Eating Disorders

Good nutrition is essential to good health. It is very important to select well-balanced, nutritious meals to insure normal patterns of growth and development. Americans focus a lot of energy on diet, fitness, and health unnecessarily. Sometimes this can popularize unhealthy diet fads. Although it is important to watch your weight, dieting can get out of hand. For people with eating disorders, it can even be dangerous.

Anorexia Nervosa is a physically dangerous eating disorder. Deliberate self-starvation is one of the symptoms. A person suffering from anorexia may be obsessed with the idea of eating food, but because of emotional, environmental, and physical factors, ignores the hunger and does not eat.

Bulimia is closely related to anorexia, but has quite different symptoms. Bulimics consume enormous amounts of food in very short periods of time (binge), then fast, vomit, or use laxatives or diuretics to eliminate the food they just ate (purge). The sufferer may feel trapped within the destructive binge/purge cycle and have no idea how to stop. Bulimia may lead to the inability to have children.

Warning Signs of an Eating Disorder
According to a recent poll, about one teen in every four claims to personally know someone with the symptoms of an eating disorder. Anorexia nervosa and bulimia are self-destructive eating behaviors. Both may signal severe underlying depression and can be life threatening.

If you know someone with an eating disorder, speak up! Here are some guidelines for helping a friend you think has an eating disorder:

• Do heed the warning signs.
• Do approach your friend gently, but persistently. Tell them you’re worried about them; listen; give it time.
• Do not discuss their eating habits. The starving or eating disorder is not the important issue; it is the smokescreen over the larger problem.
• Do focus on unhappiness as the reason; they could benefit from help.
• Do not deal with it alone. Confide in a trusted member of our friend’s family or a medical professional/counselor.

Characteristics of an Eating Disorder

A number of warning signs have been identified for eating disorders. These characteristics are not specific for eating disorders but may indicate an underlying problem. Some of the more common warning signs include:

• Preoccupation with food, calories, nutrition, and/or cooking.
• Denial of hunger, complaints of bloating, nausea, or “feeling fat” after eating normal amounts of food.
• Excessive exercising and activity; dieting when not overweight.
• Strange food-related behavior. Example: cutting food into small pieces or moving food around on the plate.
• Frequent weighing.
• Use of vomiting, laxatives, and/or other pills to control weight.
• Intermittent episodes of binge eating.
• Frequent overeating, especially when distressed, strict dieting followed by binge eating. Example: consuming a whole box of donuts.
• Excessive concern about weight; guilt or shame about eating.
• Secretive behavior about eating and vomiting.
• Disappearing after meals (with a half hour) to purge.
• Depressive moods; feeling out of control.
• Loss of menstrual period.

Caffeine is addictive. It is found in soda, chocolate, coffee, and tea as well as pills designed to keep you awake. It can cause headaches and nervousness. Long-term use can cause heart or other physical problems. If you have questions, ask a school nurse or your doctor.

Overeating and Compulsive Eating are also unhealthy habit and can be symptomatic of underlying emotional or physical problems.

Bingeing, purging, and fasting are dangerous habits. If you, a family member, or a friend displays any of these symptoms or conditions, you can get help. Please call:

• Lutheran Social Services
  • (605) 644-0826
• Catholic social Services
  • (800) 727-2401
• School Counselor for referral
  • (605) 347-2686