Body Image and Disordered Eating. What is Body Image? What are causes of Eating Disorders? What are eating disorders? Treatment Prevention

What is Body Image? 4 It is the mental picture you have of your body. 4 It includes: –your physical appearance –your perception of how others see you. 4 A healthy body image means acceptance

4 Social Pressure 4 Control 4 Puberty 4 Family 4 Depression 4 Upsets Causes of Eating Disorders.

Social Pressure 4 In societies which do not value thinness, eating disorders are very rare. 4 In surroundings where people value thinness highly, they are very common.

Control 4 It has to be said that dieting can be a very satisfying activity. 4 It can be especially satisfying for girls in their teens who may often feel that weight is the only part of their lives over which they do have any control.

Puberty 4 A girl with anorexia may lose or not fully develop some of the physical characteristics of an adult woman 4 She may look very young for her age. 4 Dieting can therefore be seen as a way of putting off some of the demands of maturing, particularly the sexual ones.

Family 4 Accepting food gives pleasure to whoever is providing it, refusing it will often cause offence. 4 Some children and teenagers seem to find that saying no to food is the only way they can either express their feelings or have any influence in the family

Depression 4 Many sufferers with bulimia have depressive symptoms 4 it may be that their binges started off as a way of coping with feeling unhappy.

Upsets 4 For some people, anorexia or bulimia seem to be triggered off by an upsetting event 4 Sometimes it need not even be a bad event but just an important one

Types of Eating Disorders. 4 Anorexia 4 Bulemia

Bulimia 4 Signs and Symptoms 4 Fear of fatness Binge-eating Normal weight Irregular periods Vomiting and/or excessive use of laxatives

4 This condition usually affects women in their early to mid-twenties who also have been overweight as children. 4 It will affect 3 out of every 100 women. 4 Suffer from an exaggerated fear of becoming fat.

Anorexia 4 Signs and Symptoms 4 Fear of fatness Under-eating Excessive loss of weight Vigorous exercise Monthly periods stop

4 Anorexia usually starts in the mid-teens 4 Affects 1 fifteen-year-old girl in every Other members of the family have often had similar symptoms.

4 anorexia begins with the everyday dieting 4 About a third of anorexia sufferers have been overweight before starting to diet. 4 In anorexia the dieting and the loss of weight continue until the sufferer is well below the normal limit for her age and height.

4 Sufferers with anorexia actually have a normal appetite, but drastically control their eating. 4 The teenage girl with anorexia may also develop some of the symptoms of bulimia.

Treatment. 4 Anorexia 4 Try to get back to somewhere near an acceptable weight. 4 Both she and her family will first need information. 4 It is also important that the family see the psychiatrist regularly

4 For most sufferers it will be important to discuss things that may be upsetting them 4 In-patient treatment consists of much the same combination of dietary control and talking, only in a much more structured environment.

4 Bulimia 4 Here, the priority is to get back to a regular pattern of eating. 4 The aim is to maintain a steady weight 4 Emphasis is on their keeping diaries of their disordered eating habits and developing self-control. 4 Again, information needs to be given to the sufferer

4 Psychotherapy 4 For those sufferers with depression in addition to their bulimia, anti-depressant medication may be necessary.

Prevention. 4 Inculde healthy body image and self esteem as a priority in children of all ages 4 Educate parents, teachers and other role models 4 Ensure access to body image resources and support services

4 Work to promote size acceptance 4 Increase use of healthy body image messages by media 4 Encourage youth and parents to focus on accurate portrayal of real life range of body image.