Gol’tseva Irina

Dragomanov National Pedagogical University

The Institute of Corrective Pedagogy and Psychology, student

Pet’ko Lyudmila, Scientific supervisor,

Ph.D., Associate Professor,

Dragomanov National Pedagogical University (Ukraine, Kyiv)

GIRLS AND EATING DESORDERS

Every time kids open a magazine or watch a music video, they probably see "perfect" people – girls and women with stick-thin bodies, men with huge, perfectly-formed muscles, and none with so much as a blemish on their faces. Be aware of the messages these images are sending. It's important to make sure your daughter knows they're not reality – that many of these models eat poorly, or have a staff of makeup and hair artists, and that many of these pictures are doctored with computer airbrushing that removes all flaws.

Some research suggests that media images contribute to the rise in the incidence of eating disorders. Most celebrities in advertising, movies, TV, and sports programs are very thin, and this may lead girls to think that the ideal of beauty is extreme thinness. Boys, too, may try to emulate a media ideal by drastically restricting their eating and compulsively exercising to build muscle mass.

Concerns about eating disorders are also beginning at an alarmingly young age. Research shows that 42% of first- to third-grade girls want to be thinner, and 81% of 10-year-olds are afraid of being fat. In fact, most kids with eating disorders began their disordered eating between the ages of 11 and 13 [4, 5].

And by all means, encourage, e.g., your daughter (girl, woman) to eat healthy. Let her know that it's natural for many preteen and adolescent girls to have a little extra fat – and that it's a healthy sign that her body is starting to develop and mature. Be sure to compliment her on her appearance – but also be sure to compliment her inner beauty, intelligence, actions and accomplishments, and her body's strength, coordination, grace, or athleticism. This way, you remind her that there's so much more to her than her appearance and help nurture a positive self-image.

If girl’s concerns about her weight or her body start to interfere with her regular habits of eating and being active, talk to your doctor. Unbalanced fitness and nutrition habits – and poor self-image – can lead to eating disorders, which can hurt her health now and affect her long-term reproductive and bone health [5].

Binge eating disorder is more common in people who are obese, but it affects people of healthy weight as well. However, there's little information on how many kids and teens are affected because the condition has only recently been recognized, and some may be too embarrassed to seek help for it.

But people with binge eating disorder have a different relationship with food – they feel like they've lost all control over how much they're eating, like they can't stop. They also binge more frequently – at least twice a week for several months.

For people with binge eating disorder, at first food may provide feelings of calm or comfort or stop them feeling other difficult feelings, but if bingeing continues, it can cause anxiety, guilt and distress. A binge usually involves eating unusually large amounts of food quickly and feel completely out of control as they do it. These behaviors can become a habit, and is often alternated with dieting.

While most people with other eating disorders (like anorexia and bulimia) are female, an estimated third of those with binge eating disorder are male. Adults in treatment (including 2% of adult Americans – roughly 1 million to 2 million people) often say their problems started in childhood or adolescence [1; 3].

With bulimia, frequent vomiting and lack of nutrients can cause: constant stomach pain, damage to the stomach and kidneys, tooth decay (from exposure to stomach acids), "chipmunk cheeks," when the salivary glands permanently expand from throwing up so often, loss of periods, loss of the mineral potassium (this can contribute to heart problems and even death) [3].

Someone with bulimia might: fear weight gain, be intensely unhappy with body size, shape, and weight, make excuses to go to the bathroom immediately after meals, only eat diet or low-fat foods (except during binges), regularly buy laxatives, diuretics, or enemas, spend a lot of time working out or trying to work off calories.

Someone with anorexia might: become very thin, frail, or emaciated, be

obsessed with eating, food, and weight control, weigh herself or himself repeatedly, count or portion food carefully, only eat certain foods, avoid foods like dairy, meat, wheat, etc. (of course, lots of people who are allergic to a particular food or are vegetarians avoid certain foods), exercise excessively, feel fat, withdraw from social activities, especially meals and celebrations involving food, be depressed, lethargic (lacking in energy), and feel cold a lot [4, 3–5; 2; 3].

National Eating Disorders Association worked out tips for parents of a child with an eating disorder. They are: 1) Examine your own attitudes about food, weight, body image and body size. Think about the way you personally are affected by body-image pressures, and share these with your child; 2) Avoid threats, scare tactics, angry outbursts, and put-downs. Bear in mind that an eating disorder is often a symptom to extreme emotional and stress, an attempt to manage emotional pain, stress, and/or self-hate. Negative communication will only make it worse; 3) Set caring and consistent limits for your child. For example, know how you will respond when your child wants to skip meals or eat alone, or when they get angry if someone eats their "special" food; 4) Remain firm. Regardless of pleas to "not make me," and promises that the behavior will stop, you have to stay very attuned to what is happening with your child and may have to force them to go to the doctor or the hospital. Keep in mind how serious eating disorders are, 5) Do whatever you can to promote self-esteem in your child in intellectual, athletic, and social endeavors. Give boys and girls the same opportunities and encouragement. A well-rounded sense of self and solid self-esteem are perhaps the best antidotes to disordered eating, 6) Encourage your child to find healthy ways to manage unpleasant feelings such as stress, anxiety, depression, loneliness, or self-hatred, 7) Remember it's not your fault. Parents often feel they must take on responsibility for the eating disorder, which is something they truly have no control over. Once you can accept that the eating disorder is not anyone's fault, you can be freed to take action that is honest and not clouded by what you "should" or "could" have done [6].

Bibliography

1. About Binge Eating Disorder [Web site]. – Access mode: http://kidshealth.org/parent/emotions/behavior/binge_eating.html?tracking=P_RelatedArticle

2. An Anorexic's Tale: The Brief Life of Catherine (Film, Thames TV movie, 1988, producer Allan Horrox, director Michael Whyte) [Web site]. – Access mode: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qAVq5icM-GY

3. Documentary: Anorexia Nervosa. The Irrational Fear Of Gaining Weight [Web site]. – Access mode: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jroyY5ICr14

4. Eating Desorders [Web site]. – Access mode: http://kidshealth.org/parent/emotions/feelings/eating_disorders.html

5. Dowshen Steven. How can I Help My Healthy Daughter [Web site]. – Access mode: http://kidshealth.org/parent/question/growing/body_reality.html?tracking=P_RelatedArticle

6. Smith Melinda. Helping someone with an eating disorder / Melinda Smith, Lawrence Robinson, Jeanne Segal : Last updated: December 2013. [Web site]. – Access mode: http://www.helpguide.org/mental/eating_disorder_self_help.htm