The
Eating Disorder Foundation of NL (www.edfnl.ca) held their annual walk
yesterday in Bowring Park. I think it’s so important to raise awareness about
mental health issues like this. We tend to hear so much about obesity, but it’s
just as (or maybe more) important to talk about eating disorders too. We’re all
very well aware that NL has one of the highest rates of overweight and obese
people in Canada, but did you know the same is true for eating disorders as
well? NL has one of the highest rates. How is it that we have one of the
highest rates of both obesity and eating disorders? They may seem like polar
opposites, but eating disorders and obesity actually have a few things in
common.
Both obesity and eating disorders are stemmed in food and weight related
issues. The ultimate decisions to eat very little, or a lot, are frequently due
to feelings of body dissatisfaction. Our environment is something that can
contribute to both eating disorders and obesity as well. As a society we are
surrounded with messages from media, family, friends, work, etc. It’s been said
we make more than 200 decisions around food each day, and media has had its
fair share of impact here. From air brushed models to the ultra skinny
dimensions of a Barbie doll and more recently an ongoing Hollywood baby boom
with pictorials and displays of celebrities with unrealistic pregnant bodies,
sub-adequate weight gain and poof! overnight weight loss. We may not realize
it, but we are constantly being bombarded with images of what is the ‘norm’. I
was appalled to read a story in People magazine online issue last week that
talked about a plus size model making her way into the fashion industry – she
was a size 10. The same size as an average woman in Canada and the US. It’s
still shocking, but at the same time not a surprise I guess that eating disorders are now the
third most common chronic illness in adolescent girls. We’re a society that values being thin and shuns
being overweight. While at the same time our communities are littered with fast
food chains selling calorie laden foods at low cost. To eat or not to eat? That
is the problem.
Body dissatisfaction and unhealthy
dieting practices are linked to the development of eating disorders and obesity
as well. How many of us say ‘I’m going to start my diet
on Monday’, or ‘I feel fat in these jeans’. We'll avoid eating all together, or
go ahead and eat way more, all for the very same reasons- we don't feel good about
ourselves. We need to get rid of these negative thoughts.
Binge eating can be common among people
with eating disorders and people who are obese. Depression, anxiety, and other mood
disorders are associated with both eating disorders and obesity too. It’s
estimated that one
in five Canadians over the course of their lives will experience a mental
illness. Mental illness affects more people each year than any other health
condition, including cancer or heart disease. How many of us can relate to
‘role overload’? That’s trying to balance the responsibilities of work, home,
family, friends, care giving, physical health, and community service. It
affects about 50% of us, and the added stress of trying to achieve and continue
this balance greatly impacts our mental health.
The final I talked about this last week,
our genetics. It’s something that can influence not only body size, but our
tendency towards obesity, and more recently eating disorders as well. Last
week, experts suggested that in
many cases, becoming anorexic or bulimic is in the genes and the trigger is
going on a diet. We’re already aware there
are many linkages to our genes and obesity. Child
eating disorders are now on the rise, according to a CNN report last week, and
we’ve been told for a while that childhood obesity is too. Is it a coincidence?
Given the fact both eating disorders and obesity have some similarities? You
decide.
As seen in The Telegram August 27, 2012
No comments:
Post a Comment