(The Vancouver Sun, July 23, 2001)
Q: I’m worried about my 13-year-old daughter. Over the past couple of months I’ve watched her get thinner and thinner. She says she is eating the same amount she always did, but I notice at mealtimes she just picks at her food. I can tell that she is feeling self-conscious about her body because, even though it’s summertime, she wears loose, baggy clothing. Last week when we went to the beach she refused to wear a swimsuit. Do you think she has an eating disorder?
Saleema and Teresa: Since we live in a culture that is destructively obsessed with being skinny and dieting, it is difficult to tell where someone (especially a young girl) falls on the continuum from poor body image to a serious eating disorder. The McCreary Centre Society of British Columbia reported that in the year 2000, 52% of girls interviewed indicated they were trying to lose weight. 14% of girls reported trying to maintain their current weight. Sadly, this means that at least 66% of girls strive to be thin. Indeed, Meris Spence, administrator for ANAD (Awareness and Networking Around Disordered Eating) comments "It is difficult to have a positive relationship with our bodies when our culture has normalized disordered eating. It’s become almost a rite of passage for girls to go on a diet."
From the little information we have, it is difficult to assess how dangerous your daughter’s behavior and way of thinking has become. We suggest you err on the side of caution, and not rule out an eating disorder. The two eating disorders that put your daughter most at risk are Anorexia and Bulimia—over 60,000 Canadians of all ages suffer from these. Anorexia, a serious life threatening disorder, is self-imposed starvation usually the result of underlying emotional causes. Warning signs to look out for include: loss of weight (15% or more of ideal body weight); unnecessary dieting; distorted body image; preoccupation with food, calories, nutrition, or cooking; denial of hunger; obsessive exercising; frequent weighing or measuring; loss of hair and interrupted menstruation. Bulimia, on the other hand, is the repeated cycle of bingeing (overeating) and purging (vomiting). It, too, can be fatal. Warning signs of bulimia include excessive eating; frequent trips to the bathroom; menstrual irregularities; swollen glands; weight fluctuations; failed dieting; guilt about eating and depressive moods.
Here are some specific suggestions of what you can do:
