Rethinking Eating Disorders
Eating disorders are often misunderstood and pop culture rarely represents them accurately. So, we’d like to break down some of the misconceptions about eating disorders and who they impact.
Common Cultural Misconceptions
We could go on about these forever, but, for the sake of time we wanted to highlight two really dangerous misconceptions about eating disorders.
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Myth #1 - Eating disorders are a female issue.
Nope! Today, anorexia, bulimia, and especially binge-eating disorder are rapidly rising in the male population.
Myth #2 - Only skinny people have eating disorders.
Hard no. All eating disorders can be very dangerous and many go unseen to the common eye. Just because someone doesn’t appear underweight doesn’t mean they aren’t suffering. In fact, a recent study found that:
Less than 6% of people with eating disorders are medically diagnosed as “underweight.”
We highlight these because when most people think of eating disorders, they think of thing and young white women. Some of this is understandable seeing as majority of those suffering from disordered eating are white women between 12 and 35. However, 1 in 10 Americans suffer from eating disorders and plenty of them do not fit the stereotype. For this reason, they may go longer without the help and support they need. For example:
People of color with eating disorders are half as likely to be diagnosed or to receive treatment.
Gay men are seven times more likely to report binge-eating and twelve times more likely to report purging than heterosexual men.
Transgender college students report experiencing disordered eating at approximately four times the rate of their cisgender classmates.
And the research shows that eating disorders are among the deadliest mental illnesses, second only to opioid overdose. In fact, eating disorders are associated with higher rates of suicide and someone passes from an eating disorder every 52 minutes. We’re not saying this to sound scary, but rather, to contextualize what a serious reality this is and why we need to raise awareness about eating disorders in a diverse range of populations.
How we got here
Ok so, people have written whole books about this and we can’t realistically sum it up and share every detail. But, here are the basics:
The BMI is & has been the medical standard for measuring “healthy” vs. “unhealthy” weight for a long time. However, countless researchers have found that it is a racist, sexist, and agist tool that does not accurately portray the relationship between weight & health.
There is a correlation between increased rates of trauma, poverty, and poor healthcare and eating disorders. So, our folx that are already disadvantaged in this regard are more vulnerable to start with. For example, if you’ve experienced a life of racial trauma- your chances of developing an eating disorder may be higher.
Everyone is different. Health is not the same at all sizes. Check out our favorite summary of this concept in the Poodle Science video above.
Where to Get Help
Therapy
One of the best courses of treatment for disordered eating is therapy. We recommend looking for a DBT therapist who specializes in disordered eating.
Support Groups
People with eating disorders often feel alone and misunderstood. Attending group therapy or joining a support group can be incredibly beneficial. There are a bunch of great ones out there, but, we recommend our friends upstate at Ophelia’s Place for the free support groups. (Yes- we just said free!).
Helplines
Some of our favorite resources come from NEDA (the National Eating Disorders Association) who have text, call, and online messaging options available.
