Sadly, eating disorders are becoming more and more common in the U.S. today due to various factors. Even children and teenagers are suffering from one of these disorders. Anorexia, bulimia, and binge eating are the big eating disorders that a person can have to deal with. Of course, dealing with these disorders in younger individuals is difficult. Eating disorders in children and teens are especially dangerous though. Just how can parents and their children deal with eating disorders?
What is an eating disorder?
There are plenty of different factors that can cause an eating disorder. Typically, children and teens with eating disorders also have a psychiatric or anxiety issues. They are more likely to be depressed or abusing drugs. Eating disorders are usually psychological issues that are very hard to get rid of or treat. Of course, the main disorders when it comes to food consumption are bulimia, anorexia, and binge eating.
Anorexia
Just about everyone knows what anorexia is these days. Obviously, a person with the disorder will eat as little as possible to lose weight because they think they are either too fat or need to be skinnier. It’s very much like an obsession. Noticing anorexia is fairly easy because a person will be obsessed with losing weight, will rapidly loose weight, and will be pretty strange about food in general.
Binge Eating
On the other hand, binge eating involves a person eating extremely high amounts of food – to the point of pain at times. Unlike bulimics, a binge eater won’t purge their body of the food. Rapid weight gain and excessive eating are signs of this disorders. Unfortunately, binge eating is usually the result of anxiety, depression, or stress. Some binge eaters may not even want to indulge in eating, but they do it anyways.
Bulimia
Similar to binge eating, bulimia involves eating high amounts of food in a short amount of time and then getting rid of the food before it is digested – usually through vomiting. Some people use laxatives and diet pills to get the food out of their body quickly. Oddly, many people with bulimia stay at a normal weight, but the disorder can adversely affect health. Bulimia is just as dangerous as the previous two eating disorders.
What are the effects of an eating disorder?
Each eating disorder has slightly different side effects. For instance, anorexia usually results in extreme weight loss, bulimics may be normal in weight, and then binge eating usually leads to excessive weight gain. All three disorders have their associated side effects, which can be extremely dangerous for anyone. Bulimia can lead to an abnormal heart rhythm, cause tooth decay, and esophagus inflammation. As for anorexia, it can cause organ damage, lower blood pressure, thinning of bones, and even death. Binge eating can cause heart disease, high blood pressure, high cholesterol, or type-2 diabetes. Obviously, nobody should want to deal with the effects of any of these eating disorders. Sadly, any of these three disorders can cause death in the end.
How do you treat eating disorders?
With all three eating disorders, there are similar treatment options because eating disorders are usually caused by a psychological problem, which can include depression, anxiety, low self-esteem, trauma, and more. Antidepressants are common solutions for anorexia, binge eating, and bulimia. Also, other medications can be used to treat eating disorders. Psychotherapy and behavioral therapy are common treatments for all three illnesses. Finally, support groups are effective forms of treatment. There are other methods that can be used to treat eating disorders, but they are less commonly used.
Eating disorders will do no good for anyone.
It might sound simple, but it is true. In the end, an eating disorder will solve absolutely nothing and will only serve to hurt a person and everyone connected to them. Eating disorders should be avoided or treated as soon as they start to occur. Therefore, anyone that notices symptoms of these disorders should talk to that person right away and get them some help, especially when children are concerned. Children and teens who develop eating disorders are much more likely to still have them when they turn into adults. This just gives the illness more time to take its toll upon the child or teen. Especially in younger persons, eating disorders need to be tackled and prevented. The demographic of children and teens with eating disorders needs to shrink rather than grow.
More Information
Children and Teens – Eating Disorders
children.webmd.com/features/eating-disorders-children-teens
Eating Disorder Treatment
www.vanderbilt.edu/ans/psychology/health_psychology/childrenandED.html
