Eating Disorder Awareness
Eating disorders are serious, complex, and often fatal medical conditions characterized by severe disturbances in eating behaviors and related thoughts or emotions. Far from being a lifestyle choice or a phase, these are mental health disorders that significantly impact a person’s ability to get proper nutrition, leading to severe physical health issues like heart and kidney problems. Eating disorders are among the deadliest mental health conditions, claiming approximately 10,200 lives every year in the U.S. alone.
Who is at risk for developing an eating disorder?
Eating disorders affect people of all ages, body sizes, sexes, races, ethnicities, and socioeconomic statuses. While they are statistically more common in women and frequently emerge during the teen years or young adulthood, they can also develop in childhood or much later in life. It is important to recognize that someone does not have to be underweight to be struggling. People can be underweight, average weight, or overweight and still be extremely ill.
The Impact of Social Media and Beauty Standards
Today, many kids and adults see pictures online that show only one kind of “perfect” body. Social media often shows people who are very thin, edited, or filtered. When someone sees these images over and over, they may start to feel bad about their own body. They may think they need to look a certain way to be liked or accepted. Celebrities play a role in shaping this unrealistic beauty standard, often using weight loss medications with dangerous side effects and getting expensive plastic surgeries to achieve a certain look. When celebrities change their bodies and are praised for it, it can send the message that being thin is more important than being healthy.
Society also treats people differently based on their body size. This is called weight stigma. When people are teased, judged, or treated unfairly because of their weight, it can hurt their self-esteem and increase the risk of disordered eating.
These messages can lead to obsessive thoughts about weight, food, or body shape. Someone may feel pressure to control what they eat or exercise too much. This pressure can be even stronger for people who already struggle with anxiety, depression, or other mental health challenges. Life changes like pregnancy, postpartum changes, or being in competitive sports can also make body worries worse. When social pressure, mental health struggles, and life stress come together, they can make someone more vulnerable to developing an eating disorder.
Common Types and Their Risks
While many are familiar with the term "eating disorder," it manifests in several distinct ways, each carrying unique and life-threatening risks:
• Anorexia Nervosa: Individuals with anorexia severely restrict their food intake due to an intense fear of gaining weight and a distorted self-image. This disorder has the highest death rate of any mental illness. Risks include starvation-related medical complications, such as bone thinning (osteoporosis), muscle wasting, organ failure, and brain damage. Suicide is also a leading cause of death for those with this diagnosis.
• Bulimia Nervosa: This involves cycles of binge-eating followed by purging through vomiting, laxative use, fasting, or excessive exercise. The physical toll is immense, often causing electrolyte imbalances that can lead to a stroke or heart attack. Other risks include worn tooth enamel from stomach acid and severe gastrointestinal issues.
• Binge-Eating Disorder (BED): As the most common eating disorder in the U.S., BED involves losing control over eating, often until uncomfortably full. Over time, this can lead to obesity, Type 2 diabetes, and cardiovascular problems.
• Avoidant Restrictive Food Intake Disorder (ARFID): This involves limiting the variety or amount of food eaten due to sensory issues or a fear of consequences like choking. Risks include malnutrition, dramatic weight loss, and impaired physical growth in children.
• Other Disorders: Less commonly discussed types include Pica (eating non-food items) and Rumination Disorder (repeatedly regurgitating food).
Warning Signs to Look For
Early detection is critical for recovery. While symptoms vary, key warning signs include:
• An unhealthy fixation or obsession with weight loss, body shape, or controlling food intake.
• Eating in secret or unusual rapid eating during binge episodes.
• Physical changes like extreme thinness, feeling constantly cold, or being chronically tired.
• Behavioral changes, such as intensive and excessive exercise or a limited range of preferred foods that becomes increasingly narrow.
A Gap in Equitable Care
It is a dangerous myth that eating disorders only affect certain people; they impact individuals of all ages, races, genders, and body sizes. However, the burden is not shared equally. Marginalized and BIPOC individuals face significantly higher risks and barriers to care. Research indicates that BIPOC individuals are half as likely as White individuals to be diagnosed or receive proper treatment for their eating disorder. This gap is often exacerbated by cross-cultural body ideals, societal objectification, and the stress of acculturation, leaving marginalized groups at a higher risk of social isolation and preventable mortality.
Support and Hope
If you or a loved one is struggling, remember that recovery is possible with professional help. Treatment often involves a multidisciplinary team of doctors, therapists, and nutritionists who use evidence-based approaches like psychotherapy and medical monitoring. For immediate support, the 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline is available 24/7 by calling or texting 988.
Understanding an eating disorder is like recognizing a hidden storm: while the surface might appear "normal" regardless of a person's size, the internal medical and psychological conditions can be life-threatening without the right intervention.
Resources:
While free eating-disorder specific resources are limited in Charlottesville and the surrounding counties, there is local peer and community mental health support available through On Our Own, Region Ten, The Women’s Initiative, and NAMI. Additionally, there are free online resources available to support in eating disorder recovery.
Stay Strong Virginia is a Virginia-focused eating disorder resource that is a good place to start. It provides education, caregiver support, and connections to treatment and local support options including workshops and resource directories tailored for Virginia residents.
These groups meet online, have no cost, and do not require you to live in a specific area:
1) ANAD (National Association of Anorexia Nervosa and Associated Disorders)
Free online peer support groups & mentorship
regular virtual support for people struggling with anorexia, bulimia, binge-eating, and other disordered eating patterns
free listening helpline and match-with-a-mentor program for one-to-one peer support
Free Zoom support groups (weekly) for people working on recovery from eating disorders and body image concerns.
Directory of free or low-cost support groups
Eating disorders often grow when people feel alone or ashamed, but healing happens when people feel supported and understood. By learning the warning signs, speaking kindly about bodies, and sharing helpful resources, we can make our community a safer place for everyone. If you or someone you care about is struggling, help is available and recovery is possible. No one should have to face an eating disorder alone, and together we can help people find hope, care, and healing.