The field of nutrition has several aspects for an aspiring dietitian, like myself, to be passionate about. Physical activity, healthy eating, and disease prevention, are just a few of the many areas of nutrition that people focus on. I, however, am passionate about a more serious subject; eating disorder prevention.
When I was 16 I developed my own eating disorder. Although I didn’t realize it was an eating disorder until two years later, I knew that my disordered eating patterns were not normal. I chose to ignore it, hoping that this wouldn’t become a problem, but I was wrong. As more time passed, I began to develop serious health effects such as osteoporosis, muscle loss, and problems with my digestive system, all aside from my 20 pound drop in weight. These health effects actually becoming a reality finally made me realize it was time to change and that this wasn’t something I could overlook any further. This past summer I went into a partial hospitalization treatment program for individuals with eating disorders and spent over a month there trying to overcome this illness. Although I am not fully recovered quite yet, I can proudly say that with the help of the treatment program, I am well on my way to beating my eating disorder completely. Through these past struggles and my continuing recovery, I have become extremely passionate about eating disorder prevention and how to help young adults who are suffering.
Did you know up to 24 million people of all ages suffer from an eating disorder in the U.S., and that eating disorders have the highest mortality rate of any mental illness? Let that sink in. You’d think that with as alarming statistics as these, society would create a larger focus on eating disorder awareness and that we would be given skills on how to prevent this illness from beginning. Some of the main causes of eating disorders in young adults are psychological factors such as depression or low self-esteem. According to the NEDA, those suffering with eating disorders often try to use the control of food to cope with overwhelming feelings and emotions. I believe that by identifying these risk factors early on, and by knowing that they can contribute to eating disorders, we can help prevent these psychological factors from turning into an eating disorder.
The article “Disturbed Eating in Young Adults” discusses just how crucial it is to identify these risk factors early on and that there are ways we can reduce this risk. The article describes an online eating disorder survey for young adults that was developed to identify characteristics associated with disturbed eating. This survey assessed demographic factors including body mass index and gender, as well as psychographic factors such as self-esteem and depression. With a sample group of 2,625 males and females, the results demonstrated that contributing factors of disturbed eating included body image distortion, depression, obsessive-compulsive disorder, self-esteem, and the idea that self-worth is based on physical appearance. This survey revealed that there are very common underlying psychological factors associated with the beginnings of an eating disorder. By knowing this, nutrition and health care professionals can use these findings to better identify young adults who may be at a higher risk for eating disorders. By designing educational interventions based on individuals’ risk factors, I strongly believe we can reduce this risk and lower the statistic of those who suffer from eating disorders.
After being one of those 24 million, I have become very passionate about this topic and hope that by continuing to focus on ways of prevention, we can one day stop eating disorders from occurring.
Sources:
Byrd-Bredbenner, C. Disturbed Eating in Young Adults: A Predictive Model for Determining Those at Risk for Eating Disorders. Journal of Nutrition Education and Behavior. 2011: 43: S38. http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1499404611002089
National Eating Disorders Association. 2001. Web. 9 Apr. 2015. https://www.nationaleatingdisorders.org/factors-may-contribute-eating- disorders