Vasanthi Senthilvel

Though eating disorders manifest by way of physical symptoms, they are rooted in mental health issues

In the age of adjudicatory social media, teens are more conscious about their physical attributes than ever before. But obsession with body image is generating dangerous eating disorders.

While some image conscious teens are indulging in bouts of binge eating followed by starvation, others are resorting to fad diets to meet media and peer expectations of physical form. However, though eating disorders manifest by way of physical symptoms, they are rooted in mental health issues. Eating disorders are caused by complex mental health problems characterised by abnormal and violent fluctuation in dietary habits and behaviour. NB: they can severely damage the physical health and social interactions of teenage children.

A 2018 study published in the Indian J Psychiatry journal says that 26.06 percent of adolescents are prone to eating disorders because of “abnormal eating attitudes”. Similar studies estimate that 25-35 percent of teenage children in India suffer eating disorders. Therefore, it’s critically important for Indian parents to identify common eating disorders.

Anorexia Nervosa

This is the most common disorder wherein teens follow a strict diet and/or starve themselves because of fear of weight gain. They are hyper sensitive to body shaming, which may drive them to intense physical workouts.

Symptoms:

• Refusal to dine with family members

• Tendency to skip meals

• Girl children’s menstrual periods become irregular

• Weight loss — body weight is low in proportion to height

• Hyper-consciousness about smallest weight gain or change in clothing size

• Excessive exercise

Bulimia Nervosa

Teens suffering bulimia nervosa indulge in bouts of binge eating, followed with induced purging by way of vomiting, laxatives and enema usage. They may also indulge in binge eating followed by fasting or skipping meals. Patients lose weight rapidly. Among girl children menstrual cycles becomes irregular.

Symptoms:

• Dash to the toilet shortly after meals

• Over-eating but losing weight • Storage of laxatives or similar medicines in bedroom and cupboards

• Insistence on fasting and/or skipping meals

Binge Eating

This disorder is characterised by excessive food consumption during and between meals. Patients tend to eat even when they’re not hungry. This condition prompts obesity and other health ailments. Binge eaters tend to eat very fast and often alone. Binging is followed by feelings of guilt and shame. But unlike in bulimia, there is no purging behaviour.

Symptoms:

• Frequent demands for junk food

• Over-eating and increase in quantity of food consumed

• Steady weight gain

Avoidant/Restrictive Food Intake Disorder (ARFID)

Teens suffering this disorder avoid some foods due to their colour, flavour, texture, taste etc. They may sometimes avoid a complete food group, such as carbohydrates or fats. This leads to weight loss and vitamins deficiency.

Symptoms:

• Very choosy about food

• Aversion to common family meals

• Avoids certain foods because of a particular ingredient, such as butter or ghee.

Fad diets

Following trendy fads such as the keto or other diets endorsed by celebrities is also harmful and dangerous to teenage children’s physical and mental well-being.

(Vasanthi Senthilvel is chief nutritionist at Newtrist, Bengaluru)