Eating Disorders Definitions
By Abigail Natenshon

Empowered Parents.com seeks to counsel parents and health professionals to become proactive instuments of disease prevention and recovery, responsive to the needs of their eating disordered child (or patient), as well as their healthy child who may be at risk to develop an eating disorder. I invite you to explore the site, to learn more about eating disorders, your child, and what you can do as a parent or professional to facilitate your child’s healthy future.

Included are definitions of some of the most common eating disorders plaguing our children. Having the most recent information and tools to cope with these disorders is critical in resolving them.


Definitions:
Eating disorders are not about food, as much as they are about the MISUSE of food to resolve emotional problems.

• Anorexia Nervosa is marked by the pathological fear of weight gain leading to rapid or extreme weight loss. Victims may limit or restrict other parts of their lives besides food, including various forms of pleasure or social activities.
• Bulimia Nervosa is marked by out of control eating followed by some form of purging.
• Binge Eating Disorder, or Compulsive Overeating, is marked by periods of compulsive gorging without purging, followed by periods of guilt and depression.

Three distinct aspects of eating dysfunction must be in place for your child’s behaviors to qualify as a clinical eating disorder.

• The physical aspect may include weight loss, amenorrhea, fainting, cold intolerance, etc.
• The behavioral aspect may include strict dieting, secretive eating, binge eating, compulsive exercise, laxative, diet pill or diuretic abuse, impaired relationships, etc.
• The emotional aspect may include depression, anxiety, low self-esteem, fear of weight gain, body image distortion, etc.

Many parents do not realize that eating disorders are curable in the vast number of cases where they are detected early and treated effectively. In addition, eating disorders can be prevented. Early warning signs of disease-in-the-making are more likely to be seen in the child’s mood, attitudes, fears, and preoccupations than in weight or food-related behaviors. By the time your child has begun to show physical signs, the window of opportunity for prevention may already have been lost. Pay special attention to these emotional behaviors and you will have a window into your child’s future behaviors.

Eating disorders are more likely to present themselves at home than in the doctor’s office, so the responsibility for early diagnosis lies with parents and families. Eating disorder recovery creates emotionally functional children who are free to grow up to become emotionally healthy adults. With recovery, kids get their personality and their life quality back; parents “get their child back.” Let When Your Child Has an Eating Disorder, Jossey Bas,s 1999 guide you in your efforts to help your child regain their good health. Good luck!

Feel free to contact me with questions and problems.