NEDA TOOLKIT for Parents
Eating disorders are an attempt to seek
attention The causes of eating disorders are complex and
typically include socio economic, environmental,
cultural, and biologic factors. People who experience
eating disorders often go to great lengths to conceal it
due to feelings of shame or a desire to persist in
behavior perceived to afford the sufferer control in life.
Eating disorders are often symptomatic of deeper
psychological issues such as low self-esteem and the
desire to feel in control. The behaviors associated with
eating disorders may sometimes be interpreted as
‘attention seeking”; however, they indicate that the
affected person has very serious struggles and needs
help. Purging is only throwing up
The definition of purging is to evacuate the contents of
the stomach or bowels by any of several means. In
bulimia, purging is used to compensate for excessive
food intake. Methods of purging include vomiting,
enemas and laxative abuse, insulin abuse, fasting, and
excessive exercise. Any of these behaviors can be
dangerous and lead to a serious medical emergency or
death. Purging by throwing up also can affect the teeth
and esophagus because of the acidity of purged
contents. Purging will help lose weight
Purging does not result in ridding the body of ingested
food. Half of what is consumed during a binge typically
remains in the body after self-induced vomiting.
Laxatives result in weight loss through fluids/water and
the effect is temporary. For these reasons, many people
with bulimia are average or above-average weight.
You’re not sick until you’re emaciated
Only a small percentage of people with eating
disorders reach the state of emaciation often portrayed
in the media. The common belief that a person is only
truly ill if he or she becomes abnormally thin
compounds the affected individuals’ perceptions of
body image and not being “good” at being “sick
enough.” This can interfere with seeking treatment and
can trigger intensification of self-destructive eating
disorder behaviors.
Kids under age 15 are too young to have an
eating disorder
Eating disorders have been diagnosed in children as
young as seven or eight years of age. Often the
precursor behaviors are not recognized until middle to
late teens. The average age at onset for anorexia
nervosa is 17 years; the disorder rarely begins before
puberty. Bulimia nervosa is usually diagnosed in mid-
to-late teens or early 20s, although some people do not
seek treatment until even later in life (30s or 40s).
You can’t suffer from more than one eating
disorder Individuals often suffer from more than one eating
disorder at a time. Bulimarexia is a term that was
coined to describe individuals who go back and forth
between bulimia and anorexia. Bulimia and anorexia
can occur independently of each other, although about
half of all anorexics become bulimic. Many people
suffer from an eating disorders not otherwise specified
(EDNOS), which can include any combination of signs
and symptoms.
Achieving normal weight means the anorexia
is cured
Weight recovery is essential to enabling a person with
anorexia to participate meaningfully in further
treatment, such as psychological therapy. Recovering
to normal weight does not in and of itself signify a cure,
because eating disorders are complex
medical/psychiatric illnesses.
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