Eating Disorders

Among Teens

An look at a
Serious problem
Eating Disorders
E a tin g d iso rd e rs: D iso rd e rs o f
fo o d in g e stio n , re g u rg ita tio n , o r
a ttitu d e th a t a ffe ct h e a lth a n d
w e ll-b e in g , su ch a ss a n o rexia ,
b u lim ia , o r b in g e - e a tin g .
Teachers !!
 It is important to educate students
about healthy eating habits.
 Encourage and model a positive self
image.
 Identify eating disorders and refer
students or others to the proper
authorities.
 Knowledge about eating disorder will
aid you in your duties.
Important !!
 Knowledge about eating disorders ,
including: Proclivity, symptoms,
warning signs will aid in
identification, and proper
intervention.
 Eating disorders may be difficult to
identify because people who suffer
from them often cover up the
symptoms.
 It is important to monitor students
health throughout the year.
Eating Disorders Overview
 There are three major food disorders
Anorexia nervosa, Bulimia nervosa,
and binge eating. Each has severe
psychological and physiological
long term consequences.

This is
beauty?
Eating Disorders:
occurrence
 Approximately 8 million Americans
have an eating disorder 90% of
which are women.
 One in 200 American women suffers
from anorexia
 Two to three in 100 American women
suffers from bulimia
 Approximately 10% of people with an
eating disorder are male
Important notes

 Eating disorders have the highest

mortality rate of any mental illness
 Only 1 in 10 people with eating
disorders receive treatment

 Anorexia is the 3rd most common
chronic illness among adolescent
Attention !!
 Anorexia is the 3rd most common
chronic illness among adolescents.
 95% of those who have eating
disorders are between the ages of
12 and 25.
 50% of girls between the ages of 11
and 13 see themselves as
overweight .
 80% of 13-year-olds have attempted
to lose weight
TYPES OF EATING
DISORDERS
Anorexia nervosa: intense fear of
gaining weight or becoming “fat” coupled
with refusal to maintain adequate nutritio
and severe loss of body weight.
Symptoms
 Resistance to maintaining body weight
at or above a minimally normal weight
for age and height
 Intense fear of weight gain even though
underweight.
 Loss of menstrual periods in girls and
women post-puberty.
 Disturbance in the experience of body
weight or shape, undue influence of
weight or shape on self-evaluation, or
denial of the seriousness of low body
weight.
 Common Warning Signs
 Dramatic weight loss.
 Preoccupation with weight, food, calories,
fat grams, and dieting.
 Refusal to eat certain foods, progressing to
restrictions against whole categories of
food (e.g. no carbohydrates, etc.).
 Frequent comments about feeling “fat” or
overweight despite weight loss. Anxiety
about gaining weight or being “fat.”
 Denial of hunger.
Consequences

 Due to the lack of nutrient intake,

anorexia has serious physical
consequences.
 Muscle loss, weakness
 Fainting fatigue
 Health problems due to lack of
nutrients
Additional Statistics
 Approximately 90-95% of anorexia
nervosa sufferers are girls and
women
 A study by the National Association of
Anorexia Nervosa and Associated
Disorders reported that 5 – 10% of
anorexics die within 10 years after
contracting the disease; 18-20% of
anorexics will be dead after 20
years and only 30 – 40% ever fully
recover

 Teachers!!
 Anorexia nervosa involves self-
starvation. The body is denied the
essential nutrients it needs to
function normally, so it is forced to
slow down all of its processes to
conserve energy. This “slowing
down” can have serious medical
consequences.
Types of Eating Disorders

B u lim ia n e rvo sa : Fre q u e n t

o ccu rre n ce o f b in g e -e a tin g e p iso d e s,
a cco m p a n ie d b y a se n se o f lo ss o f
co n tro lo f o ve re a tin g a n d re cu rre n t
in a p p ro p ria te b e h a vio r to p re ve n t
w e ig h t g a in .
Symptoms
 Regular intake of large amounts of
food accompanied by a sense of
loss of control over eating behavior
 Regular use of inappropriate
compensatory behaviors such as
self-induced vomiting, laxative or
diuretic abuse, fasting, and/or
obsessive or compulsive exercise.
 Extreme concern with body weight
and shape.
Common Warning Signs

