Eating Disorders

I really wish there had been another day of discussion of the Female Athlete Triad and Eating Disorders. It seems like that it’s always the topic that just gets brushed upon since many people already know about the basic eating disorders (anorexia nervosa and bulimia) and the symptoms/ characteristics that define them. What people don’t realize though, is that someone doesn’t have to be “diagnosed” to be considered a disordered eater. A girl doesn’t just snap one day and all of sudden become anorexic, it’s something that slowly starts to build and eventually take over your whole mind and body. When someone finally gets diagnosed it’s almost too late; it was already a problem that had been building for some time. There is a whole range of levels of disordered eating and overtraining to lose weight, making a lot of girls believe that what they are doing is okay since they haven’t actually been diagnosed as “anorexic”. I feel like if girls were better educated on the topic then they could become aware of the fact that might actually have an eating disorder, and talk to someone or get some help before the problem becomes so bad that they are clinically diagnosed with anorexia nervosa or bulimia.

K. Sexton

KIN 338I Section 6