Teenage eating DISORDERS

Though eating disorders manifest by way of physical symptoms, they are rooted in mental health issues

- Vasanthi Senthilvel

In the age of adjudicatory social media, teens are more conscious about their physical attributes than ever before. But obsession with body image is generating dangerous eating disorders.

While some image conscious teens are indulging in bouts of binge eating followed by starvation, others are resorting to fad diets to meet media and peer expectations of physical form. However, though eating disorders manifest by way of physical symptoms, they are rooted in mental health issues. Eating disorders are caused by complex mental health problems characterised by abnormal and violent fluctuation in dietary habits and behaviour.

NB: they can severely damage the physical health and social interactions of teenage children.

A 2018 study published in the Indian J Psychiatry journal says that 26.06 percent of adolescents are prone to eating disorders because of “abnormal eating attitudes”. Similar studies estimate that 25-35 percent of teenage children in India suffer eating disorders. Therefore, it’s critically important for Indian parents to identify common eating disorders.

ANOREXIA NERVOSA 

This is the most common disorder wherein teens follow a strict diet and/or starve themselves because of fear of weight gain. They are hyper-sensitive to body shaming, which may drive them to intense physical workouts. 

Symptoms: