Social Media

Social media is often cited as a major contributing factor. It creates an inescapable toxic environment for young girls and boys, often making them feel inadequate. It enhances strong negative emotions about themselves and their appearance. Unfortunately, this is a constant reminder and comparison for teens and has shown to enhance the chance of developing mental health problems. However, eating disorders have been developing in teens for longer than social media has been on the scene, suggesting there are additional triggers that aren’t necessarily related directly to body image. 

Academic

Children are growing up in an increasingly competitive academic environment, where they are frequently assessed and compared to their peers. This desire to be the best and not feel successful without reaching this goal can be taken out of the academic environment and used in multiple other areas of children’s lives. 

Sports

Sports is an amazing way for kids to build their confidence, develop social skills and demonstrate the values of teamwork and motivation. However, this competitive environment often puts immense pressure on winning and being physically fit, like focusing on the athlete’s weight and shape. Some sports focus on physical appearance more than others, and it’s often environments like this that result in eating disorders at a very young age. Gymnastics and ballet are among the sports most frequently associated with increased risks of eating disorders. Research has shown that ballet dancers are three times more likely to suffer from an eating disorder compared to other athletes. This awful statistic highlights the potentially toxic environment a competitive sport can create. Eating disorders can often prevent athletes from excelling in their field, resulting in them not being able to continue in a sport they love, which opens the opportunity for other mental illnesses to develop. 

Food Language

Food language and diet culture have also changed a lot in the last 20 years. Labelling certain foods as ‘good’ or ‘bad’ can instil negative perceptions about food from a young age. This can lead to them feeling guilty for eating, which is a common symptom that often leads to an eating disorder. Diet culture is also becoming increasingly popular. Diets are okay in moderation, but restrictive dieting and fasting is not a safe way to lose weight or maintain a healthy lifestyle. These terms are used frequently and give kids confusing messages about wellness and food. 

Fake Beauty Standards

Beauty standards, however, can’t be fully ignored. Celebrities are having plastic surgery like it’s going out of style, creating an appearance that is unachievable. As an adult, it is much easier to notice and understand that this look is fake and manipulated to look a certain way. Children often can’t process this and are being brought up with fake beauty standards and unachievable goals.

Eating disorders can often develop by the need to have control. Unfortunately, along with the awful consequences of the COVID-19 pandemic, there’s a concern that eating disorder development may increase. This pandemic has led to us all feeling out of control with little purpose. With no sense of control around us, some of us are likely to respond with food intake control as we’re unable to control any of the other events in our lives. This is extremely worrying as with the NHS struggling to cope with COVID-19 intake, those suffering from eating disorders are unlikely to get the help they need. 

Disordered Eating 

Disordered eating is not a diagnosis, but it is a very unhealthy habit that can lead to mental health problems in the future if not resolved. One of the main concerns with disordered eating is that individuals often do not realise its impact on their physical and mental health and may not perceive it as a concern. 

Our social media pages have all been clogged with extreme diet plans, meal replacements, or diet pills, and it’s companies like this that are just encouraging the development of disordered eating.

Common signs and symptoms:

• A consistent feeling of loss of control with food

• Frequent dieting - often skips meals or certain foods cause anxiety

• Fluctuating weight

• Feelings of guilt and shame after eating - can sometimes result in purging, fasting, or extensive exercise to lessen these feelings

• Strict exercise and eating habits

• Engrossed with weight, body, or food so much that it often negatively impacts your day

Most common Eating Disorders

Bulimia Nervosa

Bulimia is an eating disorder characterised by periods of binge eating followed by a form of compensatory behaviour. This can be purging, excessive exercise, fasting, or misuse of laxatives. Similar to where most eating disorders stem from, those who suffer from bulimia have a fear of gaining weight. This fear of gaining weight, however, doesn’t suggest that all people are underweight. This can affect anyone and can often affect those who are overweight and don’t want to put on any additional pounds. 

During binge-eating episodes, individuals with bulimia may consume over 2,000 calories in a short period. This overconsumption of food in just one sitting can often leave them feeling ashamed and guilty. This can create an emotional burden, so they compensate with behaviours that they believe will ‘remove’ the damage. 

Not surprisingly, self-induced vomiting and misuse of medication have multiple physical health dangers and put a huge amount of strain on the heart. Our bodies are not built to endure daily laxative use or vomiting. This form of stress can cause multiple issues with the heart, which can be fatal in the future. Chronic stomach problems can also arise from this form of behaviour, and unfortunately, even with full recovery from the illness, the damage is everlasting, confirming the desperation we face in diagnosing and treating eating disorders as early on as possible.

Common signs and symptoms to recognise:

• Persistent overeating

• Secret eating

• Acid reflux

• Expressing guilt or shame about eating

• Oral health problems - tooth decay and cavities

• Severe dehydration

• Mood changes - often anxious and tense

• Swollen neck/throat

Anorexia Nervosa

 Anorexia is a disorder in which you feel you have to keep your weight as low as possible. It’s often recognised by the development of extreme calorie control and an intense fear of gaining weight. Those who suffer from this illness tend to have a fixation on an unhealthy and unrealistic body shape. 

People with anorexia often have similar behaviours as those with bulimia. However, those with anorexia tend to adopt extreme diets, restricting their food intake to the point of severe malnourishment, which can be fatal. 

Common signs and symptoms to recognise:

• Rapid weight loss

• Eating very little of their meals or avoiding them completely

• Exercising excessively

• Taking medication to reduce appetite

• Weakness, fatigue or fainting

• Brittle hair and nails

• Fertility problems or stop menstruating

• Bloating, constipation or abdominal pain

Binge Eating Disorder

This is believed to be one of the most common eating disorders. It typically begins during adolescence and further develops in early adulthood. The symptoms are very similar to bulimia. The difference is that the individual doesn’t show compensatory behaviour. 

People who suffer from binge eating disorder don’t restrict calories and feel an extreme lack of control during binges which they struggle to suppress. They are often overweight, which increases the risk of multiple medical complications. 

Common signs and symptoms:

• Quickly eating large amounts of food - often in secret

• Feeling uncomfortably full after binging despite not initially feeling hungry

• Complete lack of control during binge-eating episodes

• Feeling distressed, ashamed, or guilty after a binge

• No compensatory behaviour - purging, calories restriction, excessive exercise or misuse of medication

Eating disorders are usually connected to anxiety or other mental illnesses, so it can often be hard to notice signs as they don’t always lose weight really fast. Adolescence is a difficult process for kids, resulting in a lot of teen angst and emotional outbursts. This is normal, with all the physiological and hormonal changes going on in teens’ bodies. So if a teen is acting up, it’s often ignored, when sometimes there might be a lot more internal pain than simply what’s seen by the eye. 

Those who suffer from eating disorders don’t want to be noticed. Therefore they’ll do as much as possible to prevent their symptoms from being recognised. If they don’t want to be found out, they’ll often manipulate the adults around them to prevent suspicions from arising. 

Eating disorders have been described as a ‘secret’ illness, highlighting the trouble we have in treating and diagnosing desperately needing help. The difficulty with mental illness is the hidden pain individuals feel. People suffering from an eating disorder can still be classed as a healthy weight but mentally aren’t well. 

Research suggests that approximately 60% of individuals who receive professional treatment for an eating disorder make significant progress towards recovery, though relapse rates remain a challenge. Eating disorders have the highest mortality rate among mental illnesses. They can persist for years, making early detection and intervention crucial for prevention.