In today’s society, mental health problems are growing at a very alarming rate, more than ever before. During the 21st-century, especially in the United States of America, an estimated 20% of the population (≈50,000,000 people) endured some sort of debilitating mental illness, a harrowing statistic for an age like this. There especially seemed to be a rise in eating disorders across the country, as it is estimated that nine to ten percent of the USA, or at least 30,000,000 people, have an eating disorder. It is also the second most deadliest mental illness in the USA, with 10,200 people dying from it every year— that’s one death every 52 minutes!
Especially in a time where social media is taking precedence above all else, harmful body trends are repeatedly and most aggressively pushed towards people, especially teenagers who are insecure and worried about being judged for their body image. Eating disorders are growing into a dangerous, harrowing force across America, but this beckons a few questions: What are they, why do they happen, and how can we help?
Eating disorders are defined as disorders where an individual is unhappy with their body image/shape, possibly caused by the perceived criticism by others, and the individual takes drastic actions to reduce or increase their body weight. Eating disorders are NOT a lifestyle choice, despite the popular (yet very much untrue) stereotype, they’re changes in eating behavior due to your mental state. Persistent preoccupation with body weight might also signal an eating disorder. There are primarily three main types which are anorexia nervosa, bulimia nervosa, and binge-eating disorder.
Anorexia nervosa is a condition where people either avoid eating food, severely restrict food, or eat dangerously low quantities of certain foods. People with this condition obsess over their body weight, fat, and have a warped image of themselves. They may think that they are still fat even though they are dangerously (in most circumstances) underweight. Experts still do not know what causes this illness. This disorder often begins as regular dieting, but then, possibly due to a lack of proper dietary guidance, it branches off into an unhealthy eating disorder, coupled with the newfound fear of being fat. Some risk factors of anorexia (shorthand way to call this disorder) include (most glaringly) a family history of such eating disorders and mental disorders like substance abuse and/or depression. Other factors that play into anorexia may include societal/cultural norms, family influences, genetics, brain chemical imbalances, developmental issues, and participating in activities that put a certain emphasis upon bodily shape and size, such as sports and dancing/modeling. Some symptoms of anorexia nervosa include, in terms of food, not only the extreme fear of being fat and it translating to becoming severely underweight, but also denying that you’re hungry, being fixed upon how food is prepared, and having abnormal eating behaviors. Changes in physicality, of course, can also occur, like having lanugo hair, being abnormally thin, being dehydrated, and having brittle nails. Emotional symptoms may include easy irritability, depression, and glaring mood changes.
Bulimia nervosa is a condition similar to anorexia nervosa, but to maintain the dangerously low body weights, the people going through this condition secretly eat large amounts of food, but then also secretly purge the food via vomiting or other means to get rid of the extra calories. Some signs and symptoms of this harrowing disorder include extreme fear of being/getting overweight, losing control while eating, using drugs like laxatives and enemas to unhealthily reduce bodily weight, and much more. Experts still don’t have a definitive solution as to what really causes this disorder but hypothesize that genetics (family histories of such illnesses), psychological issues (negative/warped self-image/body-image), dieting (especially improper dieting), and societal/cultural norms/expectations play a huge role into the causation and development of bulimia nervosa. Sometimes, bulimia can cause life-threating and grevious complications, such as negative self-esteem, dehydration, severe organ damage, substance abuse, and self-injury/suicide.
Finally, though anorexia and bulimia are both on the underweighted end of the eating disorder spectrum, there is a disorder on the other, overweight end, which is binge-eating disorder. Binge-eating disorder (BED) is the most common and rising eating disorder in the United States. This disorder is characterized by episodes of eating large amounts of food in one sitting (what’s called a binge), losing control while binging, feeling shameful, distressed, or guilty after the binging episode, and, unlike bulimia nervosa, NOT using unhealthy measures (purging) to counteract the unhealthy levels of eating. This eating disorder is unlike others in the fact that treatment for this eating disorder might not be fully covered by insurance due to how recent it is in terms of its rise in people. Binging episodes are characterized by eating more than a person normally would, to the point that they feel uncomfortably full. This binging may occur at least once a week for at least three months. Some physical warning signs and symptoms are heavy fluctuations in bodily weight, but mainly being overweight instead of underweight, gastrointestinal problems, concentration difficulties, and more. Some emotional and behavioral disorders include hoarding food (sometimes with strange, almost addictive behaviors), frequently attempting to diet, eating alone out of embarrassment, making a perpetual cycle of stress-eating, and more. Health issues are most commonly associated with clinical obesity, weight stigma, and weight cycling (like “yo-yo '' dieting). Though not all clinically obese people have BED, up to 2⁄3 of BED sufferers are clinically obese. BED tends to be in those who are above normal weight, though it can happen at any weight.
Though the causes of eating disorders unfortunately remain (still to this very day) mysterious, the treatments for eating disorders are very well known and should be used by any means necessary to take action. Complete recovery is possible and has happened just as frequently as the disorders themselves. Treatments for eating disorders are different as they are practically tailored to individual needs of a person. Sometimes a specific form of therapy called family-based psychotherapy may be used to tell parents how to consult with and better feed their children who are suffering from eating disorders. People can also undergo various different talk therapies, CBT (cognitive brain therapies), and take medications like antidepressants, antipsychotics,and mood stabilizers so they can change their way of thinking about matters concerning diet for the better and significantly alter thinking and brain chemistry. All in all, it’s a very long process as eating disorders are significantly harder to treat due to the self-criticism involved within it.
This mental health issue is a hugely prevalent part of 21st-century American society, and their causes are still mysterious, presenting a significant challenge to researchers and therapists. However, there is still hope, as more and more everyday, researchers are finding ways to effectively treat eating disorders.
Bibliography
“Anorexia Nervosa”. John Hopkins Medicine. https://docs.google.com/document/d/13f5XE6Qn3Iy9khE1ILkvYGSEjmg6sm0pu0_hmK2CaZk/edit
“Bulimia Nervosa”. Mayo Clinic. Feb 29, 2024. https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/bulimia/symptoms-causes/syc-20353615
Dennis, Amy. “Binge Eating Disorder (BED)”. National Eating Disorder Association. https://www.nationaleatingdisorders.org/binge-eating-disorder/
“Eating Disorders”. National Institute of Mental Health. Jan, 2024. https://www.nimh.nih.gov/health/topics/eating-disorders
“Eating Disorder Statistics”. ANAD. https://anad.org/eating-disorder-statistic/#:~:text=General%
“Mental Health in America - Printed Reports”. Mental Health America. https://mhanational.org/issues/mental-health-america-printed-reports
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