NEDA TOOLKIT for Parents
Eating Disorder Myths
Even for professionals who have been treating them for years, eating disorders can be baffling and confusing
illnesses. Adding to this confusion is the fact that eating disorders are surrounded by a large number of myths and
misconceptions. It can be difficult for some people to take an eating disorder diagnosis seriously. This section will
help dispel some of the most common misunderstandings about eating disorders and those affected by them.
You may wish to print out this section and share it with others (other family members, friends, teachers, coaches,
physicians, etc.).
Eating disorders are a choice. I just need to
tell my loved one to snap out of it.
Eating disorders (EDs) are actually complex medical
and psychiatric illnesses that patients don’t choose
and parents don’t cause. The American Psychiatric
Association classifies five different types of eating
disorders in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual, 5th
Edition (DSM-5): Anorexia Nervosa, Bulimia Nervosa,
Binge Eating Disorder (BED), Avoidant Restrictive Food
Intake Disorder (ARFID) and Other Specified Feeding
or Eating Disorder (OSFED). Several decades of genetic
research show that biological factors play a significant
role in who develops an eating disorder. EDs commonly
co-occur with other mental health conditions like major
depression, anxiety, social phobia, and obsessive-
compulsive disorder.
Doesn’t everyone have an eating disorder
these days?
Although our current culture is highly obsessed with
food and weight, and disordered patterns of eating
are very common, clinical eating disorders are less so.
A 2007 study asked 9,282 English-speaking Americans
about a variety of mental health conditions, including
eating disorders. The results, published in Biological
Psychiatry, found that 0.9% of women and 0.3% of
men had anorexia during their life, 1.5% of women and
0.5% of men had bulimia during their life, and 3.5% of
women and 2.0% of men had binge eating disorder
during their life. The consequences of eating disorders
can be life-threatening, and many individuals find that
stigma against mental illness (and eating disorders
in particular) can obstruct a timely diagnosis and
adequate treatment.
Eating disorders are a choice.
The causes of an eating disorder are complex. Current
thinking by eating disorder researchers and clinical
experts holds that eating disorders are caused by
both genetic and environmental factors; they are
bio-sociocultural diseases. A societal factor (like the
media-driven thin body ideal) is an example of an
environmental trigger that has been linked to increased
risk of developing an eating disorder. Environmental
factors also include physical illnesses, childhood teasing
and bullying, and other life stressors. Historical data
reveals that some of the earliest documented cases
of eating disorders were associated with religious
fasting. Additionally, they may run in families, as there
are biological predispositions that make individuals
vulnerable to developing an eating disorder.
I need to figure out what I did to cause my
child’s eating disorder.
Organizations from around the world, including
the Academy for Eating Disorders, the American
Psychiatric Association, and NEDA, have published
guidelines which indicate that parents don’t cause
eating disorders. Parents, especially mothers, were
traditionally blamed for their child’s disorder, but
more recent research supports that eating disorders
have a strong biological root. Eating disorders develop
differently for each person affected, and there is not a
single set of rules that parents can follow to guarantee
prevention of an eating disorder, however there are
things everyone in the family system can do to play a
role in creating a recovery-promoting environment.
Psychologists have seen improvements in the speed at
which children and adolescents begin to recover when
including parents in the treatment process.
It’s just an eating disorder. That can’t be a big
deal. Eating disorders have the highest mortality rate of any
psychiatric illness. Up to 20% of individuals with chronic
anorexia nervosa will die as a result of their illness.
Community studies of anorexia, bulimia, and eating
disorder not otherwise specified (EDNOS, now called
OSFED) show that all eating disorders have similar
mortality rates. Besides medical complications from
binge eating, purging, starvation, and over-exercise,
suicide is also common among individuals with eating
disorders. People who struggle with eating disorders
also have a severely impacted quality of life.
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