Eating is a fundamental part of our daily lives, and it is a process that is inseparable from our survival. However, in the last few years, more and more people have developed distorted body images and high levels of dissatisfaction with their bodies. This discomfort has generated an increase of epidemic proportions in the number of people with eating disorders.
Cultural changes and globalization have resulted in very strict ideals of beauty. The spread of western modes of communication has contributed to the growing incidence of eating disorders in non-western countries.
The model of physical appearance by which women and men are judged has becoming increasingly more demanding and difficult to attain. Many of the heightened standards can lead children to overlook their own happiness, beauty, and abilities.
People who are vulnerable to social pressure have the potential to get trapped in the constant quest to change their bodies. The exaggerated beliefs that “one can never be too thin,” that “winning is losing,” and that “success is slenderness” denote a serious problem with body image.
These dangerous ideas encourage some people to take to heart the notion that “if I am fat, I am not perfect, and I won’t have the success that I yearn for.” With that mindset in place, they then utilize unhealthy methods to lose weight that put them at serious risk of physical harm and high levels of stress.
Are eating disorders unique to our era? No. People of different cultures and from different nations have practiced harmful eating habits throughout history. The Egyptians believed that monthly food purges would benefit their health, for example. Long ago, the Romans created a site called the “vomitorium” in which men could regurgitate and then continue eating. In fact, bulimia, the so-called “hunger of the ox,” was widely practiced by the Greeks and Romans. Without a doubt, all of these behaviors separated themselves from forms of healthy eating.
What are eating disorders?
The most-studied eating disorders are anorexia and bulimia nervosa, both of which are considered two of the most common mental problems for women during puberty and adolescence. Given the high rates of mortality and morbidity, along with recent expansions of the same, eating disorders clearly lead to numerous medical complications. The complications are exacerbated by late diagnosis.
The principal characteristic of these illnesses is behavioral change with respect to nutrition; the change could either be an intentional restriction of food intake (extreme dieting, fasting, etc.) or eating to excess (i.e., compulsive binging). Extreme dieting, omitting high-calorie foods, self-induced vomiting, excessive exercising, and misusing laxatives with the goal of controlling one’s weight are some of the compensatory behaviors exhibited by patients with eating disorders.
Anorexia Nervosa
Anorexia nervosa is easily recognizable because people with anorexia refuse to maintain a minimum healthy body weight; their refusal is conditioned by an intense fear of gaining weight and a distorted perception of the shape/size of their bodies. The disorder is associated with severe malnutrition, oftentimes irreversible changes to the endocrine and metabolic systems, and alterations in bodily functioning.
Bulimia Nervosa
Bulimia nervosa is characterized by repeated episodes of excessive eating and an excessive preoccupation with weight control. This concern leads patients to adopt extreme measures to not grow fat because of the food that they have ingested.
Are these disorders common?
A high percentage of adolescents in Spain currently have an elevated risk of developing eating disorders (according to recent epidemiological studies, about 4.45% of Spain teenagers).
These data are only an estimate, given that these mental illnesses rarely manifest themselves outside of the household. The social stigmatization that exists in regard to mental illnesses in large part isolates affected families because they are embarrassed to reveal that one of their own is struggling. Additionally, individuals with other eating disorders characterized by excessive eating might have to deal with negative societal attitudes about obesity. These attitudes isolate the patients, and their subsequent losses of self-esteem only aggravate the illness.
Treatment and prevention
The course of treatment is determined according to an evaluation of the patient’s health, behaviors and eating habits, experiences of his/her body, character traits, and personality.
Given the nature of the infirmity, patients, relatives, and mental-health professionals should work in a collaborative manner to most effectively treat it. Psychotherapy is essential to reeducate the patient about healthy eating habits. It is also necessary to empower and provide emotional support to patients who are beginning to work on their self-esteem so that they can increase their well-being.
Prevention should be planned in coordination with different agents to stop the epidemic of these disorders and to improve the health of the general population.
