Eating Disorder Myths and Realities

Myth :	Eating disorders only happen to teenagers.
Reality:	Individuals of any age can succumb to eating disorders, even babies and elderly individuals. Right now there is a growing epidemic of eating disorders affecting women in middle age.
Myth :	Eating disorders are womens’ diseases.
Reality:	Surveys indicate that 10 percent of people with anorexia and bulimia are male. Meanwhile, 2.8 million U.S. men (2 percent of the total population) have binge eating disorder, which usually leads to obesity.
Myth:	Eating Disorders only occur in white, middle/upper class Americans.
Reality:	Eating disorders are global, affecting individuals in countries such as Brazil, U.K., China, Fiji, Croatia, New Zealand and South Africa. Eating disorders are also showing up among minority populations in the U.S. including Native Americans, African Americans and Puerto Rican Americans. Eating disorders affect the poor and the rich alike. Experts believe that eating disorders arise as individuals who feel oppressed try to gain power by assimilating to western, mainstream values.
Myth:	If I don’t vomit, I don’t have bulimia.
Reality:	Compulsive exercise is also a form of purging. To determine whether your exercise is healthy or an addiction see the Appendices in Lying in Weight or www.trishgura.com under the Truth in Numbers section.
Myth:	The most people with eating disorders have either anorexia or bulimia nervosa.
Reality:	Binge eating disorder is the number one kind of eating disorder, affecting at least 4 million individuals, more than both anorexia and bulimia combined. Binge eating disorder involves bingeing without purging and often leads to obesity. A disproportionate number of obese adults in the U.S. have binge eating disorder.
Myth:	Eating disorders tend to fade out or go away by the time a person reaches 25.
Reality:	Approximately two-hirds of individuals do not fully recover from eating disorders after therapy. Some stay completely sick all their lives. Others recover partially (They either cut back somewhat on dieting, bingeing and purging or they stop their symptoms, only to relapse later in life.)
Myth:	Eating disorders are caused by the desire to look like a fashion model.
Reality:	Eating disorders are caused by a mix of factors including genes, family upbringing, trauma, culture, and repeated behaviors such as dieting. Eating disorders are often an assertion of control by an individual who feels otherwise powerless--a woman in a marriage with a dominating husband, for example.
Myth:	A man who marries a women with eating disorders must have a psychological problem himself.
Reality:	Most men who partner with women who have eating disorders do not show psychological problems such as depression, substance abuse or schizophrenia. In fact, many men are completely unaware that their partners have problems. Because of the shame involved, many wives become adept at keeping their eating disorders secret.
Myth:	Overweight/obese people are lazy.
Reality:	Body size is governed by genetics as much as eating patterns and lifestyle factors such as smoking. In fact, many overweight people eat less or diet more than their thinner counterparts. Yet, in a survey by the Pew Foundation most Americans rated people’s inability to diet as a larger influence on their weight as compared to genetics.
Myth:	Bingeing and binge eating disorder stem from a lack of willpower.
Reality:	Binge eating disorder is a disease. The bingeing is caused by a history of dieting combined with psychological factors. Dieting triggers the biochemicals and neurotransmitters that spark hunger. That, along with unmanageable emotions, causes the urge to binge.
Myth:	You can never get enough exercise.
Reality:	Individuals can binge on exercise as readily as they can on food. Exercising can function as a purging device. Exercising when sick, injured or to escape emotional problems are red flags to a problem with over-exercise.
Myth:	During pregnancy, most women with eating problems worsen their dieting, bingeing and/or purging behaviors and so endanger their babies’ health.
Reality:	The majority of women with histories of eating disorders cut down or cut out their symptoms when pregnant. It is mainly post partum that symptoms return, sometimes with greater intensity.
Myth:	Young children do not get eating disorders.
Reality:	Therapists have treated children, and even infants, for eating disorders. The most recent statistics show that 3.5 children in every 100,000 in the UK are being treated for an eating disorder, including anorexia, bulimia and binge eating. Researchers have also shown that children as young as 2 are already exhibiting eating disordered-behaviors such as overeating and then vomiting.
Myth:	If my child doesn’t see my eating disorder behaviors, he or she won’t know.
Reality:	Children not only notice how their mothers eat but also their attitudes about food and body. Studies show that mothers with eating disorders interact differently with their children, particularly their daughters. The discrepancies between mothers with and without eating disorders occur in the areas of feeding, control during playtime, and weight concerns.
Myth:	I’m too old for treatment to work.
Reality:	Women in the 40s, 50s and beyond are successful at stopping their symptoms. In fact, some eating disorders experts find that older patients are most amenable to therapy because the adage holds, “older means wiser.” Many women are finally “ready” for recovery when older.
Sources include peer-reviewed journal articles, interviews with eating disorders experts and research from treatment centers such as Remuda Ranch and the Renfrew Center. For a full listing, see the “Notes” section of Lying in Weight.