EATING DISORDERS AND BODY IMAGE

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EATING DISORDERS AND BODY IMAGE

• INFORMATION PROVIDED BY NEDA NATIONAL EATING
  DISORDERS ASSOCIATION
• WWW.NATIONALEATINGDISORDERS.ORG

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FACTS

• Eating disorders affect five million people in
  the U.S., and more than 10 of those diagnosed
  with anorexia nervosa will die from the disease.

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WHAT IS AN EATING DISORDER?

• Serious, but treatable, illnesses with medical
  and psychiatric aspects.
• Most common anorexia and bulimia.
• People with an Eating Disorder typically become
  obsessed with food, body image, and weight.
• Can become very serious, chronic, and sometimes
  life-threatening, if not recognized and treated
  properly.

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WHO GETS EATING DISORDERS

• Males and females from as young as 7 or 8 years
  old.
• More common in females, and more often during
  adolescence and early adulthood.
• Cases are also being recognized in males and in
  women in their 30s and 40s.
• Affect people in all socioeconomic classes.

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CAN EATING DISORDERS BE CURED?

• When treated early and appropriately full and
  long-term recovery can happen.
• Treatment must be tailored to the individual
  patient, involving a combination of therapy,
  nutritional support and possibly medication.
• Biggest step for recovery getting the person
  with the Eating Disorder to admit it and accept
  it.

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WHAT SHOULD YOU DO IF

• You notice some changes in weight, eating habits,
  exercise with a friend/student
• Refer the student to appropriate resources that
  can help (parent, guidance counselor, teacher)
• DO SOMETHING!

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MALES AND FEMALES

• Males may feel greater sense of
  shame/embarrassment because Eating Disorders are
  promoted predominantly as a female issue.
• Males are more likely to focus on muscle gain,
  while females focus on weight loss.

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KNOW THIS

• Most people with an Eating Disorder cant see
  that they are too thin and have body image
  distortion and view their body as unrealistically
  large, or evaluate their physical appearance
  negatively (body image dissatisfaction).

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Eating Disorders Warning Signs

• Frequent weighing
• Eating excessive amt. Of food in a short time
• Strict dieting following eating binges
• Frequent overeating especially when distressed
• Buying large amts. of food that disappears
  quickly
• Sudden onset of severe tooth decay
• Isolating from friends/family
• Collecting recipes
• Eagerness to cook and bake for family
• Use of laxatives, diet pills
• Depressive moods

• Preoccupation with food, weight, or appearance
• Making excuses during lunch why they are not
  eating
• Dissatisfied with weight in spite of excessive
  weight loss
• Loss of menstrual period
• Going to restroom frequently after meals
• Smell of vomit in restrooms
• Excessive exercise
• Always cold
• Wearing layers of clothes to hide weight loss
• Strange food behaviors (cutting in tiny pieces,
  playing with food on plate)
• Loss of thinning hair

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Bulimia

• Serious life-threatening disorder characterized
  by recurrent episodes of binge-eating followed by
  (usually) self induced vomiting or some form of
  purging as a means of controlling weight.

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Physiological Characteristics

• Weight fluctuations due to alternative gorging
  and fasting, irregular periods (w), swollen
  glands, burst blood vessels in eyes, tooth
  decay/gum disease, damage to esophagus, sore
  throat/hoarse voice, abdominal pain/constipation,
  headaches/fatigue, chemical imbalance in blood
  dehydration, muscle fatigue, cardiac rhythm
  irregularities, cardiac arrest.

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Behavioral Characteristics

• Fear of inability to stop eating voluntarily,
  vomiting, laxative, diuretic, or diet pill abuse,
  fasting/compulsive exercise, constant
  preoccupation of food control, drug and alcohol
  abuse, secretive food foraging and hoarding
  (especially at night), suicide,
  obsessive-compulsive patterns.

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Emotional Characteristics

• Perfectionistic high performance and achievement
  expectations, low self-esteem, self-loathing,
  depression, wants help desperately, promiscuous,
  façade of normalcy, preoccupation with appearance
  of image, constant feeling of being out of
  control, inability to accurately identify and
  express feelings, out of touch with ones
  feelings.

