Eating disorders, such as anorexia and bulimia nervosa, are severe disorders that can become life threatening conditions. Eating disorders most often affect teenage girls and young women. However, both men and women of all ages can develop anorexia or bulimia. Once a person develops an eating disorder it’s usually extremely difficult to turn the tides. Thankfully there are things a parent can do to prevent their teen from developing an eating disorder.

What parents can do to prevent eating disorders

Research suggest that the most important things you can do to prevent your child from developing an eating disorder, are:

• Discourage dieting. Diets will not help your teen to lose weight. They may initially lose weight, but when they reach their desired weight and stop dieting they will put on weight again. This is called the yoyo effect.
• Instead of dieting, encourage your child to eat healthily. A healthy diet will provide your child with all the nutrients she needs, without becoming fat.
• Encourage your child to be physically active, and not watch too much TV or spend too much time at the computer.
• Emphasize what is beautiful about your child’s body. If your teen feels confident about her body, she won’t be too likely to develop an eating disorder.
• Lay the table and eat your meals as a family. The more often you, as a family eat together, the healthier your teen will eat.
• Try not to talk so much about ‘weighty issues’, and don’t ever tease your child about her weight. Remarks like: ‘Wow, you’ve got a big butt!’ may well mark the onset of an eating disorder.
• Be a good example yourself. If you tell your child that dieting is unhealthy, but you are dieting all the time – what kind of message do you think you are actually conveying to her?
• Make sure you always have plenty of fruit and vegetables. Your children will eat more fruit and vegetable if you’ve always got them readily available.

Eating disorders are deadly

Anorexia and bulimia nervosa can lead to serious physical damage. Hormonal changes may lead to irregular periods or amenorrhea, bone loss and infertility. Dental problems like teeth erosion, cavities and gum problems may occur. Heart problems, such as bradycardia (dangerously slow heart rhythm) may develop, and blood pressure may drop to a dangerously low level. Eating disorders can lead to these and many more health problems. Anorexia and Bulimia can be lethal. Don’t let this happen to your child.