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Increasingly,
urban Indian teenagers are showing signs of compulsive eating
disorders. Eating disorders, which include both anorexia nervosa
and bulimia, are not a sign that a person has a problem with
food, but should be seen as symptoms of deeper, family and
psychological conflicts.
Adolescence
is a time when children are most susceptible to all sorts
of ideas about themselves, not all of which might be accurate,
because this is a time of great self-consciousness. In such
a scenario, our media representations don't help, what with
the message being sent out that being beautiful means being
thin. Girls, and more boys than before, are vulnerable to
beauty myths and are constantly assailed by images of what
they should look like to feel appreciated and secure. So girls
are more conscious and aware that they need to achieve a socially
desirable standard of physical attractiveness, and spend their
entire effort in reconstructing the outside, unaware of what
lies inside them; sometimes low self-esteem or even a rejection
of the self and body. Boys are also confronted with media
images of the 'ideal' male body and experience a similar stress
to fit in and be noticed. Apart from the emphasis on body
image, teenagers face a number of emotionally complex situations
in family, school and with peers including pressure to perform,
parental conflicts and tension, and maybe sexual or physical
abuse. All
these pressures often lead to the development of an unhealthy
relationship with food.
The
following are possible warning signs for eating disorders:
- Unnatural
concern about body weight (even if the person is not overweight)
- Obsession
with calories, fat grams and food
- Use
of any medicines to keep from gaining weight (diet pills,
laxatives, water pills)
More
serious warning signs may be harder to notice because people
who have an eating disorder try to keep it a secret. Try to
watch out for these signs:
- Throwing
up after meals
- Refusing
to eat or lying about how much was eaten
- Fainting
- Over-exercising
- Not
getting her periods
- Increased
anxiety about weight
- Calluses
or scars on the knuckle (from forced throwing up)
- Denying
that there is anything wrong
Compulsive
Overeating
Uncontrollable
eating and consequent weight gain characterize compulsive
overeating. Compulsive overeaters use food to cope with
stress, emotional conflicts and daily problems. They use
food to block out feelings and emotions. Compulsive overeating
usually starts early in childhood when eating patterns are
formed. Most people who become compulsive eaters are people
who never learned how to deal with a stressful situation
other than through eating. Food can serve as a protective
functioning for them, especially in people who have been
victims of some sort. Then putting on weight and becoming
fat is also part of the vicious cycle where they continue
to experience criticism and rejection about their body size,
leading to further emotional distress and emotional eating.
In today's society, compulsive overeating is not taken seriously
enough. Many don't think it to be a disorder. So instead
of sending compulsive overeaters to doctors or counselors
we often end up sending them to the gym.
Signs
and Symptoms of Compulsive Overeating:
- Binge
eating
- Fear
of not being able to stop eating voluntarily
- Depression
- Self
deprecating thoughts following binges
- Withdrawing
from activities because of being embarrassed because
of weight
- Going
on various diets
- Eating
little in public, while maintaining a huge weight
- Believing
they will be a better person when thin
- Social
and professional failures attributed to weight
- Feeling
tormented by eating habits
- Weight
and body size becomes their primary focus
Anorexia
nervosa
Anorexia
nervosa is characterized with a lot of weight loss resulting
from excessive dieting. A large number of men and women
end up wanting to be excessively thin. Often anorexics think
and feel that they are fat, even thought they may be losing
drastic amounts of weight! This is because of their distorted
view of their bodies. Most of the time an anorexic will
avoid food. Anorexics set up very high standards for themselves.
Most anorexics feel that the only control they have over
their lives is food and the ability not to have it. They
are obsessive about checking their weight all the time.
Focusing on calories and losing weight is the only way they
can deal with their emotions. Hunger is strongly denied.
Signs
and symptoms of Anorexia:
- Noticeable
weight loss
- Becoming
withdrawn
- Excessive
fatigue
- Obsessed
with food, counting calories and low fat recipes.
- Excuses
for not eating meals
- Unusual
eating habits
- Noticeable
discomfort around food.
- Complaining
of being too fat, even when being thin.
- Depression
- Irritability
- Fainting
spells
- Difficulty
eating in public
- Headaches
Bulimia
nervosa
- Eating
large quantities of food in short periods of time, often
secretly, without any regard for feelings of "hunger"
or "fullness," and to the point of feeling "out of control"
while eating.
- These
"binges" are often followed by some form of purging
or compensatory behavior to make up for the excessive
calories taken in: self-induced vomiting, laxative or
diuretic abuse, fasting, and/or obsessive or compulsive
exercise.
- There
is an extreme concern with regard to body weight and
shape.
-
Signs
and Symptoms of Bulimia:
- Evidence
of binge-eating, including disappearance of large amounts
of food in short periods of time or the existence of
wrappers and containers indicating the consumption of
large amounts of food.
-
- Evidence
of purging behaviors, including frequent trips to the
bathroom after meals, signs and/or smells of vomiting,
presence of wrappers or packages of laxatives or diuretics.
-
- Excessive,
rigid exercise regimen--despite weather, fatigue, illness,
or injury - the need to "burn off" calories taken in.
-
- Unusual
swelling of the cheeks or jaw area.
-
- Calluses
on the back of the hands and knuckles from self-induced
vomiting.
-
- Discoloration
or staining of teeth.
-
- Creation
of complex lifestyle schedules or rituals to make time
for binge-and-purge sessions.
