The Lifelong Impacts of Eating Disorders

What is one of the deadliest mental illnesses, especially to young people whose bodies are still developing? Many people would be surprised to learn that eating disorders can have lifelong impacts and high rates of morbidity and mortality. According to JAMA Psychiatry, "individuals with eating disorders have significantly elevated mortality rates, with the highest rates occurring in those with anorexia nervosa." More can be learned about the main types of eating disorders and their impacts here: https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jamapsychiatry/fullarticle/1107207

States are stepping up to fight the rise in eating disorders that is yet another effect of the pandemic. In Colorado, legislation has been introduced to establish a statewide office of disordered eating prevention and to limit the availability of diet pills and better oversee medical practices related to weight reduction.   

In Minnesota, state schools have been offering free breakfasts and lunches to students who qualify for them. But now, to reduce the stigma, the free meals are available to all students regardless of whether their families can afford to feed them or not. Is this going too far? I don't think so. It's clear that to be corralled into a group of needy people is traumatic for students who are already suffering. But there's another reason for my view: children of all strata of society suffer from food insecurity leading to disordered eating. It looks different on either end of the spectrum, typically. Families who are economically challenged substitute filling carbs, over-processed, cheap foods for nutritious whole fruits, vegetables, and proteins. But children in affluent families are often left to their own devices without knowledgeable guidance in choosing healthy foods. They are preyed on by deceptive advertising and harmful diet schemes and drugs. 

Consider the beautiful actress and humanitarian Audrey Hepburn. She was born to an aristocratic family and lived on an estate. But this child of privilege and wealth suffered from so much food insecurity and malnutrition that she had a weak constitution during early adulthood and had to give up her dreams of becoming a ballerina. When she was nine years old, World War II broke out, causing her family's fortunes to collapse. The family was reduced to Hepburn, her mother, and a half-sibling when the Germans restricted food supplies to the Netherlands where they lived, and she remembered making flour out of tulip bulbs. 

After the War, Hepburn suffered from anemia, jaundice and other maladies. Her experiences and the upheavals she witnessed affected her her whole life long. Described by The New York Times as "a young lady of extraordinary range of sensitive and moving expressions within such a frail and slender frame," she used her experiences to become not only a highly accomplished actress but also a compassionate and inspiring humanitarian. 

Sadly, Hepburn didn't always recognize the beauty that the world did. In a 1959 interview, she said, "I hated myself at certain periods. I was too fat, or maybe too tall, or maybe just plain too ugly... you can say my definiteness stems from underlying feelings of insecurity and inferiority." These self-images are also a hallmark of eating disorders. Alongside model Twiggy, she is credited with making extreme slimness fashionable in the 1960s, leading to a new wave of illness and malnutrition among women. The most famous victim was Karen Carpenter, who tragically died at the age of 32 from anorexia nervosa. Her story is recounted in The Guardian.

Super-slender models and actors have faded from the spotlight but there are still plenty of young people at risk. Many who were isolated during the pandemic and were scarred by exposure to harmful views on social media are still working through the impacts. First-time attendance at the Denver-based Eating Disorder Foundation’s family support groups has spiked more than one thousand percent. A Harvard analysis suggests that nearly 10 percent of people will develop an eating disorder in their lifetime. If it doesn't strike us, it will affect someone we know, someone we love. It's something worth thinking about, because Everybody Eats. 

More about Colorado's actions to prevent eating disorders here.