Eating Disorders
With so much emphasis on physical appearance in fashion and beauty magazines, it is no wonder that eating disorders have become a serious and significant problem for both men and women in our society. Very often eating disordered behaviour appears in the pre-teen years, and it is not at all unusual for youngsters to admit to having participated in at least one diet by the age of 10. Among young adults, rampant dieting is not at all unusual, in a bid to achieve often unrealistic weight loss goals. Sometimes, in the case of body builders or ballet dancers, extreme dieting and eating disorders develop out of a desire for unrealistic weight gain, referred to as “bulk.” While historically eating disorders and chronic dieting has been almost exclusively considered to be a problem among women, today it has become a problem among both women and men. In light of societal pressures to maintain a low weight and be thin, or a muscular physique ripped with lean muscle mass, to the point of being unhealthy either way, more and more young men are admitting to using dieting methods that can easily translate to eating disordered behaviours. (This article is electronically protected – Copyright © Associated Counsellors & Psychologists Sydney PTY LTD)
Answer the following basic checklist to determine if your own relationship with food and eating has become problematic:
