It’s eating disorder awareness week from 27 February through to 5 March, I want to support BEAT ( Beating Eating Disorders) in raising awareness for eating disorders. I want to support the campaign so families and children can be supported in receiving early intervention by health services.Recovery is possible, and I like BEAT want to support parents in receiving help early.
What every parent should know:
What is an Eating Disorder?
An eating disorder is if your child is not fat buts wants to be thinner. They can often start by skipping meals, cutting out food groups and exercising. They will start to become obsessed by this.
Someone with anorexia nervosa worries all the time about being fat (even if they are skinny) and eats very little. They lose a lot of weight and their periods become irregular or stop.
Someone with bulimia nervosa also worries a lot about weight. They alternate between eating next to nothing and then having binges when they gorge themselves. They vomit or take laxatives to control their weight.
Each of these occurs in boys and girls and across cultures. In fact, eating disorders are on the increase in boys.
What are the Red Flag signs and Symptoms? ( Source The Royal College of Psychiatry Factsheets)
- Weight loss or unusual weight changes.
- Periods being irregular or stopping.
- Wanting to control food preparation
- Cutting out food groups such as carbohydrates
- Missing meals, eating very little and avoiding ‘fattening’ foods.
- Avoiding eating in public, secret eating.
- Large amounts of food disappearing from the cupboards.
- Believing they are fat when underweight.
- Exercising excessively, often in secret.
- Becoming preoccupied with food, cooking for other people, calorie counting and setting target weights.
- Going to the bathroom or toilet immediately after meals.
- Using laxatives and vomiting to control weight or sometimes other medications/herbal remedies to lose weight.
I know it’s hard to tell whether it is just normal dieting so take your child to your GP, so often in my other role in CAMHS, we see don’t see young people soon enough, Ask your GP to take their weight, height and they can work out their BMI. It;s important to have some blood taken to see if their electrolytes are in balance and iron etc. If your child’s BMI is below a certain number then you should be referred to CAMHS.
Trust your instinct and it’s better to be safe. Support Beat’s campaign at
https://www.b-eat.co.uk/support-us/eating-disorder-awareness-week
I hope this helps, are worried about your child now, make an appointment with your GP. BEAT also have helplines if you are worried now.
Helpline 0808 801 0677 Youthline 0808 801 0711
With love Catherine