-
- Withdrawal
from usual friends and activities.
-
- General
behaviors and attitudes indicating that weight loss,
dieting and control of food are becoming primary concerns.
Many
things can trigger a teen's bingeing and purging, such as:
- An
emphasis within the family or immediate sphere of influence
(coaches, grandparents, older siblings) on diet and the
"perfect body." If a teen regularly hears someone they
admire and consider to be a role model talking about needing
to lose weight, start an exercise program, or diet, they
tend to look at themselves as needing to do the same.
- The
media barrage that emphasizes the "perfect body." Men's,
women's, and teen magazines repeatedly carry cover stories
about the latest diet fads, body types, and suggestions
as to what "you can do to change yours." While shopping,
sitting in an doctor's office, or leafing through the
stack on the family coffee table, teens are constantly
reminded by the magazine cover stories that having a "regular
body" is just not good enough.
- Pressure
from sports, gymnastics and dance programs to maintain
a certain weight. Often teens face comments that they
won't look good in their leotards if they exceed a certain
weight by even a pound or two. This places an inordinate
amount of emphasis on weight instead of health.
-
- An
inability to cope with their feelings in a meaningful
and effective manner. If teens are unable to work through
their feelings, they may turn to food (bingeing) to help
them cope. If they regularly overeat, they may start purging
to keep from gaining weight. Teenagers need to understand
that feelings are just that, feelings. They do not have
to be right or wrong or correct or good or bad. Recognizing
feelings and understanding their source can go a long
way in helping teenagers learn how to effectively deal
with them instead of turning to something like bingeing
and purging to ease the anxieties caused by unrecognized/unresolved
feelings.
-
- In
a home where there is existence of physical or sexual
abuse there are greater chances for eating disorders.
The child may develop an eating disorder in order to gain
a sense of control. If they can't control their bodies
during an abusive situation, they feel they should at
least have control over their intake of food. Food can
also become a symbol of comfort in an emotionally distressing
situation. Sometimes self imposed starvation may also
be their way of punishing themselves, so that the situation
may improve or maybe because they might be blaming themselves
for the situation.
- Talk
about magazines and television advertisements.
Encourage your teen to look around. How many people do
they see that actually look like the people/teens in those
ads? Explain how producers and publishers use computer
imaging, photography touch-ups, clothes, hair coloring,
and make-up to make their models look that way. Explain
that they can add or take away breasts, hips, muscles,
uneven teeth, glorious hair even tattoos.
- Watch
what you say about your own body and weight.
If you think you need to lose weight or begin an exercise
program, do it quietly. Talking about it, whether it's
absolutely necessary or not, only draws attention to your
opinion that a healthy body is one that weighs a certain
amount, not one that is maintained by eating and exercising
in accordance with health recommendations.
- Be
aware of how you use food. If you use food
as a reward or stress reliever or something that has to
be avoided as "bad for you" or "not on your diet," your
teen will model your behavior. Instead, try to view food
as something you need to maintain a healthy body. When
you have a "treat," enjoy it don't describe it as "bad"
for you.
- Watch
what you say about others.
If you comment about "that fat kid on your team" or "the
fat lady that waited on me," you're telling your teen
that weight is the determining description of a person.
Your teen may wonder if you think of them as "my fat teen."
Exercises
to help teens understand and communicate with their bodies.
- Shut
your eyes and allow white light to enter your body as
you breath in. Imagine the light slowly entering you,
filling your chest and travelling down to your stomach.Feel
yourself relax.
- As
you feel the light spreading in your body begin to talk
to each part of your body. You can start with the feet
and move upwards. Ask them how they feel about belonging
to your body? What do they want to say to you? Are they
feeling happy or sad? Why?
- This
exercise will help you begin to develop a relationship
with your body of understanding and support. If you do
this exercise with focus and sincerity you will be surprised
at the responses you will get from your body.
-
- During
a bath use soaps or bath/shower gels that lather well
and smell good. Whilst bathing slowly caress and spend
time on each body part. Start appreciating the sensuality
and rhythm of your body, discover it as if for the first
time.
-
- When
on your own put on music that you enjoy and dance in a
slow, swaying, gentle motion. Try this with your eyes
open and closed. Get familiar with the rhythm of your
body, what your body enjoys, what movements it is capable
of etc. Let the dance be a celebration of your body. Don't
focus on the "right" way to dance. Just do what
comes naturally.
-
- Sports
and martial arts are both powerful ways of enjoying the
body and harnessing its power and beauty.
Some
excellent books on the subject include:
- Food
Fights: A Guide to Eating Disorders for Preteens and Their
Parents
by Janet Bode (Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers,
1997);
-
- Surviving
an Eating Disorder: Strategies for Family and Friends
by Michele Siegal, Ph.D., Judith Brisman, Ph.D., and Margot
Weinshell, M.S.W. (Harper Perennial, 1997);
-
- Your
Dieting Daughter: Is She Dying for Attention? by Carolyn
Costin (Brunner/Mazel, Inc., 1997);
-
- Taking
Charge of My Mind and Body: A Girl's Guide to Outsmarting
Alcohol, Drug, Smoking, and Eating Problems by Gladys
Folkers, M.A. and Jeanne Engelmann (Free Spirit Publishing,
Inc., 1997);
-
- Inner
Hunger: A Young Woman's Struggle through Anorexia and
Bulimia by Marianne Apostolides (New York: W.W. Norton,
1998) (see Review)
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