 Evidence of purging behaviors, including

frequent trips to the bathroom after meals,
signs and/or smells of vomiting, presence of
wrappers or packages of laxatives or
diuretics.
 Unusual swelling of the cheeks or jaw area.
 Discoloration or staining of the teeth.
 Behaviors and attitudes indicating that weight
loss, dieting, and control of food are
becoming primary concerns.
Statistics

 Bulimia nervosa affects 1-2% of

adolescent and young adult women.
 Approximately 80% of bulimia
nervosa patients are female

Teachers!!
 Bulimia is extremely harmful to the
body. The recurrent binge-and-
purge cycles can impact the
digestive system and purge
behaviors can lead to electrolyte
and chemical imbalances in the
body that affect the heart and other
major organ functions.
Types of Eating
Disorders
 Binge Eating Disorder (BED: Is a form
of eating disorder that does not
involve vomiting, or other form of
purging. Binging does not
compensate behavior to prevent
weight gain.
Characteristics

 Frequent episodes of eating large

quantities of food in short periods of
time.
 Feeling out of control over eating
behavior.
 Feeling ashamed or disgusted by the
behavior.
Health consequences

 Unhealthy weight gain.

 BED is often associated with
symptoms of depression
 Diseases associated with weight gain:
 High blood pressure
 High cholesterol levels
 Heart disease
 Diabetes mellitus



Prevalence

 Approximately 1-5% of the general

population are affected.
 Approximately 60% of binge eaters
are female, while 40% are male.
Additional Information

 Women are 20% more likely to binge

eat than men.
 Binge eaters can be of above
average, or normal weight. This
makes the problem difficult to
identify.
 Binge eating can be related to
depression
 Binge eaters often suffer from low
self esteem/image, and are
ashamed.
Caution

 Although BED may be difficult to

identify it has serious health
consequences.
 Since BED may carry with it
psychological issues which should
taken into consideration


Get Help!
Alternative Options Counseling and Addiction
Center 12881 166th Street Suite 110 Cerritos,   CA  
90703  Office Phone:  562-921-5701 Fax:  562-921-
5703
 THE INTERNATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF EATING
DISORDERS PROFESSIONALS
(800) 800-8126
www.iaedp.com
 NATIONAL EATING DISORDERS ASSOCIATION
(800) 931-2237
www.nationaleatingdisorders.org
603 Stewart St., Suite 803
Seattle, WA 98101
 Works Cited
National Eating Disorders Association , (2006) . Anorexia Nervosa.
Found online at: http://www.nationaleatingdisorders.org/p.asp?
WebPage_ID=286&Profile_ID=41142

Carson, R., Butler, J., Mineska, S. Abnormal Psychology (2000): Ally

and Bacon; Boston.

South Carolina Department of Mental Health: Eating Disorder

Statistics (2006). Found online at:
http://www.state.sc.us/dmh/anorexia/statistics.htm

Mayo Clinic staff. Binge-eating disorder. (2008) . Retrieved 9/05/09

from: http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/binge-eating-disorder/DS00608.

Benjamin W. Bulimia (2009). Bulimia. Retrieved November 4th , 2009

from: http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/ency/article/000341.htm.
Image Citations:


“Anorexia” image, taken from



http://cherished79.files.wordpress.com/2008/07/anorexie1.jpg


“everything in your head” image taken from:



http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_b9qNoeZofgM/SZ7itjj7e0I/AAAAAAAAD


“Supermodel “ image taken from:



http://z.hubpages.com/u/245913_f248.jpg

Teaching Suggestions
After discussing the topic, do activities with
statistics. Have the students find out how many
students in the class/ school may have an
eating disorder according to the data. Discuss.
After presenting the topic ask students to

compare and contrast the different types of

eating disorders. The diagrams can include:
prevalence, statistics, symptoms, consequences.


Go through a web quest that discusses eating



disorders, shows images, and graphs of data

with students while having them complete a
series of questions.
