Coping With Eating Disorders Difficult During Holidays

The holidays provide plenty of opportunities to overeat pie, cookies, cake, eggnog and other I-can’t-stop-with-just-one goodies.

Television ads, billboards, magazines and all-you-can-eat buffets reinforce “topping off” your stomach, while you’re simultaneously bombarded with starvation-level, skin-and-bones models setting the gold standard for beauty. Lean, muscular bodies are equated with character, discipline and sex appeal.

This dichotomy of images can create confusion among the young and old alike about accepting their bodies. The problems associated with obesity are broadcast every day. But losing too much weight because of eating disorders is also a growing problem - especially for adolescent females and, more recently, adolescent males.

“The holidays can be a difficult time for people with eating disorders, due to the combined effect of family-gathering tension and the increased opportunity to binge on sweets,” says Stacy Mainer, an adolescent eating disorder counselor in Spokane.

There are three main types of eating disorders. Anorexia is a pathological fear of weight gain, leading to extreme weight loss, Bulimia is bingeing on food followed by vomiting. And binge eating is compulsive overeating.

During the transition between puberty and adulthood, young people are forming their sense of identity. They’re very susceptible to eating disorders, particularly anorexia, which has a mortality rate of more than 10 percent.

Mainer is seeing a trend toward younger children, both male and female, being affected by eating disorders - as early as the fifth and sixth grades.

“Young people are very susceptible to the standards set by society,” Mainer says. “They feel they have to live up to an image that emphasizes how a person looks, rather than what a person is like on the inside.”

High school sports such as wrestling, which demands strict weight limitations, can set off eating disorders.

Family dynamics can also contribute to an eating disorder. When mom and/or dad decides to drop 20 to 100 pounds in record time by following a strict diet - whether it’s cabbage soup, “Protein Power” or skipping meals - kids pay attention. An active high-school student eating an ultra-low-carbohydrate diet with their parents isn’t going to get the calories they need for proper growth.

As well as adolescents, college students are at a higher risk for eating disorders. An estimated 600,000 to 840,000 college undergraduates are struggling with an eating disorder, Time magazine reported in April.

College is a time of major changes. Students are no longer eating at home, and the stress of campus life can cause overeating, followed by dieting - leading to an eating disorder. Many students enter college with a budding eating disorder that can escalate.

Then there are the relentless images in the media. It’s hard to ignore Calista “Ally McBeal” Flockhart, Gwyneth Paltrow and Courteney Cox with their borderline - if not full-blown - anorexic figures. Insurance agency statistics show that the average 5-foot, 6-inch adult woman weighs 145 pounds, compared to 115 pounds for the typical Hollywood actress of the same size.

Men aren’t immune to the “leaning” of the stars. Johnny Weismuller, the Tarzan of the 1930s, was a champion swimmer, but he didn’t come close to the scant 6 percent body fat of Brendan Fraser in “George of the Jungle.”

So what can you do? Helping your child, and/or yourself, avoid an eating disorder involves many factors.

Setting an example by making time for a balanced breakfast, lunch and dinner - with protein, carbohydrates and healthful fat sources - sends a powerful message to yourself and your children. Skipping breakfast, having an energy bar and coffee for lunch and coming home to binge is not balanced eating.

Consistently talking to your children, being willing to listen to their feelings and openly communicating your feelings with them is also extremely important.

But sometimes it’s too late for communication alone, and professional treatment becomes necessary. A team approach of medical doctor, therapist and dietitian is needed to combat eating disorders. Trying to deal with it on your own is like an alcoholic trying to quit without treatment. If you think you or someone else in your family may have an eating disorder, contact your doctor.

Along with calories, the holidays provide opportunities for connecting with family members. Remember, eating a piece of pumpkin pie and making time to talk with family members are both forms of nourishment.