Eating Disorders: Silent and Deadly

Eating Disorders: A Silent Killer

Eating disorders are a mental illness that is extremely prevalent in the society today. It’s more dangerous than a regular illness because unlike other diseases, eating disorders are brought on by oneself. It’s an act of self-harm, but in the person’s mind it becomes so twisted that they actually think they are helping themselves and are in control of their lives. Having gone through an eating disorder myself, I can relate to others who are or have experienced this illness. It’s much more than just self-harm in a physical form, but eating disorders affect every aspect of your life... social, physical, emotional, mental, and even spiritual. You give yourself a false sense of control and security when in actuality you are falling apart and more often than not, the person going through an eating disorder knows this. Here are some statistics that I found about eating disorders:

PREVALENCE

·       It is estimated that 8 million Americans have an eating disorder (7 million women and 1 million men)

·       One in 200 American women suffers from anorexia

·       Two to three in 100 American women suffers from bulimia

·       Nearly half of all Americans personally know someone with an eating disorder (Note: One in five Americans suffers from mental illnesses.)

·       An estimated 10 – 15% of people with anorexia or bulimia are males

MORTALITY RATES

·       Eating disorders have the highest mortality rate of any mental illness

·       A study by the National Association of Anorexia Nervosa and Associated Disorders reported that 5 – 10% of anorexics die within 10 years after contracting the disease; 18-20% of anorexics will be dead after 20 years and only 30 – 40% ever fully recover

·       The mortality rate associated with anorexia nervosa is 12 times higher than the death rate of ALL causes of death for females 15 – 24 years old.

·       20% of people suffering from anorexia will prematurely die from complications related to their eating disorder, including suicide and heart problems 

ADOLESCENTS

·       Anorexia is the 3rd most common chronic illness among adolescents

·       95% of those who have eating disorders are between the ages of 12 and 25

·       50% of girls between the ages of 11 and 13 see themselves as overweight

·       80% of 13-year-olds have attempted to lose weight 

ATHLETES

·         Risk Factors: judged sports: 13% vs. refereed sports: 3% prevalence.

·         20% higher rates of eating disorders found in elite athletes.

·         Female athletes in aesthetic sports (gymnastics, ballet, figure skating, cheerleading…) found to be at the highest risk for eating disorders.

MEDIA, PRECEPTION, DIETING

·         35% of “normal dieters” progress to pathological dieting. Of those, 20-25% progress to a partial of full-syndrome eating disorder.

·         The body type portrayed in advertising as “ideal” is only naturally possessed by 5% of American females.

·         47% of girls (5^th-12^th grade) reported wanting to lose weight due to magazine photos.

·         69% of girls in 5th-12th grade reported that magazine pictures influenced their idea of a perfect body shape.

·         42% of 1st-3rd grade girls want to be thin.

·         81% of 10 year olds are afraid of being fat. (10 years old!!! Are you kidding me?)

These statistics are shocking and I was astounded by how many men and women struggle with this disease. Even more so I realized how eating disorders are portrayed as shameful and something to keep quiet about, which in my opinion is increasing the problem. If we continue to avoid this subject and try and sweep the problem under the rug, then we are ignorant! We need to raise awareness for this disease just like any other disease out there. We as a society have this irrational fear of helping other people because we don’t want to invade their privacy. However, from personal experience, when I was going through my eating disorder all I truly wanted was someone to know that secret in my life and support me through it. When someone is going through an eating disorder they may act like they are annoyed and don’t need your help, but more often than not they are secretly praying that you won’t give up on them like everyone else has.

See the main issue behind an eating disorder isn’t the fact that the person thinks they are overweight, but it’s an emotional one. Like I addressed before, an eating disorder is a way of controlling their spinning out of control life. Just being a friend to someone who is struggling can be a huge help to them on a road to recovery.  Remember to come off in a nonjudgmental way because even though you want to help, some people may not be ready for change and your job may be just being there for them. I’ve been passionate about this subject for a while and hope to work in some sort of way addressing this issue in my future. The recovery process is a constant journey and we as humans are here on earth to help and support each other.

If you or someone you know is suffering from an eating disorder please get help. One website that offers a lot of information about this disease is www.nationaleatingdisorders.org