Eating Disorders in Gifted and Talented Teens,Eating Disorders in Gifted and Talented Teens
© Heather Ringrose
Eating disorders seem to be reaching epidemic numbers in today’s teenagers. The majority of the problem lies within the female population, but the number of males with eating disorders is also increasing. This is a serious problem. Just the other day the annual American beauty pageant was condemned for creating such a low self-image in women. Organizers are currently trying to change it in order to award winners with scholarships for their educations and to take the emphasis of skinniness.
There is an increasing gap between the very underweight and the very overweight. Both of these problems are most commonly the result of eating disorders. The former, from voluntary fasting, the latter from continuous gorging. To me, food almost seems to have become a drug addiction, where people take overdoses and shorten their lives. Eating compulsively is a habit easy to begin and difficult to end.
Overeating is a problem for over half of American women. All of these women wear over a size 14. They are exposed to delicious foods constantly, and really can’t be blamed 100% for their problem. In many countries, being overweight is a sign of prosperity and is highly esteemed in the community. Here, it is just the opposite. Women need to “be thin to be in.”
The problem is our lifestyle. We are becoming increasingly sedentary people, and this doesn’t jive with our increasing food supply. With so much to do in our lives, it is easy to give up on physical activity. A lack of physical activity guarantees weight gain if you eat the typical North American diet.
On the other side are the young women who are repulsed by the obesity epidemic and who are terrified that they too will become fat. These young women are often bright, motivated, and high-achieving. They become anorexic or bulimic in order to avoid weight gain. This creates a great variety of problems, including depression, lack of energy, excessive hair growth and other more serious problems. In severe cases, untreated girls can die from these disorders.
Something has to be done for the entire population. The “normal weight population” is a minority! Food companies need to agree to cut the number of high fat products they produce. Schools need to make physical education mandatory, workplaces need to create exercise programs for staff, families need to throw out their TVs and limit their computer time. Individuals need to sit down in front of their food without any distractions
