaten pork chop on your child’s plate.

Eating Disorder

Eating disorders span a spectrum from anorexia nervosa, which is self-starvation, to binge eating, which is also called compulsive over-eating. No matter which end of the spectrum they occupy, eating disorders may either be a symptom of low self-esteem or result in low self esteem, medical problems, and ultimately death. The question, “Do these pants make me look fat?” still gets a laugh in a television commercial and parents still tell their children, “No dessert until you clean your plate” in a world that puts far too much weight on the subject of weight and food and is over-occupied with our self-image and the image we present to the world.

No matter what label they assume, anorexia, bulimia, binge-eating, compulsive over-eating— they are serious, life-threatening problems that afflict over 36 million men and women in the United States alone.

Mr. & Mrs. Jack Sprat

Perhaps the earliest documentation of an eating disorder came from “Mother Goose”:

“Jack Sprat could eat no fat; his wife could eat no lean.
And so betwixt them both, they licked the platter clean"

However, eating disorders are not childish and because of their seriousness, little attempt has been made in the descriptions below to make the facts pretty or comfortable reading. There is little beauty in watching loved ones disappear inch by inch before your eyes, in catching them with their finger down throat as they vomit, or in hearing the word “Clear!” as the triage team uses “paddles” to revive them from cardiac arrest.

Anorexia nervosa:

Defined as self-starvation, this illness is rarely diagnosed until an individual has lost 15% of his or her body weight. At one time thought to be primarily in teenage and pre-teen girls, recent studies indicate that the disease afflicts both males and females and cases have been reported in individuals as young as 7-years old to those as old as 70. Up to 20% of cases of anorexia nervosa result in death.

Bulimia:

Binge eating followed by purging by vomiting, the use of laxatives, diet pills, diuretics, enemas, excessive exercise, or fasting. Because those with bulimia are often aware they have a problem, they are very secretive about their habits. Up to 10% who can keep a secret die from cardiac arrest, starvation, other medical complications, or suicide.

Compulsive Over-eating:

Compulsive over-eating should not be confused with obesity. While the illness may result in obesity, the weight of the compulsive over-eater is often normal and in some cases below average. Often linked with binge-eating, compulsive over-eating affects up to 30% of the American public and is characterized as eating beyond the point where you are comfortably full. Although there is no fasting or purging associated with the compulsive over-eater, the illness is just as serious as bulimia and anorexia. There are no statistics on the fatality rate of compulsive over-eaters, but medical complications can include such serious illnesses as diabetes, hypertension, high cholesterol, and heart disease.

Pull up or push back?

Fighting an eating disorder can seem like a futile battle. Whether you need to pull your chair up to the table or push it back, the first step to overcoming an eating disorder is to know your enemy and the second is to understand that you don’t have to be an army of one. There is help available and recovery is possible, no matter what the problem is. These pages are dedicated to helping you find the help and information you need to win the war.