Eating Disorders…. Let’s Talk About Them

When I think of eating disorders my mind usually thinks back to my adolescent years until now in my mid 20’s, where I still have issues with my relationship with food and body image. In our society, it is almost impossible to not be judgmental about how you look compared to those around you. The ideal body that is so prevalently seen on tv, social media, film, etc is hardly attainable without rigorous workouts and strict diets which isn’t always feasible for most people. 

When people think of the term eating disorders, they usually think about common images of women binge eating and purging heavily to get thin and achieve that “perfect body”, but eating disorders encompass much more disordered behaviors than that. 

Eating disorders are commonly classified as a serious mental illness characterized by behaviors interfering with gaining weight or maintaining adequate weight, and this usually affects individuals from age 15 - 24 years old. There are multiple types of eating disorders: Anorexia Nervosa, Bulimia Nervosa, Binge Eating Disorder, Avoidant/Restrictive Eating Disorder, and other Specified Disorders. Behaviors that are commonly seen with this disorder are: restricting food, compensating for food intake through intense exercise, and/or purging through self-induced vomiting or misuse of medications like laxatives, binge eating food, etc. The consequences of these behaviors can be detrimental to a person’s body 

There are usually psychological and social components to this disorder, but can also include biological as well. The psychological factor is mainly due to an individual overestimating their weight and/or size, and believe they need to engage in such behaviors to become their ideal size. A tendency to negatively evaluate one’s body is seen throughout all ED’s, and this perspective is not usually swayed lightly. The social component is inescapable as we are surrounded by media everyday that portrays men and women that are attractive to look a certain way, and our social environments can have a huge impact as well. 

A common misconception that also needs to be mentioned is the common notion that eating disorders only affect women, when in reality men are affected by ED’s too. It was recently reported in Ontario that 1 in 6 people struggling with an ED is male, and those statistics should speak volumes to everyone. There are a number of physical consequences that can arise when engaging in restrictive eating, and it can sometimes lead to severe depletion of health or death. This fact makes it very important that people be aware of the effects this disorder can have.  

If you or anyone you know is struggling with an eating disorder, please reach out to us here at Summit where we will help you work through this and overcome the ED.

National Eating Disorder Information Centre Helpline # - (416) 340-4156

- Karen N