I ordered a new ED book from Amazon and it just came in. It's part of a modular course in clinical psychology, Eating and Weight Disorders, by Carlos M. Grilo. The first chapter has a macabre sense of humor: "Overview of eating and weight disorders: Bodies to die for."
It emphasizes obesity, anorexia nervosa, bulimia nervosa, and binge eating disorder.
The book was published in 2005. One statistic throws me for a loop. He writes that statistics show that roughly 25% of children between 6 and 11 years old, and adolescents aged 12 to 18 years old, are obese. I was shocked by that number. He didn't say overweight--he said obese. Wow. If you add overweight to that, I'll bet it's more than half of all kids between 6 and 18 need to lose weight. Does that surprise you as much as it surprises me? I've read in popular magazines, such as Newsweek and Time, that the number of obese kids is close to a third, not a quarter. Can this be true? If you add overweight kids into it, then we're definitely looking at greater than half of them needing to take off a lot of pounds. If we don't intervene while they're young, I think we're setting them on the path to a truly unhealthy--and unhappy--adulthood.
But I'm more worried about adults, frankly. They're at higher risk for heart attacks, strokes, diabetes, joint damage, breast cancer, liver problems--you name it--because they've had the problem so much longer. Isabelle Caro, the famous anorexic who posed nude for the billboard attacking the fashion industry's promotion of unhealthy weights for women, died of her AN, just as she was beginning to think seriously about recovery. She'd come to realize that she really had a disease, and she needed treatment to cure it. But she'd been anorexic too long. Her muscles were wasted; her heart, damaged. It couldn't hold out, nor could her other organs, and she died of unknown causes at age 28 this past November. Essentially, she died because her body failed. She was 13 when her anorexia started, which means it took 15 years to kill her. How many years does it take to kill an obese person? It can happen rapidly, suddenly, over years, or in a slow death. But we do know that, just as in AN, the longer one is obese, the more dangerous it is. And death will happen.
I have my fingers crossed every day that my friends here and on Allan's blog have success with their weight loss plans, whether in the Challenge or using another method. I also hope that those of you who've reached a healthy weight stay there. Yes, it's hard. However, Ice Queen has a design to the right of her blog's name, which reads: Losing Weight is Hard. Being Obese is Hard. Choose Your Hard.
There's no debating that.
The statistics about kids surprises me but here in the south we see a lot of obese families when we go out to dinner. I look at my daughters and I know that I contributed to their problems not just genetically but because I set a bad example for so many years. I'm trying very hard to encourage them to do something before it passes on to the grandchildren. Both of them are at healthy normal weights. It is a challenge though, in this day and age where both parents work and fast food is easier than home-cooked healthy meals. I will do my best when I baby sit them to feed them well here.
ReplyDeleteMy 5 are in the other catergory. Hopefully it stays that way. That they beat statistics showing for those with one obese parent. Shoving off as I have a long road trip ahead taking the littles to their endo. Hashimotos may contribute to some degree if they end up in the other catergory. Good thing I was persistent and they were diagnosed early. Tracking and endo apps help. Good day to you. :)
ReplyDeleteI, too, have battled binge eating and have it nearly conquered. It is not nearly what it used to be. I have just given up sugar and it has made such a difference. I feel so much better and don't crave it like I once did. It's amazing the things that have sugar in them. I have eliminated the obvious sugars - the cookies, cakes, candy, etc. I am also being careful with starches. I read one woman's blog that called high fructose corn syrup the sweat of satan - she is so right. I enjoy what you write. It hits home with me.
ReplyDeleteKaren, I wouldn't put that rap on myself if I were you. Okay, so you didn't model the best food behavior--agreed. But modeling isn't everything, and the genetics were there, waiting. My mother was obese, and had the house full of junk food. And while I was overweight as a kid, and my sister's a bit now, we never were obese. However, she did do crazy things regarding food with us. I'm going to post about that sometime. I consider it to be the beginnings for both of us to have EDs. And it was truly crazy, Karen.
ReplyDeleteYou're close to Bethany now in her desire to lose, helping her all you can. You're going to help break the pattern with all the grandchildren you ever have. It's a new day, my friend. You did the very best you could with what you had at the time. Now you know more, and have more, so you can do more. It's as simple as that. Don't blame yourself at all. I'm sure whatever guilt you have is far, far above what was merited. But that was then. This is now. I know that's a cliche, but it's true. You're an excellent mother from everything I've seen. I'm jealous I wasn't your kid (but I'm pretty sure I'm a good bit older than you are, lol).
Twix, I'm sorry. How many of your babies have Hashimoto's? Are autoimmune diseases in your family? At least it can be managed, and I'm very happy you were alert enough to catch it early. Good work!
ReplyDeleteBut I'm pretty stupid--what's an "endo app?" All I can think of is "application," and that makes no sense. Help!!
downsizers, thank you a million, zillion for saying you like my blog. I'm glad it offers you something. I keep saying I'm going to devote some time to BED, and then never get around to it. I think it's a crucial thing to talk about in ALL eating disorders.
ReplyDeleteIt's exciting to hear that you're getting beyond it now. That must have taken a hell of a lot of work and self-moderation. It's hard to beat. I can still have episodes where I eat in an uncontrolled way, although I'm told that will happen to someone on a semi-starvation or starvation diet, ED or not.
I'm going to read your blog today and/or tomorrow. You said we can "come as [we] are," religious or not, right? Then I'll be there with bells on, instead.
endocrinologist appointment = endo app
ReplyDeleteMyself and 4 of my children have thyroid issues. Quite a few of my extended family does as well, mostly female.
Unfortunately was given news today that the endo doc's contract has expired and he's moving far far away this summer. So I'm stuck with whoever they reassign us to or find a new one. I'm opting for the latter. It'd be nice to have someone closer to drive to. Odds are not in our favor. One can remain positive and hopeful though. :) As long as I don't have to drive to Chicago... bleh.
Good news is that although their growth has slowed down, their thyroid levels are continuing to check in normal - thanks to meds. And I think good diet and lots of exercise, too. ;-) Good app today.
"However, she did do crazy things regarding food with us."
ReplyDeleteHad to steal that from above, haha. Did your mom play games at the table too? Like whoever eats the most gets the majority of her attention. Or padlock the fridge and pantry so you couldn't eat anything unless she told you, you could. Or go several days or weeks, and sometimes months with barely anything on the table and then bam - look at all that food - wowsers. Or tell you couldn't eat cereal becuase it was loaded with sugar. Yet guzzle gallons of pepsi in front of you. Or feed you corn syrup straight out of the bottle because it's healthy for you. Lol.... good times. Okay just your comment above had my mind racing. I'd love to hear about some of the weird stuff our moms did.