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For today’s BOPO post I want to touch base on a really
serious subject; eating disorders. I
first would like to say that these eating disorders can happen to anyone, they
do not discriminate whether you are male or female, or what background/color
you are. There are mortalities
associated with eating disorders. A lot
of people would not understand unless they knew someone or went through it
themselves. There are different types of
eating disorders. What is sad is reading
up on all of the statistics and mortality rates and knowing that some little
girl, someone’s daughter, someone’s mother, someone’s girlfriend, someone’s
friend, will die or suffer from an eating disorder. I’ve been exposed to eating disorders at
their worst, and let me tell you, it’s horrible to see someone you care about
in so much mental pain that they do this to their bodies. I myself when I was younger had weight
problems which turned into crazy diets, or binge eating and then working out
for hours. Then there were a few times
where I went a week or two without eating.
My issue is I was never one of the skinny girls. I was always a little heavier/average and I
was made fun of for it. That teasing
still sits heavy in my heart for my weight, and it definitely has affected the
way I see myself today. What I see in
the mirror is most likely not what y’all see.
I eat healthier now, and to be honest I don’t care too much about eating
junk food or food that is sooooo deliciously bad for you. My take on it is I can’t beat myself up over
the fact that I enjoy food and every once in a while I’ll gain a few
pounds. Below is information I got from
these two websites Eating Disorder Hope and National Eating Disorders. I just figured I
would educate everyone a little bit on research that I found interesting to
help this BOPO movement. This is for
everyone to understand why so many men and women out there are talking about
being body positive and are trying to inspire other people out there.
serious subject; eating disorders. I
first would like to say that these eating disorders can happen to anyone, they
do not discriminate whether you are male or female, or what background/color
you are. There are mortalities
associated with eating disorders. A lot
of people would not understand unless they knew someone or went through it
themselves. There are different types of
eating disorders. What is sad is reading
up on all of the statistics and mortality rates and knowing that some little
girl, someone’s daughter, someone’s mother, someone’s girlfriend, someone’s
friend, will die or suffer from an eating disorder. I’ve been exposed to eating disorders at
their worst, and let me tell you, it’s horrible to see someone you care about
in so much mental pain that they do this to their bodies. I myself when I was younger had weight
problems which turned into crazy diets, or binge eating and then working out
for hours. Then there were a few times
where I went a week or two without eating.
My issue is I was never one of the skinny girls. I was always a little heavier/average and I
was made fun of for it. That teasing
still sits heavy in my heart for my weight, and it definitely has affected the
way I see myself today. What I see in
the mirror is most likely not what y’all see.
I eat healthier now, and to be honest I don’t care too much about eating
junk food or food that is sooooo deliciously bad for you. My take on it is I can’t beat myself up over
the fact that I enjoy food and every once in a while I’ll gain a few
pounds. Below is information I got from
these two websites Eating Disorder Hope and National Eating Disorders. I just figured I
would educate everyone a little bit on research that I found interesting to
help this BOPO movement. This is for
everyone to understand why so many men and women out there are talking about
being body positive and are trying to inspire other people out there.
Anorexia Nervosa
- Inadequate food intake leading to a weight that is clearly
too low - Intense fear of weight gain, obsession with weight
- Self esteem overly related to body image
- Inability to appreciate the severity of the situation
Anorexia Nervosa Statistics
- Estimated that 1.0% to 4.2% of women have suffered from
anorexia in their lifetime - Has the highest fatality rate of any mental illness
- Is estimated that 4% of anorexic individuals die from
complications of the disease - Only one third of individuals struggling with Anorexia
Nervosa obtain treatment - Binge-Eating/Purging Type involves binge eating and/or
purging behaviors during the last 3 months - Restricting Type does not involve binge eating or purging
Binge Eating Disorder
- Frequent episodes of consuming very large amounts of food
but without behaviors to prevent weight gain, such as self-induced vomiting - A feeling of being out of control during the binge eating
episodes - Feelings of strong shame or guilt regarding the binge eating
- Indications that the binge eating is out of control, such as
eating when not hungry, eating to the point of discomfort, or eating alone
because of shame about the behavior
Binge Eating Disorder Statistics
- 2.8% of American adults will struggle with BED during their
lifetime. Close to 43% of individuals
suffering from Binge Eating Disorder will obtain treatment - 5.2% of indivudals suffering from eating disorders will die
from health complications - Close to 43% of individuals suffering from Binge Eating
Disorder will obtain treatment
Bulimia Nervosa
- Frequent episodes of consuming very large amount of food
followed by behaviors to prevent weight gain, such as self induced vomiting - A feeling of being out of control during the binge eating episodes
- Self esteem overly related to body image
Statistics
- Estimated that up to 4% of females in the US will have
bulimia during their lifetime - 3.9% of these individuals will die
- Of those practicing bulimia only 6% obtain treatment
General Statistics on Eating Disorders/Dieting Statistics
- Eating disorders are a daily struggle for 10 million females and 1 million males in the US
- Four out of ten indivudals have either personally experienced an eating disorder or know someone who has.
- Over 50% of teenage girls and 33% of teenage boys are using restrictive measures to lose weight at any given time.
- 46% of 9-11 year olds are sometimes, or very often on diets, and 82% of their families are sometimes, or very often on diets.
- 91% of women recently surveyed on a college campus had attempted to control their weight dieting
- 95% of all dieters will regain their lost weight in 1-5 years
That concludes this discussion. Now I trust that most of my readers are extremely nice people judging by all of your wonderful comments, but for anyone reading this who is a jerk, please watch what you say about someone’s body. You don’t know if your comment is the last straw for that person who will turn to eating disorders to help their pain.
Don’t forget to check out my BOPO video on my YouTube channel, and my BOPO series will return on March 31st. I have a few themes going on and some other posts planned for the next few Thursdays.
P.S. If you want to join in on this movement/topic and don’t have a blog just post on Instagram using the hashtag in the title #JGTHBodyPositivity or tag me @JerseyGirlTexanHeart I’d love to read your stories too!
