First, I commented on a blog post by Amy Graff, a dedicated mother and community leader with a large reader following. Her blog is called the Mommy Files and the post is titled "Are Parents Overly Obsessed With Their Kids' Diets?" Additionally, my second comment can be found on a "Bulimia Anorexia" blog written by William Webster, an Australian researcher in the neurobiological treatments for eating disorders. The post is titled: "Eating Disorders Are the Reverse Side of the Chilhood Obesity Campaign." My responses can be seen below, or directly at the blogs which I commented.
"Are Parents Overly Obsessed With Their Kids' Diets?"
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Scouring the blogosphere for recent and informative posts concerning childhood eating disorders, I was pleased to stumble upon your page. I am intrigued by the prospect that parents may contribute to a child’s anxiety and maladaptive outlook towards food. I agree with your position that there is nothing wrong with feeding your child in a healthy and green way. Similarly, I too recognize that the New York Times article may drive a mother to rush out to the nearest grocery store in search of the well-marketed “sugar cerea
ls” meant to satisfy the saccharin needs of children (see image right). Like others, I think the most balanced approach would be simply to allow children to eat what they please in moderation—for we all know too well the notion of “you always want what you can’t have.” However, while it may be true that the story in the New York Times focuses on extreme cases of uber-regulating parents, one should not be too quick to discard the information. Anecdotal evidence surely does not take into account true experimental studies and causation, but this does not mean that accounts such as these do not have major implications for the onset of eating disorders in children.In exploring your argument, I see that you quote Nina Planck, food author, when she said, “It’s a total cop out to lay blame on schools and parents for children’s eating disorders. The eating disorder comes out of a disordered psyche…” Whether you personally believe this yourself or not, I do not think that Planck’s perspective paints a full picture of the development of disorders in children. Developmental psychologists will always note the vital importance of complex interactions between psychological, social, and genetic factors in determining the outcome of disorders. In an article titled, “Young Girls Start Eating Disorders Early,” researchers point out that “the causes range from genetics and family problems, to lack of self-esteem and the media’s portrayal of thin women as ideal.” So yes, you are right when you say that neither parents nor school are the sole factors to blame when children’s anxieties about food manifest into more serious issues. However, I hope you realize that how you talk about food and think about food yourself, will probably affect your children, as you are their primary influence. Children are very susceptible to imitating the role models around them. Similarly, it is important not to believe that one can place all blame on a “disordered psyche,” because in doing this, one limits the ability to take hold of the situation by deeming it out of the realm of control.
"Eating Disorders Are the Reverse Side of the Childhood Obesity Campaign"
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I admire your unique and innovative perspective as to how children come to experience full-blown eating disorders later in life. In fact, in researching childhood eating disorders and risks, I continue to find the repetitively obvious and common discourse associated with the subject: that eating problems arise from family problems and the media, among various other sociocultural, biological, and behavioral perspectives. While these standpoints are legitimate and have been studied for years, it is refreshing to see a new take on the issue at hand.
Firstly, I think you raise a very important point in shedding light on the fact that programs designed to promote health and to combat obesity may sometimes backfire. New Guidelines for Childhood Obesity Prevention Programs on the Academy for Eating Disorders have been recently posted and dis
cuss that a mere “emphasis on appearance and weight control can promote eating disordered behaviors.” By stressing weight and appearance, children begin to think more about such issues and in consequence, may start diet clubs and embark on unhealthy journeys towards shedding pounds (see image left). With the focus centered on being skinny, those children that are overweight tend to stand out even more so than before, in contrast. Additionally, other factors like the media only serve to exacerbate the problem.Secondly, I agree with your idea that the pessimistic attitudes that overweight children acquire throughout their childhood can lead to full blown eating disorders later on. This is especially true since these negative schemas are formed when the child’s brain is most “plastic.” The idea is that while children’s development systems are still malleable to change, they will acquire negative views towards food and the self, which will then become molded into their brains as they become adults. You note that there have been major breakthroughs in the treatment of eating disorders via “neuroplasticity”, “using the fact that our brains remain plastic even into adulthood.” This idea appears to be a pioneering approach to the treatment of eating disorders, and I am very interested to see its development. You are honest in candidly noting that treatment is difficult and not meant for everyone. However, your argument would be more convincing if you implemented sufficient data and/or empirical research in your discussion of neuroplasticity. Your readers would gain a lot by knowing the facts, how many people this type of treatment has worked for, and the scientific and psychological implications. It would only benefit you to include more evidence. Nevertheless, I applaud your intuitive and modern approach to a historically old problem.
Farrah, you are right in saying that eating disorders in children are not commonly discussed – I never could have imagined that so many young people suffered from such a harmful condition. Coming from a background in kinesiology, the focus in my studies was always on childhood obesity. People went so far as to claim that it was the next epidemic to hit our country. But clearly, as your post and indisputable statistics state, the reverse side of childhood obesity - the overly concerned with diet and body image side, is just as prevalent and deserves just as much attention.
ReplyDeleteIt seems the issue has to do largely with the greater focus we place on the ideals of beauty as a nation. Thinness, to dangerously unhealthy degrees, is most unfortunately stressed and favored in our culture. As you noted in your post, children are bombarded with this notion of “beauty” in the media, and it is very difficult to combat the enormity of these influences. I would be very curious to see similar statistics of childhood eating disorders in other countries to perhaps shed further light on how much we should hold the media responsible. The incorporation of such statistics would be a great way to further strengthen this post.
I very much appreciated the incorporation of developmental psychology theories to support your argument, such as the idea of the “plastic brain.” The fact that young people are physiologically more vulnerable to adopting negative body images and consequently harmful eating disorders is essential to consider when deciding how to approach our youth with the issues of health and nutrition. It is a very fine line we must walk in fighting childhood obesity. Though it is a very important issue in itself, it is essential that we take care to not inadvertently encourage another harmful condition, which you successfully brought to attention in this post.
Thanks for this very interesting post. Eating disorders are extremely complicated and can occur in people of all ages. I’ve found Silver Hill Hospital's website to be a really good source of information about treatment options.
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