Eating disorders do not discriminate. They are not limited by gender, age, social class or ethnicity.
Individuals suffering from eating disorders have severe disturbances in eating behavior (ranging from total restriction to binge eating), coupled with negative or distorted body image. Over-exercise, self-induced vomiting and misuse of laxatives or medications are behaviors typically associated with weight control in eating disorders.
Poorly understood by most, eating disorders are often oversimplified to a basic mathematical equation of eating too much or eating too little with bodyweight being the end result. This linear thinking dismisses the severity of the disease, overlooks the psychological and emotional aspects and reinforces weight as the measurable outcome.
It is important to remember that it is not about the food. Eating disorders are diseases that affect one’s physical health, cognition and thinking, feelings and emotions and sociability, as well as quality of life. These disorders are sometimes paired with anxiety, mood, adjustment or personality disorders and substance abuse.
Unhealthy relationships with food can develop as a response to life stressors. Food is one of the few things we can control without external interference, and this is learned at a very young age.
When life seems overwhelming for individuals with eating disorders, food becomes the coping mechanism. How much, how little, what, when, where and who to eat with all represent an individual’s control that may not be felt, perceived or present in other areas of life.
This methodical approach to eating, coupled with a fixation on weight control can be all-consuming, take up to 90 percent of waking hours and therefore, leave little time to manage any of life’s other responsibilities.
Food and weight become tangible, measurable entities, yet they are merely metaphors for answers to more complex core issues, including, but not limited to depression, anxiety, coping, identity, values, relationships, low self-esteem, abuse and obsessive behavior.
We live in a culture where thinness is valued and aggressive food marketing produces conflicting information about which foods are “healthy,” creating the perfect environment to mask emotions behind food control.
Eating disorders and the resultant food behavior can ravage the body physically, resulting in malnutrition, anemia, muscle wasting, compromised bone health, gastrointestinal function and immunity and even death. Malnutrition can further compromise any underlying psychological condition and yield mood-stabilizing medications ineffective.
Remember: It is not just about food. Eating disorders can only effectively be treated with a multidisciplinary team consisting of a physician, a psychiatrist, a therapist and a dietitian.
Lea Gebhardt is the clinical nutrition director for Cedar Springs. For more information about Cedar Springs Austin, please call 877-755-2244 or 512-732-2400. You may also visit www.cedarspringsaustin.com or send an email to info@cedarspringsaustin.com.
