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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. Page  | 6