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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. Page | 8