Eating disordered behaviour The untreated epidemic

By C.A. Schneider EATING DISORDERED BEHAVIOURS, COMMONLY KNOWN as eating disorders,are by no means a new phenomenon; however, it is only during the past century that they have swollen to epidemic proportions. The most common eating disordered patterns are anorexia nervosa,bulimia and compul- sive eating. These patterns have increasedwithin society to the point where one out of every 50 females between the ages of 14 and 24 suffer from anorexia nervosa while thirteen percent of all university students are bulimic ( 87% of these are female). While the increase in the occurrence of such patterns causes ‘much concern, there appears to be little concern about the causes of such disorders.

The most extreme of all eating disordered patterns is anorexi anervosa. This pattern is characterized by an inaccu- rate self-imageof fatness which one attempts to change through self-starvation,compulsive exercise or use of laxatives and other drugs. Anorexia involves not only a physical change in

the sufferer, butalsoacomplete personality change. The severe anorexic loses touch with the real world as she becomes more and more obsessed with her body and food. For the anorexic

ON Bevt aera:

(as with all eating disordered behaviours) food becomes the ~

forbidden pleasure which refuses to leave her mind. The anorexic will constantly think about food,talk about food and even dream about food. Anorexia is not only the most extreme of the eating disordered patterns, but also the most deadly:

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nineteen percent of all anorexics die from their disorder. The treatment for anorexia involves the development of a healthy attitude towards both food and your body through a senseof who you are and what you need to remain as that person. This process is long and tedious and often requires many attempts before it is successful.

Bulimia describes people who are deeply afraid of getting fat, but cannot control their impulses to eat. Bulimics willoften go for long periods of time without eating, and then binge when their hunger finally overwhelms them. When bulimics binge it is not unusual for them to eat up to ten times the food theynormally would. The bulimic usually eats only when alone since after eating, especially binging, the guilt drives him or her to purge by vomiting or using large quantities of laxatives so his or her body does not have a chance to digest any of the food he or she has just eaten. Bulimics tend not to lose great amounts of weight, but fluctuate above and below their normal weight. Unlike anorexia nervosa, the threat in bulimia is not as much a physical one as it is a psychological one. The bulimic, too, is obsessed with food; however, his or her obsession is much more of a love-hate obsession unlike the anorexic’s hate-hate relationship with food. . Bulimics, al though under more psychological stress than anorexics, are more likely to realize that they have a problem and much mo willing to seek help. )

Anorexia and bulimia were the earliest forms of eatin; disordered behaviour to be recognized. During the thirteenth to sixteenth centuries, eating disordered patterns were consid: ered to be a part of female piety, and women who exhibite them were miracles of God. These women often survived 0 only the wafer and wine of the communion sacrament. Manyo these women were made saints for their devotion. Asin mode day cases, anorexia and bulimia were/are often used in combi nation. For the anorexic who is forced to eat, the practices 0 the bulimic are a welcome relief from the pressure of the fe or forthe bulimic who has binged, the starvation ofthe anorexi is used to relieve the guilt of eating. hg

Compulsive eating is an eating disordered pattern ¢ another kind. The compulsive eater is usually a person wit very low self-esteem who eats for the pleasure it gives. Co pulsive eaters yearn for the oral pleasure of eating and canm control their yearnings. The compulsive eater uses food make up for all that he or she does not like about his or herse or society. This type of behaviour is difficult to treat, althou not as much as eitheranorexia or bulimia.

: The person who exhibits eating disordered behavio has a disorder that must be treated, yet because of the nature all eating disordered patterns most sufferers do not get the he they need until they have hit the critical level. This lev differsfor each disorder; for the anorexic the critical pol usually comes with the health problems that accompany gerously low bodyweight and fat levels; for the bulimic comes with the health problems that accompany vomiting # the use of laxatives. The compulsive eater hits the critical po! when his or her obesity begins to cause health and/or psy° logical problems. It isonlyafter the critical point isreached people can be helped to recover from their eating disorde! behaviour. Eating disordered behaviour has become an epidemi¢ recent years because of the unrealistic demands placed women in oursociety. Women are expected to be w! mothers and career women all at once while still being slend well-dressed and made-up. The normal woman finds stressful; however, the perfectionist finds this impossible deal with. She cannot be all that she feels she must be, and falls back on eating disordered behaviour to regain the coo she feels she has lost. Not all women experience this lack control; however, the ones that do are often the ones exhibit eating disordered behaviour. The problem of ¢ disordered behaviour is one that must be examined much dl to find the actual causes of the disorders that are hurting killing women in our society.

February 7; I?