NEDA TOOLKIT for Educators
Since eating disorders are linked to biology,
my student doesn’t have much hope for
recovery. Biological factors can make someone more vulnerable
to an eating disorder, but the disorder is neither
untreatable nor predestined. There is always hope for
recovery; individuals can recover from eating disorders
at any age or at any point in their illness. Although their
vulnerability to turn to eating disordered behaviors
when under stress may never disappear entirely, there
are lots of good techniques that individuals with eating
disorders can learn to help manage their emotions and
keep behaviors from returning. The goal of recovery is
to learn effective coping strategies that help individuals
maximize emotional wellbeing, physical health, and
quality of life.
I don’t have to worry about eating disorders in
male students because they’re a “girl thing.”
Although eating disorders are believed to be more
common in females, researchers and clinicians are
becoming aware of a growing number of males who
are seeking help for eating disorders. A 2007 study by
the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention found
that up to one-third of all eating disorder sufferers are
male. It’s currently not clear whether eating disorders
are actually increasing in males or if more males
who are suffering are seeking treatment or being
diagnosed. Because physicians don’t think of eating
disorders as occurring in males, their disorders have
generally become more severe and entrenched at the
point of diagnosis. There may be subtle differences in
eating disorder thoughts and behaviors in males, who
are more likely to be obsessed with building muscle
than weight loss. They are also more likely to purge
via exercise and misuse steroids than females. Gay,
bisexual, and transgender males are more likely to
develop an eating disorder than are straight males.
My student is too young to develop an eating
disorder. People who treat eating disorders are reporting
increasing numbers of young children being diagnosed,
some as young as five or six. Although eating disorders
typically develop during adolescence and young
adulthood, it is possible to develop an eating disorder
at any age. Often, the thoughts and behaviors that
precede the eating disorder begin much earlier than
the onset of the disorder itself. Many eating disorder
sufferers report that their thoughts and behaviors
started much earlier than anyone realized, sometimes
even in early childhood. Recognition of these early
warning signs allows for more effective intervention.
It is not clear whether people are actually developing
eating disorders at younger ages or if an increased
awareness of eating disorders in young children has led
to improved recognition and diagnosis.
Since I teach older students, I don’t have to
worry about an eating disorder. They’ll grow
out of it.
The research literature has identified a subset of
people with eating disorders who seem to recover
spontaneously, without treatment. However, many
people who struggle with eating disorders and
disordered eating in their teens continue to struggle
into adulthood unless they receive treatment.
Increasing numbers of older men and women are
being treated for eating disorders, either due to a
relapse or because their disorder was never adequately
treated. One should be careful not to assume that their
students will spontaneously recover. It is important to
encourage your student to seek help from professionals
with experience treating eating disorders.
If my student has bulimia, I don’t have to worry
about him developing another eating disorder.
Many with eating disorders will suffer from more than
one disorder before they ultimately recover. Roughly
half of all people with anorexia will go on to develop
bulimia. Some individuals show signs of both anorexia
and bulimia simultaneously, regularly binge eating and
purging while at a low weight (this is technically known
as anorexia, binge/purge type). Still others transition
from one diagnosis to another, a process known as
diagnostic cross-over.
Purging only involves self-induced vomiting.
Purging includes any method of removing food from
the body before it is fully digested. Many times, an
individual is driven to purge to compensate for what
was perceived as excessive food intake. While self-
induced vomiting is one of the most common ways that
an individual will purge, it’s far from the only method.
Individuals can also use laxatives and enemas, as well as
non-purging compensatory behaviors, such as abusing
insulin, fasting, and excessive exercise. An individual
can purge through more than one method. Each
method carries its own particular risks, but all involve
potentially life-threatening electrolyte imbalances.
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