There has been a lot of controversy in regards to diagnosing patients with eating disorders like anorexia and bulimia and obesity. There are a lot of factors to consider, so although the symptoms of the patients exhibit the disorder, their image might say otherwise. Both were always considered two distinct problems, but with the number of people dealing with binge eating disorder increasing, this disorder seems to be a way to bridge the gap between the two health problems. Those who suffer from binge eating disorder or any other eating disorder are usually seen as thin, but according to the National Co-Morbidity Survey Replication, about 39.8% of respondents were obese.This goes to show that there are many mistakes being made in diagnoses and proper treatments because differences in physical characteristics and symptoms are not being seen. In a pediatric study back in September, it was found that almost half of all adolescents with a eating disorder had a history of obesity, but because their weight was so high from their past, their symptoms were not recognized as eating disorder symptoms and were often unrecognized and untreated as well.
The stigma and pressure that society and the media places on what the ideal figure should be creates such a big divide between the two and overall the both against the rest of society that is considered the "norm". Obesity is often a disorder more associated with the medical side of things and eating disorders are more often associated with psychology. What needs to be understood is that both medical and psychological means need to be addressed for both obesity and eating disorders and that the two actually have a lot of similarities and should use those similarities as a basis to work together for effective treatment. The focus needs to made on treating those who are obese or suffer from a eating disorder, and then shift that towards changing their behavior instead of worrying about the number on their scale. The two communities can be one powerful political force to the public to enforce education about making better and healthier food options and implementing messages about how to get access to these foods and that it is never to to late to get healthy to the public.
http://well.blogs.nytimes.com/2013/10/10/can-the-fat-and-thin-just-get-along/
I believe that there is a serious stigma about being overweight. Not all skinny people have psychological issues about eating, and the same is for overweight individuals. It's often stressed that for someone to lose weight all they need to do is change just their behavior without any emphasis on the mental relationship with food. Underweight and overweight people share a lot of similar characteristics toward their relationship with food. Food is a controlling factor in both classes that consumes their thoughts. The show Supersize vs Superskinny is an intervention that brings both sizes together. They switch meals with a person of the opposite size, and then are educated on proper portions. I think that therapies like this could be beneficial because it humanizes the disorder and show that it can occur at any size. The big issue is that the idea of food is completely skewed. Education on nutrition, portion sizes, and quality of food is very little. This can lead to fear and dependance to food.
ReplyDeleteInteresting, and I agree there may be a psychological component and a behavioral component that should be addressed not their physical shape or the number on the scale. I will have to check out the show Kay mentions because it also sounds interesting.
ReplyDeleteI thought this was a very interesting article. Lots of us definitely miss that obesity can in fact be an eating disorder. I love the idea addressed in the article that we should focus on behavior and not weight. Also, that we need to provide communities where it’s easy for people to engage in healthy eating and physical activity. Most of these issues do boil down to self-esteem, though. Behavior change can only happen if the patients have a healthy view of themselves. This may be a long process for patients, but it is the best solution. Obviously, providing a healthy environment where people can exercise and have access to healthier food is extremely important, but first these patients need self-esteem before they can address their disorder. Hopefully, they have access to strong, faith based communities and therapists that can help them to build up their view of themselves. It sounds like the group therapy has had success, which is great to see.
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