Growing up I always had a very healthy appetite and thankfully I was also blessed with a great metabolism. I remember a friend of mine would hardly eat and if she did give in to the temptation, she would leave the room the moment she finished eating. I never understood why till much later. She had an eating disorder.
Is this a phase? Does it impact only teenagers? The answer to both those questions is No! Most people think of teenagers or young adults when they hear of eating disorders; but they can affect young children as well. The rates of eating disorders among young girls and boys under 12 years have been growing in recent years.
What Is An Eating Disorder?
Eating disorders are complex mental and physical conditions that cause people to develop severely disrupted eating habits. This is characterised by eating, exercise and body weight or shape becoming an unhealthy preoccupation of someone’s life. It isn’t just about trying to lose a little weight – eating disorders are serious conditions related to persistent eating behaviours that negatively impact one’s health, emotions and ability to function in important areas of life.
People suffering from an eating disorder usually have an obsession with their appearance, weight and body shape. This causes them to control or restrict their food intake, leading them to make unhealthy choices about food.
Eating disorders are more common in females than males. The female to male ratio was 5:1.
Data about eating disorders in India are not conclusive because there just isn’t enough data. In a society that prizes being thin, mental health has always been “pushed under the carpet”. At a time when the world is reeling from a pandemic, mental as well as physical health is extremely important. Eating disorders have been around for a really long time, it is only now that people are addressing this problem.
Dr Nisha Vidyasagar is a Clinical Psychologist at Unified Brain Health Care, Chennai. She says
Depression, poor body image, low self-esteem, being a people pleaser and peer pressure are the common risk factors that leads to eating disorders in children. It is important for us to be positive role models to our children and help them develop a healthy relationship with food. This can be done by eating healthy ourselves and at the same time not label foods as ‘good’ or ‘bad’ and completely deprive children of the ‘unhealthy’ ones.
The Different Types Of Eating Disorders
Anorexia – A condition in which a child refuses to eat out of an intense fear of becoming fat. They are obsessed with being thin and think they are fat even when they are not. They often achieve this by starving their body.
The rate of anorexia nervosa — one of the most widely known eating disorders in which an individual is typically dangerously underweight — to be ten per 100,000 in Indian males, and 37.2 per 100,000 in Indian females.
Bulimia – A condition in which a child overeats and then purges the food by vomiting or using laxatives to prevent weight gain. These binge-purge cycles are driven by an obsessive need to control food intake and can be triggered by stress, anxiety or hunger.
Binge Eating – A condition in which a child may gorge on food even when they are not actually hungry. But they don’t vomit out the food. Their eating behaviour will lead to obesity.
There are other eating disorders like Pica, Rumination Disorder to name a few. But the above mentioned are the most common ones.
What Are The Possible Causes Of Eating Disorders
- Poor body image
- Too much focus on weight or looks
- Dieting at a young age
- Having a family member with an eating disorder
- Mental health problems such as anxiety, depression, or OCD
- Social media, cyberbullying and the social pressure to share
Signs Every Parent Should Watch For
- Evidence of binge eating like the disappearance of large amounts of food from the cupboard or fridge.
- Frequent trips to the bathrooms during or immediately after meals and signs of vomiting or laxative abuse.
- Excessive or compulsive exercise patterns. Wanting to exercise no matter what condition they are in – injured or in bad weather or exhibiting distress if unable to exercise
- Avoid going to places that involve food
- Development of repetitive or obsessive body checking behaviours like pinching waist or wrists, repeated weighing themselves.
- Isolate from friends, including avoidance of previously enjoyed activities
- Change in clothing style, such as wearing baggy clothes
- Continual denial of hunger
What To Do If Your Child has An Eating Disorder
You may find the following steps useful if you think that your child is showing signs of an eating disorder:
- Talk to your child – ask if they are OK and if there’s anything they want to talk about. Let them know that you’re there to listen and support them.
- Take them seriously – it can be difficult to understand why someone with an eating disorder behaves the way they do. Some of their issues around food may seem irrational to you but could be a major source of distress for your child. This is why it’s crucial to take them seriously and avoid being critical.
- Stop the body and food talk – we all talk about dieting, body shape and weight, but this can be a very sensitive subject for someone with an eating disorder. Try to steer conversations away from food and boost their confidence about their body.
- Seek professional help – it is essential that you seek professional help if you think that your child has an eating disorder. Your child will likely need support to prevent their eating disorder from becoming worse.
Specialists For Eating Disorders In India
Lakshmi Vijayakumar, M.D.
Tel: 044-24981939 Mobile: 9283142341 Email: [email protected]
Sanjay Chugh, M.D.
Tel: +91-11-41436012 / 41436013 / 29219476 / 29219820 Mobile: +91-98914-86368, +91-9811079401 Email: [email protected] and [email protected]
Gauri Divan – Sangath
Website: https://sangath.in/our-people/gauri-divan-2/
Fayth Clinic
Website: www.faythclinic.com/pediatric-health-services/eating-disorders-anorexia-bulimia-obesity/
Sanctum Wellness
Website: https://www.sanctumwellness.org/blog/eating-disorders
If you have a story to share about eating disorders and think the young adults we are raising should be aware of the dangers, please do write to us at [email protected].
Mansi Zaveri
Janani S Koushik
Vaishnavi Venkatraman
