Teachers

Family Factors that might put a young person at risk of developing an eating disorder

It’s important to remember that none of these factors mean that a young person WILL develop an eating disorder – they’re simply risk factors and a young person who has a combination of the different factors that we’re going to discuss may be more likely to develop an eating disorder than their peers, so it’s worth being aware of them.

 

This post looks at Family factors – how a young person’s home environment or their relationships with their parents or carers might have an impact on their likelihood of developing an eating disorder. You might also be interested in reading the posts about Personality Factors and Social Factors.

A home environment where food, eating, weight or appearance have a disproportionate significance

Some families place a huge significance on food, eating, weight and appearance. This isn’t necessarily encouraged of the children in the family but having a mother or father who spends a lot of time worrying about their weight, exercising or dieting to influence their shape can rub off on children. Other families specifically encourage their children to eat less or lose weight or exercise to stay fit or lose weight. Read the rest of this entry »

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Personality Factors that might put a young person at risk of developing an eating disorder

It’s important to remember that none of these factors mean that a young person WILL develop an eating disorder – they’re simply risk factors and a young person who has a combination of the different factors that we’re going to discuss may be more likely to develop an eating disorder than their peers, so it’s worth being aware of them.

 

This post looks at personality factors – those factors related to a young person’s characteristics or personality traits that might make them most likely to develop an eating disorder. You might also be interested in reading the posts about Family Factors and Social Factors.

 

Difficulty expressing feelings and emotions

Young people who are unable to express their feelings or emotions very well may turn to food as way of expressing themselves. This might not make immediate sense to you – but think about how often we console ourselves with a chocolate bar, an ice cream or a packet of crisps when we’re feeling down in the dumps about something. Eating disorder sufferers take this quite normal behaviour to a whole new level, using food to help them control and express their emotions. Read the rest of this entry »

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What is Binge-Eating Disorder?

Binge Eating disorder, also known as compulsive eating, is a disorder typically characterised by a pattern of eating large quantities of, often unhealthy, food over a short period of time. Usually within about two hours.

 

Binge eating disorder is very similar to bulimia – with the key difference that sufferers do not purge after binging. This is the reason why compulsive eaters tend to be overweight whereas bulimics tend to be closer to a normal weight.

 

Binge eating can take a few different forms. Many sufferers binge on large volumes of food in short periods whereas other sufferers will eat smaller volumes more frequently – sometimes constantly grazing but never feeling satiated. What all compulsive eaters have in common is a lack of control and inability to stop themselves from eating. Read the rest of this entry »

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What is Bulimia?

Bulimia often goes undetected as sufferers tend to maintain a roughly normal weight. The key characteristic of bulimia is the binge purge cycle – sufferers binge on a large amount of food in a short period of time then in order to prevent themselves gaining weight they will attempt to purge the calories through a variety of unhealthy methods.

 

How frequently sufferers will binge and purge varies greatly – anything from several times a day to once every few weeks. Binges will often occur in response to a difficult situation as a coping mechanism.

 

The unhealthy methods which sufferers use to purge themselves of calories can be very dangerous. Some instances of bulimia are picked up in A&E departments after sufferers are hospitalised, often due to complications from repeated vomiting or laxative abuse. Read the rest of this entry »

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What is Anorexia?

Anorexia is the most high profile of the eating disorders and the one you are likely to have heard the most about. It’s characterised by a refusal to maintain a healthy weight. Sufferers tend to believe that they are grossly overweight even if they can be shown objective evidence by way of scales and charts, to the contrary.

 

 

Anorexia is the most fatal of all mental health disorders, with up to ten percent of sufferers dying either as a result of suicide, or more commonly due to complicating factors arising from low weight – such as organ failure or heart attack. Read the rest of this entry »

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What is an Eating Disorder?

 

Food is used as a coping mechanism

There are three major types of eating disorders, anorexia, bulimia and binge eating disorder. What they’ve all got in common is that the sufferer uses food and their weight as a way of coping with any problems or difficulties they might be having.

Eating disorders are a serious mental health issue

Eating disorders affect up to 5% of the population and are a serious concern. Some people wrongly dismiss them as fads or phases that teenagers go through but this is inappropriate as eating disorders can destroy lives. In fact, 10% of anorexics die of complications of the disease or suicide – this is the highest fatality ratio of any mental health disorder. Read the rest of this entry »

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10 Warning Signs that a Young Person might have Anorexia

None of these warning signs on its own means that a young person has anorexia but if they are exhibiting several of these signs then you are right to be concerned.

 

Restricted eating

In order to reduce their calorie intake, anorexics will typically restrict their food intake. Restricted eating can refer to limiting the quantities consumed of all types of food and / or avoiding certain food groups such as dairy or meat.

Skipping meals

Many people skip the odd meal here and there, but it can be a cause of concern if a young person is regularly skipping meals and particularly if they are skipping multiple meals each day. Read the rest of this entry »

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