No Diet Day intended to promote healthy relationships with food and body image
My mom struggled with her weight for most of her adult life. I remember diets she was on when I was younger. She often kept a detailed food journal and greatly restricted her calorie intake. She was disciplined and lost a considerable number of pounds. But it was not a sustainable lifestyle. I did not understand then just how difficult a battle it must have been for her.
May 6 is International No Diet Day. This began in 1992 as an encouragement to reject diet culture and promote healthy relationships with food, movement and body image. Eating disorders are quite complicated. There are many factors involving genetics as well as social influences. It is difficult to measure the impact of diet culture on the prevalence of eating disorders. The general accepted view is people who are genetically prone to eating disorders have a greater risk when surrounded by social influences like dieting for a certain weight and body shape.
According to the National Eating Disorder Association, eating disorders are mental and physical illnesses that can affect people of all genders, ages, races, religions, ethnicities, sexual orientations, body shapes and weights. This is most common in adolescents and young females. An estimated one in 12, or maybe even one in 10, Americans have eating disorders.
An eating disorder is a clinical diagnosis. However, even more people experience what is called disordered eating. Oregon Health and Science University, defines disordered eating as “eating patterns that may be abnormal, but they do not meet the clinical criteria for an eating disorder. Behaviors may include avoiding [or eliminating] certain food groups, eating for reasons other than hunger (stress, boredom) or restricting calories for a limited time.”
The most common types of eating disorders are anorexia nervosa, bulimia nervosa and binge eating disorder. These conditions can be serious and life-threatening. Over time, long-term eating disorders can result in substantial harm to a person’s physical, biological and social health and functioning. Of all mental health conditions, anorexia nervosa has the highest death rate.
Eating disorders can involve more than nutrition. Besides our food intake, physical activity also affects our weight and body shape. Therefore, excessive exercise can be another characteristic of eating disorders. Among other habits, signs and symptoms of an eating disorder include precise calorie counting or weighing oneself several times a day.
According to University of California Davis Health, the top risk factors for eating disorders include females ages 15 to 19 having previously shown concerns about weight and having a history of other mental health concerns, like anxiety and obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD). They may participate in elite or individual sports. (Research shows that team sports tend to be more protective.) They may display a desire for perfection in all they do. Transition times such as changing schools, moving to a new house, family conflict or generally feeling neglected can contribute.
Some statistics indicate a rise in eating disorders following the pandemic. The core of much of what surrounds eating disorders is a desire for control. Especially when other parts of life seem out of control, being able to manipulate food intake and physical activity gives a sense of power that brings peace to the individual. But this is at a great cost that ultimately is very unhealthy. Supportive and close relationships can help prevent eating disorders. Especially for the young girls and women in your life, help them to focus on their character rather than what their bodies look like.
Today, I’ll leave you with this quote from Jim Davis: “Vegetables are a must on a diet. I suggest carrot cake, zucchini bread and pumpkin pie.”
Emily Marrison is an OSU Extension Family & Consumer Sciences Educator and may be reached at 740-622-2265.
This article originally appeared on Coshocton Tribune: Eating disorders can involve more than nutrition
