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Eating disorder misconceptions.

The media are to blame for the prevalence of eating

disorders.A recent survey has confirmed that adolescent girls get the bulk of womens healthinformation from the media.1However, media messages in and of themselves are not

a direct cause of eating disorders. Messages that promote thinness as an asset can

create unrealistic standards regarding body size and shape. On the other hand,messages that present accurate, realistic, helpful information can be a positive

influence. The fact is, the media can positively or negatively affect the development

of an adolescents self-esteem and self-image. It depends on the message and how it is

delivered.

Athletic performance goes up when body fat goesdown.

While losing weight or reducing body fat can lead to better athletic performance, studies show

this doesnt apply to all athletes. Many individuals trying to lose weight can develop eatingdisorder symptoms, with performance coming at the expense of the athletes health. Itsimportant for athletes to not just focus on strength and physical conditioning, but the mental and

emotional aspects of performance as well.

My weight is not normal.

Keep in mind that the average American woman is 54 tall and weighs 140 pounds. The average

American fashion model is 511 tall and weighs 117 pounds. Most models are thinner than 98%of American women.2

Im too young to have a distorted body image.

Not necessarily. More than half of teenage girls and a third of teenage boys control their weight

in unhealthy ways, such as skipping meals, fasting, smoking cigarettes, vomiting and taking

laxatives.342% of 1st through 3rd-grade girls want to be thinner.

4 81% of 10-year-olds are

afraid of being fat.

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46% of 9 through 11-year-olds diet sometimes or very often.

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Only teenaged girls get eating disorders.

While eating disorders most often begin in a persons teens or 20s, they can happen at any time

in a persons life. Eating disorders are more widespread among women, but a significant number

of boys and men experience them as well.

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Body image distortion is a white, upper-class problem.

A study conducted in 1996, found that among the leanest 25% of 6th- and 7th-grade girls,Hispanics and Asians reported significantly more body dissatisfaction than did caucasian girls.7

In a survey of 6,504 adolescents, Asian, Black, Hispanic and Caucasian youth all reportedattempting to lose weight at similar rates (32.7%, 31.9%, 36.1% and 34.9% respectively).

Among Native American adolescents, 48.1% were attempting to lose weight.8Reports of eating

disorders among women of color are on the rise.

Are eating disorders just a phase?

Eating disorders are not merely phases, but serious mental

disorders. Someone with anorexia might say, "I could gain weight

if I want to." Somone with bulimia might say, "I could stop

bingeing and purging if I want to." However, people with eatingdisorders really don't have a choice. In many cases, if the person doesn't get help theyll have ahard time stopping on their own. Which may turn a curable disease into a permanent one.

People with eating disorders are easy to spot, because

theyre severely thin.

You dont have to be skinny or emaciated to have an eating disorder. Overweight and average-

weight people have them too. Eating disorders take many forms, and not just the kind wherepeople starve themselves. People who binge on unhealthy amounts of food and purge themselves

by vomiting or taking laxatives may not look like theyre wasting away, but theyre still doingsevere damage to their bodies and need to seek treatment.

Vitamins and supplements can replace food.

No, they cant. People with anorexia are losing more than vitamins and minerals. Theyre losingimportant calories, protein and fat.

How can she have an eating disorder? She eats with us every

day.

Someone with an eating disorder may eat or go through the motions of eating with the family,

and then purge by vomiting or taking laxatives later.

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