To Eat Or To Not?

This halfway disorder may be more serious than you realise.

- RIA SINGH

Trigger Warning: This article talks about eating disorders.

“Oh, these carbs are gonna be the death of me,” groaned my friend when she saw the platter of garlic bread that was in front of us...I nodded in agreement. But at the same time, I also thought: so many of my conversations with friends tend to be about how someone has gone vegan, someone else has started a new diet, or a third friend “simply can’t eat dessert without feeling guilty.” None of these women would identify themselves as suffering from an eating disorder, but the signs are slowly showing.

In our world, eating disorders are mostly limited to Anorexia Nervosa (AN), which causes an obsession with weight and food, and Bulimia Nervosa (BN), marked by bingeing followed by throwing up to avoid gaining weight. But between these two serious disorders lies another one that might still be too nascent to demand medical intervention, but is certainly a cause for concern. Call it a ‘Quiet Eating Disorder’, if you will.

What we are looking at is a ‘halfway’ disorder, which is a lot more common than reported. It surfaces when we spend our days counting calories, or feeling guilty when we eat a slice of pizza, or when we obsessively check the weighing scale. And when our relationship with food is laced with anxiety.

Social media only amplifies these feelings. According to a study in Science Direct, the use of social media is strongly linked to disordered eating among adolescent and young adult women, in part because it promotes engagement in social comparison. So even if you started off feeling comfortable in your skin, a ‘wellness influencer’ might convince you that your breakfast is no good. Or a friend’s photos at the beach might make you feel inadequate about your own body (and that chocolate cake you just ate).