Remuda Ranch

Eating Disorder Myths

Anorexia and bulimia are serious disorders. They are also pervasive. This is why many websites dedicated to eating disorders have sprung up and chat rooms are often cluttered with talk about them. In this environment, myths are sometimes offered as fact. Consider some of the following statements; then check out the truth about each.

1. Individuals suffering from anorexia are easy to identify.

Due to extreme thinness, it may be possible to identify an individual with anorexia. This identification process is made even easier if the disorder has reached advanced stages. Then, in addition to emaciation, extremely dry skin, thinning, brittle hair and bluish fingertips are often also in evidence. But keep in mind, thinness can be an inherited body type or an individual may have certain medical issues that cause them to be unusually thin. Appearance is not always the exclusive determinant of anorexia. And many people in the earlier stages of anorexia hide their thinness by wearing baggy clothes and coats.

2. Physicians and other healthcare professionals can be relied on to discover and diagnose anorexia and bulimia.

Think about your last visit to a doctor’s office. How much time did you actually spend with the physician face to face? Perhaps not a lot. Though we would like to believe a doctor would know when a patient is struggling with an eating disorder, the truth is, that’s not always the case. And though time is certainly a factor, so is simple exposure. Not all medical professionals have been thoroughly trained or educated in the area of eating disorders; therefore, they might not recognize the symptoms or even think to inquire about the behaviors. What’s more, even if asked, people with eating disorders may not respond honestly. By and large, those who have eating disorders will lie about them. This can be due to shame or guilt about the behaviors, or the simple desire to avoid getting caught and being asked to give up the disorder.

3. Parents are the cause of their child’s eating disorder.

No, they are not. Many factors contribute to the development of an eating disorder, such as peer pressure, perfectionism, trauma, low self esteem, and certainly the influence of media in today’s culture. Simply pick up a fashion magazine or flip on a popular television program. What do you see? Beautiful and often impossibly thin females. Though parents, indeed, any family member can play a role in the development of eating disorders, modern advertising and media are probably more culpable.

4. Eating disorders affect only those who are wealthy or are celebrities.

Perhaps decades ago, this myth had some validity. Now, that statement could not be further from the truth. Today, a full ten million Americans struggle with eating disorders; what’s more, anorexia and bulimia are equal-opportunity disorders, meaning they are found in every culture, ethnicity, religion and socio-economic group. Certainly, celebrities with eating disorders often show up in the headlines, but for every star you read about, thousands of women and girls across America are suffering in silence.

5. Normal or overweight people do not have an eating disorder.

Though anorexia is sometimes easy to detect due to excessive thinness, bulimia is not. In fact, an individual with bulimia is often at an average, or even above average, body weight. Therefore, this particular eating disorder is difficult to detect, unless you know other key warning signs such as swollen cheeks or scrapes and cuts on the knuckles. With a disorder like bulimia, the problem is more about the person’s relationship with food than their appearance.

6. A person who eats regularly does not have an ED.

Yet again, this may not be true. Often, those struggling with eating disorders will play with their food, push it around on their plate, hide pieces in a napkin, secretly feed it to the dog, etc., making it appear as though they have eaten a meal. In fact, they may eat at such a slow rate that only very few calories are consumed. In the case of bulimia, normal meals may be eaten with other, but large amounts of food are later consumed in private.

7. “I obviously don’t have an ED”.

A person can say these words and even provide a variety of reasons to back up the statement—but that doesn’t make it true. People often say what they believe others want to hear. Or they may make a claim because it is what they truly want to believe about themselves. Regardless of motivation, mere words do not make reality. People with eating disorders are often unaware that they have an eating disorder or go to lengths to hide it, so their denial in words may not be true.

8. Fat-free food is healthy.

A single fat-free food is neither healthy nor unhealthy. But a very low-fat or fat-free diet is definitely unhealthy. Fat is an important and necessary aspect of a balanced meal plan. It is required for the body and brain to function well. In fact, daily healthy eating should include 25% to 35% of calories from fat.

9. Low carb diets are healthy.

Any diet that severely limits or negates an entire food group, emphasizes excessive consumption of only one or two foods, or permits very high or very low calorie intake, is by definition, unhealthy. All foods are acceptable and fit into a healthy diet. Healthy eating is guided by balance, variety, and moderation. Anything else is a form of extremism that will harm the human body.

10. A “natural” diet pill is a “safe” diet pill.

Far too often the public equates “natural” with “healthy and safe.” Indeed, the word natural is frequently used in a highly misleading fashion. Advertisements often distort the truth about the results diet pills or supplements will provide if taken. Considering that the leading predictor of a future eating disorder is dieting, the very practice of dieting itself, with or without diet pills, can lead to an eating disorder, and should be avoided.

11. Laxatives prevent the absorption of calories.

Laxative abuse is a common practice among many who suffer from eating disorders. They believe that by artificially rushing food through their bodies by using laxatives they can avoid intake of the calories they are eating. This is a medical fallacy. Laxatives work in the colon, where no absorption of calories takes place! The use/abuse of laxatives only depletes the body’s store of fluids, so any weight loss experienced is due to dehydration. Not only does this practice fail to produce the desired effect, laxative abuse can permanently damage the body and its ability to function. In the short run, laxative abuse can lead to extreme dehydration, electrolyte imbalances, and additional medical complications. In the long run, excessive laxative use can cause the colon to permanently shut down, which means the person must undergo a colostomy!

12. Exercise is good – you can never overdo a good thing.

A popular expression contends that you can never be too rich or too thin. We won’t comment about income, but we know absolutely that a person can be too thin! The same holds true with exercise–you can overdo a good thing, especially if an eating disorder is part of the equation. In fact, exercise bulimia and anorexia athletica–conditions in which individuals purge calories through extreme exercise–are common in the US today. Excessive exercise can potentially lead to stress fractures of the bone, chronic pain, curvature of the spine, osteopenia or osteoporosis, loss of menstrual cycle, and even sudden death.

13. People with eating disorders are vain.

Although some people with anorexia want to look like supermodels, for most people with eating disorders nothing could be farther from the truth. Far from flaunting their appearance, they are often disgusted by their bodies. Indeed, even those who started off wanting to be supermodel-thin, end up behaving similarly and hiding their bodies. Once they become skinny to the point of emaciation, people look at them as though they are sick and alien, so they often hide behind huge, over-sized clothes. This ultimately suggests anything but vanity.

14. An eating disorder is a temporary way to lose weight.

An eating disorder is not a diet; it is a disease. Yet it can start with dieting. Anorexia and bulimia can rapidly get out of control due to chemical changes they produce in the body. So, what started as a way to get control of one’s eating can in no time take over the person’s entire life. Many people with eating disorders become addicted to the behavior and feel trapped. Even when they know that their eating disorder may permanently damage their health and/or result in death, they are unable to stop.

For additional information about eating disorders, please call Remuda Ranch at 1-800-445-1900 today.