Eating disorders tough to overcome

I n 1983 the music of the popular brother-and-sister duo who called themselves The Carpenters came to an end when Karen Carpenter’s heart stopped beating at the age of 32 due to anorexia and years of laxative abuse. Tragically, despite the fact that she was recovering from an eating disorder and was within her normal weight limits at the time of her death, the damage that had been done could not be reversed and the world lost much too early a talented performer known for songs like “We’ve Only Just Begun.”

With images of rail-thin models being presented by some media as the epitome of beauty in society today, eating disorders continue to plague males and females — especially impressionable young girls.

Lisa Harmon Mollicone, coordinator of the Manalapan-Englishtown Community Alliance for the Prevention of Alcohol and Drug Abuse, addressed the topic of eating disorders at a full house during the Dec. 14 meeting of the alliance, held at the Manalapan Senior Center.

In her presentation, “Dying to Be Thin,” Mollicone warned the men, women and teens in attendance that “when image becomes an obsession, it’s time to take a closer look.” She explained that eating disorders are characterized by disturbed eating behaviors and are generally accompanied by a preoccupation with food and body image or shape.

Very often a person who is proportionately perfect, or even very thin, sees herself as obese in the mirror. There are many different kinds of eating disorders, the most commonly known being anorexia nervosa, bulimia and binge-eating disorder.

Mollicone provided the following information:

Anorexia nervosa is an emotional weight-loss disorder characterized by physical, social and psychological symptoms. Weight loss is achieved by a variety of obsessive behaviors. Most individuals with this disorder strongly deny it. Afeeling of control is gained by severely restricting the amount of food eaten. The ability to do without food is viewed as success in attempting to cope with life’s stresses.

Warning signs that may indicate a person has anorexia are when a person exhibits significant or extreme weight loss with no known medical illness; reduces food intake; denies they are hungry; is critical and intolerant of others; says he/she is too fat, even when this is not true; practices highly self-controlled behavior; hides his/her feelings; and has ritualistic eating habits.

Medical consequences of anorexia include changes to the heart muscle with the heartbeat becoming irregular; menstruation often stops; dehydration, kidney stones and kidney failure; fine body hair develops on the arms and can even cover the face; muscles atrophy or waste away, resulting in weakness and lost muscle function; delayed gastric emptiness caused by a lack of energy and slowed body function results in bowel irritation and constipation; and loss of bone calcium, which leads to osteoporosis.

Bulimia nervosa is an emotional weight-control disorder characterized by episodes of binge eating (rapid consumption of high caloric food over a discrete period of time) followed by some form of purging (usually self-induced vomiting, but can also abuse laxatives, emetics or diuretics) or restriction (excessive exercising or fasting). Bulimia is usually accompanied by self-depreciating thought, depression and an awareness that the eating disorder is abnormal and out of control. Because most bulimics are within normal weight range, the illness may go undetected by others for years.

Warning signs: Bulimics often make excuses to go to the bathroom after meals; exhibit mood swings; buy large amounts of food that suddenly disappear; have unusual swelling around the jaw from vomiting; eat large amounts of food on the spur of the moment; use laxatives, emetics or diuretics. Those sharing a home with a bulimic may notice an unexplained disappearance of food.

Medical consequences of bulimia can include heart arrhythmias due to an electrolyte imbalance, leading to heart failure or death; erosion of teeth enamel and occurrence of cavities and tooth discoloration caused by the stomach acids that come up during vomiting; irritations and tears in the lining of the throat, esophagus and stomach; dependence on laxatives causing inability to have normal bowel movements without taking a laxative; and toxicity leading to heart failure and death caused by abuse of emetics to induce vomiting. Binge-eating disorder is characterized by episodes of uncontrolled eating. Most binge eaters are obese and have a history of weight fluctuations. Psychiatric illness, especially depression, is also commonly seen in binge eaters.

Warning signs to look for if a person is suspected of having a binge-eating disorder can be if they frequently eat an abnormal amount of food in a discrete period of time, eat rapidly, eat to the point of being uncontrollably full, often eat alone, show irritation and disgust with self after overeating, do not use methods to purge, are preoccupied with food to avoid facing problems, or eat to express a need to control circumstances.

Medical consequences of bingeeating disorder can include high blood pressure, elevated cholesterol and triglyceride levels, which can cause hardening of the arteries, heart disease and heart attacks.

Overeating simple carbohydrates (sweets and junk food) places stress on the pancreas. At first there is an abnormally low amount of glucose in the blood; later in life secondary diabetes can result.

Other eating disorders Mollicone talked about included food addiction, which as of yet has no official diagnosis, but consists of eating too much despite possible dire consequences to health, being preoccupied with food, food preparation and meals, trying and failing to cut back on food intake and feeling guilty about eating and overeating.

Prader-Willi syndrome is caused by a genetic defect that makes the person gorge themselves with food because the physiological brakes that control appetite and hunger are missing. People with Prader- Willi will lie, cheat and steal to get food. They do not vomit, so they eat and eat until they become so obese that they die. Signs of a person with Prader-Willi include mental retardation, behavior and speech problems, muscle weakness, abnormal growth, unpredictable rage attacks in some children, and constant hunger and an implacable drive to eat.

Another eating disorder is pica, a pattern of eating nonfood materials. It is caused by a lack of certain nutrients such as zinc or iron, which may trigger unusual cravings.

Mollicone offered the following body image survival tips to help people improve body image and worry less about how one looks, how much a person weighs or what they eat:

 Resist the relatively recent notion that thin equals beautiful. She pointed out that Marilyn Monroe was a size 14.

 Throw away the scale. Beauty can’t be measured in pounds.

 Don’t buy into media images — they are just out to sell something.

 Work to change your relationship with food. Mollicone pointed out that many people eat when they feel stressed, angry, lonely, depressed or disappointed. She advised them to find other ways to nurture themselves when they feel down and to eat healthy meals at regular times.

 Focus on what you like about yourself and your body. Value your body for what it can do, not just how it looks.

 Consider seeing a counselor to help change your relationship with food.

Mollicone advised those who are concerned about a loved one’s eating disorder to let the person know they care and are there to give them support. Reach out to the person, instead of focusing on the eating behavior. Don’t nag or spend time talking about food or weight-related issues. Talk about what they are feeling, not what they are eating or not eating. Encourage the person to seek professional help. Be prepared that your suggestion may be initially met with denial and hostility. Avoid comments on weight or appearance. (Even if you compliment someone on losing weight, you may be giving the message that you only like the person because of the weight loss.) Read as much as you can about eating disorders in order to better understand what the person is going through. Be patient — overcoming an eating problem takes time and help, it is not just a matter of willpower.

Mollicone advised people to give up dieting, saying that diets do not work because people gain the weight back, diets are expensive and boring and do not necessarily improve health. She said diets do not make a person beautiful or sexy — you do not have to be thin to be attractive, but being healthy makes a person look their best, so taking good care of your body is the best solution. Avoid diets because they can lead to eating disorders, can make a person afraid of food and can rob a person of energy.“ Learning to love and accept yourself just as you are will give you self-confidence, better health and a sense of wellbeing that will last a lifetime,” she said.

For more information about eating disorders, contact www.nationaleatingdisorders.org, www.somethingfishy.com and www.caringonline.com. A 24-hour hotline is available at 1-877-377-7741. Mollicone can be reached at 732-446-8417 or email lmollicone@twp.manalapan.nj.us.