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Anorexia Nervosa

• Serious life-threatening disorder characterized
  by deliberate self-starvation. The person
  becomes obsessed with food, weight, counting
  calories, and vigorous exercise.

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Physiological Characteristics

• Low body weight, slowed heart rate, low blood
  pressure, reduced body temp., cold hands/feet,
  loss of period (w), reduced testosterone level
  (m), immune system decreases, growth of body
  hair, dizziness, muscular weakness

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Behavioral Characteristics

• Excessive dieting, food control, fasting,
  compulsive exercising, insomnia, early morning
  awakening, layering of clothes, food rituals,
  collects recipes and likes to cook/bake, frequent
  weighing, focus on job or school work, tension at
  meal times, sometimes refuses to eat with family

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Emotional Characteristics

• Intense fear of becoming fat, depression,
  self-centered/anti-social, irritability,
  decreased interested in sex, distorted body
  image, perfectionist thinnest, smartest,
  neatest etc, difficulty thinking clearly, low
  sense of self-worth, denial.

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BINGE EATING DISORDER

• Frequently eating large amounts of food while
  feeling a loss of control over their eating.

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BODY IMAGE

• HOW YOU THINK YOU LOOK

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BODY IMAGE

• Perception Mental picture of our body
• Evaluation Based on our beliefs and attitudes,
  shaped by cultural norms.
• Behavior Outcome of how we see and feel
• Examples of behaviors Abstaining from
  activities, dieting, exercising, eating disorders.

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BODY IMAGE DISTORTIONS

• Beauty-or-Beast Distortion
• Either-or thinking. It occurs when you think
  about your appearance in EXTREMES. You rate
  yourself as a 10 or as a 1, either attractive or
  ugly, with nothing in between.

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Unfair-to-Compare Distortion

• You compare your appearance against
• 1 your own personal ideals
• 2 the media images of physical perfection
• 3 people you find good-looking whom you
  encounter in everyday situations.
• You compare your appearance with images of what
  youd like to have.
• You spend a lot of time noticing others who you
  think look better than you do.
• You use words and have thoughts such as I wish I
  were as attractive as that person, I wish I had
  thicker hair, I wish I had a bigger chest

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FOR EXAMPLE
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THE MAGNIFYING GLASS DISTORTION

• Selective Attention.
• You focus on one aspect of your appearance that
  you dislike and then exaggerate it as if you
  are putting your body under a magnifying glass.
  All you see is one huge flaw.
• Ie. You see your entire body as flabby thighs
  or knobby knees

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BEAUTY BOUND DISTORTION

• This distortion says you cant do certain things
  because of your looks. Your negative body image
  limits your activities and aspirations.
• Ie. I cant go to _______ because I dont look
  good enough.

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Survival Notes

• DO
• Accept that bodies come in a variety of shapes
  and sizes and this make life interesting
• Remember that you can be your worst critic.
  Others may find you really attractive
• Expect normal weekly and monthly changes in
  weight and shape
• Explore your internal self emotionally,
  spiritually, and as a growing, changing human
  being
• Explore all the things you have to offer others
  caring, enthusiasm, information, company, love,
  and honesty
• Decide how you wish to spend your energy
  pursuing the perfect image or enjoying family,
  friends, and school
• Be aware of your own weight prejudice. Explore
  how those feelings may effect your self esteem

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DONT

• Let your body define who or what you are. You
  are much more than just a body
• Let obsession with your body keep you from
  getting close to others or taking risks
• Judge others on the basis of appearance, body
  size, or shape
• Forget that society changes its idea of beauty
  over the years
• Believe that all thin people are happy with
  themselves
• Forget that you are not alone in your pursuit of
  self-acceptance. It is a lifelong process that
  many people struggle with.
• Be afraid to actually enjoy your body. It does
  not have to be something you are stuck with.

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• http//www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/thin/program.html