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With about 30 million Americans suffering from some type of eating disorder, this has quickly become one of the most dangerous and untalked about diseases of our time.
It’s quite possible that you are suffering from one also, without even realizing it. The signs are not always obvious, but there are certain common denominators.
It’s National Eating Disorders Awareness Week and health professionals all around the nation are struggling to bring momentum to this educational campaign initiated by the National Eating Disorder Association.
With the current fashion, music and movie industries promoting an unrealistic perception of what people should look like, it has brought many Americans feeling insecure about their bodies.
In many instances, this translates into a number of eating disorders, which often times go undiagnosed. If we go by the statistics, you could be suffering too and the signs might be staring you in the face.
Contrary to popular belief, eating disorders are not limited to just bulimia or anorexia. If you are constantly worried about what to eat in order to stay physically fit, you should know this constitutes an unhealthy eating behavior and you should start analyzing the reason why you are doing it.
What is most troubling is that teenagers are also affected by this. According to recent statistics, there are about 1.6% of teenagers who are binge eating. This means they consume a wide variety of foods, after which they start throwing up.
This is often times associated with feelings of guilt, anxiety, inadequacy, isolation and depression.
There are also mild forms of eating disorders, which medical professionals refer to as “other specified feeding or eating disorders” or OSFEDs. Reports suggest that 70% of the people affected by an eating disorder are diagnosed with an OSFED.
Claire Mysko from the National Eating Disorders Association explains that many of these issues often go unnoticed because when people have a mild eating disorder, they neither put, nor lose weight.
Nevertheless, an OSFED is a serious health risk, so people should start being aware of the underlying symptoms.
Which is why this year’s campaign focuses on prevention and early detection. The National Eating Disorder Association will be conducting a series of events this week, with the purpose of empowering students and encouraging them to lead a healthy lifestyle.
The University of West Georgia Health Education has partnered up with the counseling center in order to promote self love throughout the campus, through various inspirational messages and social media campaigns.
Image Source: PsychologyToday
