Creating Awareness of Eating Disorders
While you are sitting in a coffee shop waiting for a friend, three women walk in to order coffee: (1) A woman of average size and shape, (2) a plus sized woman, (3) a very slim woman wearing workout gear and still sweating from the gym. Assuming you are having one of those rare moments when you have nothing urgent occupying your mind, what assumptions do you make regarding their overall health? What if I told you that the women all suffer from an eating disorder? According to the National Eating Disorder Association, 30 million people in the US suffered from eating disorders in 2014.
We live in a Diet Culture which prizes thinness. Although it isn’t difficult for most of us to believe that a plus sized person might suffer from an eating disorder, people who are average to slim are seen as successful dieters. We want to be like them; to know their secrets. However, there are a variety of different types of eating disorders and people who suffer from them can be any size, shape, age, religion, socio-economic status or gender. According to Alsana, a well-known Eating Disorder Recovery Center, people with an eating disorder of any kind have the following commonalities:
- A strained relationship with food
- A body perception which is affected by their relationship with food.
- Relationships which are affected by disordered behavior.
Eating disorder behaviors include restricting intake, binge eating, purging, excessive exercising and abuse of laxatives. Someone with an eating disorder may engage in one of these behaviors, or a combination. Often, a person follows a cycle which is triggered by anxiety. The details vary, but here’s an example:
A woman has been restricting her food intake for a couple of days in order to feel good for a family event. While at the event she argues with a family member and leaves frustrated. Her feelings of anxiety feel overwhelming as she arrives home. To numb those negative feelings the woman sits down in front of the television and drowns her sorrow in some chocolate cake and ice cream. This works for a while; she is able to push the feelings of frustration away. However, as she starts to get ready for bed she thinks about how full she is, remembers how much she ate and starts calculating the calories. Feelings of shame overcome her. The woman purges to numb those feelings and it works long enough for her to fall into an exhausted sleep. In the morning her throat, stomach and head hurt from purging the night before. Ashamed that she has once again succumbed to purging behavior, she consoles herself with the commitment to restrict her eating more successfully from this point on. She feels good and in control. All is well until the next time life brings her negativity and feelings she wants to avoid.
The Diet Culture was already thriving when I was growing up in the 1970’s and 80’s. My mother was a dieter and made me her diet buddy; my first Weight Watcher’s meeting was at the tender age of 8 (and I was not the only child in attendance!) I learned early to restrict my eating. I was given a list of “bad foods” and “good foods”. It sounds horrible today, but my mother was simply following a cultural trend. By high school most of the girls were on a diet of some kind. One group of girls who sat together at lunch ate only baby food. Some of the girls took “pink hearts” as a type of diet pill…and by the way, these little heart shaped pills were an amphetamine!
As bad as that bygone era may sound, I don’t see that it has changed. My daughter had a friend in 4th grade last year whose mother sent her to school with only kale for lunch to help her lose weight. This year she has a friend who weighs 82 pounds and obsesses over it. My daughter, herself, has begun to weigh herself frequently and comment on pounds lost or gained.
We need to turn things around, my friends. With so much work in our world today, we cannot afford to be consumed by the Diet Culture; we cannot allow it to mesmerize our children. All of us need to be strong and focused on fighting poverty, racism and other forms of social injustice! We cannot fight the good fight if our heads are filled with calories, clothing size, the number on the scale. We cannot love each other properly if we are filled with shame, guilt and judgement. Read the article How Healthy is Healthy by Dr. Shaheen Zakaria for tips on being healthy.
I recently heard of the Healthy at Every Size (HAES) movement. According to Dr. Deah Schwartz with the National Eating Disorder Association (NEDA), “HAES acknowledges that well-being and healthy habits are more important than any number on the scale.” The basic tenants are:
- Love the body that you have so that you are empowered to make positive changes.
- Support your body’s internal systems which are designed to naturally find its appropriate weight.
- Look for meaning in life by nurturing connections with others to fulfill your social, emotional and spiritual needs.
- Be appreciative of each person’s size, shape and unique attractiveness.
Try a Mirror Practice, Mirror, Mirror to learn to appreciate your own unique beauty.
I have a brilliant idea! What if we replaced the old and worn out Diet Culture with a bright and promising HAES Culture? The three women walking into the coffee shop would not all suffer from an eating disorder, we would be healthier and raise healthier children. Furthermore, with everyone so strong and healthy we would right more of the wrongs in our world!What do you say? Are you in?
References
Dr. Schwartz (NEDA), Retrived from National Eating Disorder Association. https://www.nationaleatingdisorders.org/sites/default/files/ResourceHandouts/WhatisHealthAtEverySize.pdf
