Eating disorder misconceptions.
The media are to blame for the prevalence of eating disorders.
A recent survey has confirmed that adolescent girls get the bulk of women’s health information from the media.1 However, media messages in and of themselves are not a direct cause of eating disorders. Messages that promote thinness as an asset can create unrealistic standards regarding body size and shape. On the other hand, messages that present accurate, realistic, helpful information can be a positive influence. The fact is, the media can positively or negatively affect the development of an adolescent’s self-esteem and self-image. It depends on the message and how it is delivered.
Athletic performance goes up when body fat goes down.
While losing weight or reducing body fat can lead to better athletic performance, studies show this doesn’t apply to all athletes. Many individuals trying to lose weight can develop eating disorder symptoms, with performance coming at the expense of the athlete’s health. It’s important for athletes to not just focus on strength and physical conditioning, but the mental and emotional aspects of performance as well.
My weight is not normal.
Keep in mind that the average American woman is 5’4” tall and weighs 140 pounds. The average American fashion model is 5’11” tall and weighs 117 pounds. Most models are thinner than 98% of American women.2
I’m too young to have a distorted body image.
Not necessarily. More than half of teenage girls and a third of teenage boys control their weight in unhealthy ways, such as skipping meals, fasting, smoking cigarettes, vomiting and taking laxatives.3 42% of 1st through 3rd-grade girls want to be thinner.4 81% of 10-year-olds are afraid of being fat.5 46% of 9 through 11-year-olds diet “sometimes” or “very often.”6
Only teenaged girls get eating disorders.
While eating disorders most often begin in a person’s teens or 20s, they can happen at any time in a person’s life. Eating disorders are more widespread among women, but a significant number of boys and men experience them as well.
Body image distortion is a white, upper-class problem.
A study conducted in 1996, found that among the leanest 25% of 6th- and 7th-grade girls, Hispanics and Asians reported significantly more body dissatisfaction than did caucasian girls.7
In a survey of 6,504 adolescents, Asian, Black, Hispanic and Caucasian youth all reported attempting to lose weight at similar rates (32.7%, 31.9%, 36.1% and 34.9% respectively). Among Native American adolescents, 48.1% were attempting to lose weight.8 Reports of eating disorders among women of color are on the rise.
Are eating disorders just a phase?
Eating disorders are not merely phases, but serious mental disorders. Someone with anorexia might say, "I could gain weight if I want to." Somone with bulimia might say, "I could stop bingeing and purging if I want to." However, people with eating disorders really don't have a choice. In many cases, if the person doesn't get help they’ll have a hard time stopping on their own. Which may turn a curable disease into a permanent one.
People with eating disorders are easy to spot, because they’re severely thin.
You don’t have to be skinny or emaciated to have an eating disorder. Overweight and average-weight people have them too. Eating disorders take many forms, and not just the kind where people starve themselves. People who binge on unhealthy amounts of food and purge themselves by vomiting or taking laxatives may not look like they’re wasting away, but they’re still doing severe damage to their bodies and need to seek treatment.
Vitamins and supplements can replace food.
No, they can’t. People with anorexia are losing more than vitamins and minerals. They’re losing important calories, protein and fat.
How can she have an eating disorder? She eats with us every day.
Someone with an eating disorder may eat or go through the motions of eating with the family, and then purge by vomiting or taking laxatives later.
