Childhood Eating Disorders on the Rise

Researchers don't have a clear picture of why the number of kids with eating disorders is on the rise, but Dina Zeckhausen of the Eating Disorder Information Network says increased concern about obesity can make kids anxious about their weight.  She adds that putting overweight kids on diets can trigger an obsession with food that can lead into an eating disorder. Better options include increased activity and entire families working together to build healthier eating habits.

What is an eating disorder?

	Strong anti-obesity ad campaigns like this one from Strong4life.com can make kids anxious about their self image.

An eating disorder is an illness that causes serious disturbances to your everyday diet, such as eating extremely small amounts of food or severely overeating. While people of both genders struggle with eating disorders, girls suffer at much higher rates than boys.

Eating disorders cause extreme emotional distress and unhealthy perceptions regarding food, eating and health.

Anorexia nervosa, bulimia nervosa and binge eating are the disorders that are most often developed, and are all potentially life-threatening. Anorexia is characterized by self-starvation and extreme weight loss, while bulimia involves binging (over-eating) and self-induced vomiting or the use of laxatives.  

Symptoms of an eating disorder include:

• Weight loss, especially sudden or extreme
• Restricting food intake while claiming to eat “healthy”
• Avoiding situations involving food
• Going to the bathroom right after meals
• Sadness or depression, often with social withdrawal
• Wearing baggy clothes to hide weight loss

Parents hiding food can lead to obsessive eating

	Obsession over weight and restricting food intake to an unhealthy degee are two markers of an eating disorder.

In an interview with CNN, a young woman going by the pseudonym Sandy Smith spoke about being a rare child suffering from an eating disorder. "I think there was a mixture of ... intentionally restricting my food and then going to try to find the food my parents were hiding," she explains. “Even in childhood, it became sort of obsessive.”

Although Sandy speaks out about her experiences as a child, she still struggles with her disorder today. She advises children to seek help, saying, "There are people out there, even if they aren't in [your] direct surroundings, who are filled with compassion and want to help."

Many 10-year-old girls on diets

	Girls receieve a lot of societal pressure to be thin, and they suffer from eating disorders at much higher rates than boys.

The Keep It Real campaign conducted a study that found 80 percent of all 10-year-old girls have already dieted at least once in their lives. 

Children who are experiencing troubles such as bullying, abuse or a divorce sometimes seek to find a way to take control of some aspect of their lives and find that restricting their eating habits is the easiest way to do that.

Getting treatment early is key, as failure to get proper nutrition can affect a child’s growth and development for the rest of their lives.

Dr. Wendy Lebolt, a coach and physiologist who recently addressed the topic in a column on Soccerwire, an online newsletter and community for soccer parents, writes that many kids with eating disorders appear healthy and high-achieving.  

Lauren, a young friend of Dr. Lebolt, was an athletic teenager who worked part-time three to four days per week while maintaining a 4.0 GPA. Now on the road to recovery from an eating disorder, she has this advice: “Please, if you know of someone who has an eating disorder, encourage them to get help. Don’t sit back and wait.  It is an illness and nothing to be ashamed of, and you could save his/her life.”