Eating Disorders Blog

According to new data from the United Kingdom's food watchdog agency, the Food Standards Agency (FSA), teenage girls eat less healthfully than any other group.

In a recent survey, the FSA found that girls ages 11 to 18 were the most likely to consume food and beverages high in sugar and fat, and the least likely to eat foods that provide nutrients essential to healthy growth, such as iron and calcium. As many as 46 percent of teenage girls were failing to consume the minimum recommended amounts of magnesium and iron, and only 7 percent were eating the recommended five servings per day of fruits and vegetables.

Dr. Alison Tedstone, the FSA's head of nutritional science, said the issue was a concern and added: "Broadly, teenage girls particularly don't eat enough. Overall they are a group of the population whose diets are poor. Young children's diets are generally OK, adults generally a similar picture, adolescents generally are poor. That's been the picture for a number of years."

A spokeswoman for the UK eating disorders charity Beat commented on the FSA's findings: "This report is not really surprising but it is depressing. We must do more to both educate and support teenage girls both to eat more and eat more healthily. In a world where teenage girls read magazines filled with often confusing and contradictory messages about food and dieting, it is not enough to police the school canteen. Teenage girls and indeed all teenagers need to have a better understanding of how healthy eating is a key part of ensuring long-term health."

(Source: guardian.co.uk)

Labels: teen, girls

Posted By: Aspen Education Group 0 Comments

According to recent data, England has recently seen a sharp rise in the number of girls under the age of 18 being admitted to hospitals with eating disorders. Hospital admissions where an eating disorder was the primary diagnosis rose from 562 in 2003-2004 to 825 in 2007-2008 (a 47 percent jump). In addition, a 25 percent increase in admissions for girls under the age of 9 was noted during the same time period.

Norman Lamb, a Liberal Democrat health spokesperson, commented on the trend: "This dramatic increase in hospital admissions is a tragic indictment of the government's failure to tackle the problems of eating disorders. ... Access to support services is dreadfully inadequate in many parts of the country. & Early intervention can make a massive difference in these cases and prevent a descent into crisis. & Children shouldn't be getting to the stage where they are so ill they need to be hospitalised before they get help."

(Source: www.nursingtimes.net)

Labels: eating disorder, girls, england

Posted By: Aspen Education Group 0 Comments

According to data from the National Eating Disorders Association (NEDA), four out of 10 girls in grades 1 through 3 want to be thinner. In addition, more than two out of three girls would prefer to be seen as "mean" or "stupid" than overweight. In recent years, eating disorder treatment experts have noticed an increase in unhealthy and disordered eating in elementary school-age kids. According to Cheryl Dellasega, Ph.D., a professor in the College of Medicine at Pennsylvania State University, she and her colleagues are now seeing very young children with eating disorders. She states, "Our Eating Disorder Unit is treating very young kids-9 years and perhaps even younger."

(Source: health.msn.com)

Labels: eating disorder, girls

Posted By: Aspen Education Group 0 Comments

Halse Andersen, a National Book Award finalist and New York Times bestselling author, has written a young adult novel that may be an important read for anyone who is interested in the welfare of a teenage girl. The novel, Wintergirls, is narrated by Lia, an anorexic high school senior who has lost her best friend to a bulimia-related death. Lia, who is in the advanced stages of anorexia herself, believes that weighing 99 pounds at 5 feet 5 inches tall is "hideously fat." The novel reveals, among other important things, that young girls in America have access to surprising support to get and stay thin, including pro-anorexia chat rooms and websites that give tips on how to cut calories down to 500 per day (less than half of a young woman's required nutritional intake), as well as friends and classmates (Lia and her best friend vow to always be thin and support each other's eating habits). (Source: www.tampabay.com)

Labels: anorexia, girls

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Most girls and young women who play sports are healthy, competitive athletes. Some, however, take the competition too far, and find themselves battling eating disorders.

