NOTES
- Parents may notice their teenager picking their food or that their child exercises more frequently and intensely
- Parents may also notice their child talking constantly (almost obsessively) about body size of peers or slender celebrities
- Parents may pass these off as a normal stage of adolescence but it's okay to be concerned
- All of the activities mentioned above may be signs of an eating disorder (according to the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry)
- Anorexia nervosa and bulimia nervosa are eating disorders that are increasing among teens and children, especially young women
- "Generally, eating disorders involve self-critical, negative thoughts and feelings about personal appearance and food. Eating disorders are thought to be caused by underlying psychological problems, with the visible symptom being disordered eating and thinking about food." -Becky Burnett, Clinical Dietitian at East Tennessee Children's Hospital
- A person with anorexia nervosa is hungry, but they deny their hunger because of an irrational fear of becoming fat
- Anorexia is characterized by self-starvation, food preoccupation and rituals, compulsive exercising, and the absence of menstrual cycles in women
- 8 million people in this country suffering from eating disorders
- More cases being reported in the eight-to-eleven-year-old bracket every day
- 1% of teenage girls in the United States develop anorexia nervosa
- 5% of college women in the United States have bulimia
- An eating disorder wont go away on it's own
- Eating disorders are not associated with an "adolescent stage" in life and it is not something that will merely fade away
- Once a parent suspects a child or adolescent has an eating disorder, they should talk with the child about visiting a doctor or a dietitian
- A medical professional can help a child with an eating disorder take steps toward healthier eating and nutrition
- The focus of treatment is to help children and teens cope with their emotional problems (the cause of their disordered eating behaviors)
- Treatment includes medical supervision, nutritional restoration, and behavioral therapy (addresses beliefs about body size, shape, eating, and foods)
- "Whatever the reason for the eating disorder, if parents and children can work together to understand the problem, the results will be much more favorable." -Becky Burnett, Clinical Dietitian at East Tennessee Children's Hospital
I thought that this would help me to find out more about younger cases of anorexia, but I found most of the same information that I had before. I still have the same question, why do youngsters under the age of 12 that haven't yet been burdened by adolescence, puberty, and body changes turn to anorexia?
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