for the past like couple months maybe i havent been eating alot like yesterday i had a muffin at 12:00am and water and then i had a cup noodle at 11:00 pm but im not hungry and so far today i had juice ive been under alot of pressure with all these thin people i wish i could look like its not like one day i chose to stop eating i just dont feel like eating anymore and im not hungry im 12yrs old Eating disorders most often affect girls and women, but boys and men can also have an eating disorder. One out of every four pre-teen kids with anorexia is a boy. Binge eating disorder affects females and males about equally .
What is anorexia nervosa?
To be diagnosed with anorexia, a person would:
Be 15% below their ideal weight
Have an intense fear of being fat, even though they are underweight
Have a distorted view of their body or deny that their low weight is a problem
Have amenorrhea (missing at least 3 periods in a row)
May or may not also binge and purge
Anorexia usually affects teens, and mostly girls. An estimated 1% of white females have anorexia nervosa. It is more common among people in higher income groups, and in groups that value thinness (like athletes, ballet dancers and models). It usually starts around ages 13-14 or ages 17-18.
What is bulimia?
To receive a diagnosis of bulimia nervosa, a person would:
Binge eat (eat more food all at once than most people would normally eat in the same setting )
Feel a lack of control during binge eating
Purge the food by making themselves vomit, fasting (not eating for 24 hours), exercising excessively (for more than an hour), or abusing diet pills, laxatives, enemas, or diuretics (water pills)
Binge and purge regularly over a period of time
Have a self-image based mostly on their body shape and weight instead of other traits
People with bulimia may be anywhere from underweight, to normal weight, to overweight. It is estimated that as much as 3% of college-aged women have bulimia.
What is binge eating disorder?
Binge eating disorder is diagnosed when a person:
Continues to binge eat over time (eating more food all at once than most people would eat in the same setting)
Feels a lack of control during binge eating
Eats fast during binges
Overeats to the point of discomfort
Eats a lot when not hungry
Eats alone out of shame
Feels disgusted with themselves, depressed or very guilty after overeating
Is worried about their binge eating
Binge eating disorder does not include the purging consistent with anorexia and bulimia. It may be the most common eating disorder. About 40% of obese people may have this problem.
See the National Institutes of Health guide to binge eating disorders for more information.
What causes eating disorders?
We don鈥檛 know for sure. Many factors working together may lead to eating disorders. Dieting is a risk factor, with the greatest risk to severe dieters. Around two-thirds of new cases of eating disorder are in girls and women who have dieted [1].
Weight and height can be compared and plotted on a growth chart.
Body mass index (BMI) is a good screening number that points toward how much body fat a person has. This number comes from a formula using height and weight numbers. It is a little difficult to compute by hand. You can use the link above to read about children鈥檚 BMI, calculate your child鈥檚 BMI on the web calculator, and find out their percentile rank.
What does percentile mean? A body mass index (BMI) below the 5th percentile for the child鈥檚 age and sex is a sign of underweight. This would mean that 5% of children the same age and sex have a lower BMI than your child. A BMI around the 50th percentile is about average. A BMI above the 95th percentile is a sign of overweight. This would mean that 95% of kids the same age and sex have a lower BMI than your child. Your child would be in the top 5% highest BMIs.
One drawback to BMI is that it does not take into account frame size (either small or large) or high muscle development (like with bodybuilding). A person with a large frame or big muscles may have a high BMI but low body fat. A person with a small frame may have a healthy amount of body fat, but have a very low BMI.
Be sure to use measurements from the doctor鈥檚 office when calculating BMI. A small error in height or weight can cause a big error in the BMI result.
Kidshealth.org has a BMI calculator that allows you to plot trends in BMI over time on a chart. (Follow the 鈥渋nstructions for entering more than one set of measurements.鈥? Then you can see if your child is gaining or losing body fat. Call your child鈥檚 doctor if you have concerns.
Look for these behaviors, signs and symptoms:
Eating tiny portions or refusing to eat
Intense fear of being fat
Distorted body image
Strenuous exercising (for more than an hour)
Hoarding and hiding food
Eating in secret
Disappearing after eating鈥攐ften to the bathroom
Large changes in weight, both up and down
Social withdrawal
Depression
Irritability
Hiding weight loss by wearing bulky clothes
Little concern over extreme weight loss
Stomach cramps
Menstrual irregularities鈥攎issing periods
Dizziness
Feeling cold all the time
Sleep problems
Cuts and calluses across the top of finger joints (from sticking finger down throat to cause vomiting)
Dry skin
Puffy face
Fine hair on body
Thinning of hair on head, dry and brittle hair
Cavities, or discoloration of teeth, from vomiting
Muscle weakness
Yellow skin
Cold, mottled hands and feet or swelling of feet
The first goal in treating severe anorexia is to improve your child鈥檚 nutrition and eating habits. Then, the goals will focus on learning about nutrition and normal eating patterns, improving self-esteem, relating to others, interacting with family, and treating medical and other psychological problems.
To get started, call the National Eating Disorders Association鈥檚 Toll-Free Information and Referral HelpLine at 1-800-931-2237.
Seeking treatment鈥攖his page includes links to more resources, such as questions to ask when choosing a treatment provider and treatment options, getting insurance coverage, and suggested medical tests.
Find a Registered Dietician in your area through the American Dietetic Association鈥檚 website.
What is Body Dysmorphic Disorder (BDD)?
Your child may have Body Dysmorphic Disorder(BDD). Having BDD means thinking about what you look like much more than normal. It also involves thinking too much about real or imagined defects in how you look. It is a kind of distorted thinking. It affects males and females about equally.
Find out more about BDD here:
List of clues to BDD's presence
Books and articles about the disorder
If you think your child has BDD or body image problems, you should talk to your child鈥檚 doctor. Your child鈥檚 health care provider can refer you to someone who can help. It鈥檚 best to see someone with expertise in treating BDD. It鈥檚 also helpful to see someone who treats obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD), since OCD and BDD often overlap.
Eating Disorders on MedlinePlus has links to trustworthy information on many different aspects of eating disorders.
Or perhaps you just don't eat a lot, that is always an option, but if you feel you have a problem consult a doctor. sweetie, i've been a yo-yo my whole life and had my share of eating issues. if u want to drop weight DONT stop eating it doesnt work, it makes your metabolism slow down and you wont lose any even if u exercise ( i did that for 2 years trust me it doesnt work). once i started eating breakfast n trying to eat something every few hours the weight came off, stick to proteins and vegies mostly, carbs dont help. nuts, pretzels, cheese, meat, eggs, fruit, veg.... drink lots of water too, it helps fill u up and helps digestion and your metabolism (burning fat) good luck :) This site has a lot of useful links...
http://christiananswers.net/q-eden/eatin...
Also, consider giving this number a call...
Eating Disorders Awareness & Prevention Hotline
1-800-931-2237
Help for Eating Disorders You log off the computer and go see your doctor and talk to them. |