“Kimberly Dennis said she did have an eating disorder when she played basketball, volleyball and soccer… Dennis is now Dr. Dennis and Medical Director at Chicago’s Timberline Knolls Residential Treatment Center. Dr. Dennis says individual sports like diving and gymnastics pose a greater risk for female athletes but all sports put young girls at more risk than the general population.” - Source: The 33 News (Dallas-Ft. Worth)

Some girls are genetically predisposed, while others are perfectionists. Both put girls at high risk. Kenny Medina, a girls’ soccer coach, says she watches for signs of eating disorders in her players. Changes in eating patterns and noticeable weight loss are signals that something is wrong.

On a related topic, experts have also studied the prevalence of eating disorders among male athletes.

 

Labels: girls, athletes

Posted By: Stefanie Hamilton 0 Comments

When Lisa and Sheila Himmel published their book Hungry: A Mother and Daughter Fight Anorexia, they became recognized as experts on the topic of eating disorders among girls.

Suddenly, they were being invited to speak to high school students, parents, and even pediatricians – many of whom who admitted having several patients about which they were worried.

“They had patients, some as young as eight, with serious eating disorders that could become life-threatening… Dr. Frederick Llyod told me, ‘I’ve never had to hospitalize on that first visit. My usual strategy is to listen to the family and the child’s concerns, which is most often weight loss. The child almost always feels there is not a problem and they are in control.’” [Source: Psychology Today]

Pediatricians are often the first medical personnel made aware of a young person’s eating disorder. They have the unique opportunity of offering help and intervention before the disorder becomes truly dangerous.

 

Labels: girls, pediatricians

Posted By: Stefanie Hamilton 1 Comment

A new study that followed girls with anorexia from age 14 to 30 years old found that 67% experienced major depression, and 73% suffered from anxiety disorders.

• A team of researchers from Goteborg Sweden recruited 51 girls with anorexia when they were 14 years old.
• The girls were not as severely ill as those who have to be hospitalized.
• All the girls were treated within their communities and none died in the course of the study.

The Swedish study was the first to consider autism spectrum and anorexia, and the main finding was that girls with both autism and anorexia have poorer outcomes. Poorer outcomes were also linked to having a younger age of onset of anorexia, a lower weight (BMI) and/or obsessive-compulsive personality disorder.

By age 30, 12% still had eating disorders, 39% met criteria for at least one psychiatric disorder, and 25% were unemployed due to a psychiatric disorder.

The study appears in the British Journal of Psychiatry.

Labels: girls, anxiety disorders, depression

Posted By: Eating Disorders Blog 0 Comments

The prevalence of eating disorders is 50 percent higher among Orthodox Jewish girls than in the general population. After being approached by the Jewish Orthodox Union with this problem, the Philadelphia-based Renfrew Center is starting a specialized treatment programs geared specifically for this group of patients .

"It took a lot of courage for the Orthodox Union to approach us," said Adrienne Ressler, Renfrew's training director. "We wanted to help families get past the shame of admitting the problem."

Treating Orthodox Jewish girls with eating disorders is complicated by factors including the community's kosher food rules and the complexity of a tight-knit culture.

"The control of food that is necessary in Judaism is very different than the control around someone with an eating disorder," said Dr. David Hahn, a psychiatrist specializing in eating disorders. "It may look the same, but it's not."

Labels: girls, risks, jewish

Posted By: Jane St. Clair 1 Comment

When most people hear the phrase “silent killer,” they think of hypertension or heart disease. But eating disorders can be silent killers, too, especially in teens who are determined to hide it.

“A recent study published by the University of Illinois suggests that normal and underweight teenage girls who believe that they are overweight are at a significantly higher risk of developing unhealthy weight loss behaviors.” [Source: Insiders Health]

This misperception is called “body distortion” and it’s more prevalent than many adults realize. A girl who’s convinced that she’s “fat” even though she’s not will continue trying to lose weight, even when she’s too thin. And, to the best of her ability, she’s going to hide her weight loss from her parents and other loved ones, so she can keep losing.
 

Labels: body image, teen, girls, symptoms

Posted By: Stefanie Hamilton 1 Comment