Every teenager has come across an eating disorder in high school. Whether it be on a TV show, in a health class lesson, part of a book, or someone’s real life experience, in today’s world, eating disorders are common to hear about. Many people, however, do not fully understand the variety and severity of eating disorders.

            Eating disorders, or EDs, come in all different forms: anorexia, bulimia, binge-eating, and muscle dysmorphia. While two of the four are easily recognized by readers, anorexia and bulimia may not be the most common EDs.

            Students at LZHS might be surprised to find out how much of the student body is actually affected by an eating disorder. Ali Young, junior, struggled with an ED for a few years.

            “Starting in seventh grade, I struggled with self image problems, and I started trying to diet. Later on, the dieting became extreme and resulted in me being diagnosed with anorexia. I received treatment in eighth grade which helped a little, but later on I relapsed and had to receive more intense treatment freshman year,” Young said.

            Because most cases of EDs go untreated, many victims of an ED seriously hurt themselves or go unnoticed.

            “Leaving eating disorders untreated can have serious consequences. Research has found that individuals with anorexia have a mortality rate 18 times higher than peers who don’t have eating disorders, for example,” the American Psychology Association’s website, APA, said.

            A common misconception about EDs is that women are the only victims.

            “While women are more commonly affected by eating disorders, more than a million men and boys battle the illness every day,” the National Eating Disorder’s website said.

            Men are often stereotyped as having to be masculine, tough, and less sensitive than women, but they can suffer from EDs.

            “I believe most people don’t pay attention to male eating disorders because most people view eating disorders as mostly caring about your appearance, and males are stereotyped as caring less about looks than females. However, there are other factors why one engages in eating disorder behaviors that need to be acknowledged,” Young said.

            One of the reasons male ED cases are noticed less may be because males are better at simply hiding their problem from the rest of the world.

            “About a quarter of preadolescent cases of anorexia occur in boys, for example. And binge eating disorder strikes males and females about equally,” APA’s website said. “People sometimes have eating disorders without their families or friends ever suspecting that they have a problem. Aware that their behavior is abnormal, people with eating disorders may withdraw from social contact, hide their behavior, and deny that their eating patterns are problematic.”

            But male EDs are not necessarily the typical anorexia and bulimia.

            “[Males] may have muscle dysmorphia, a type of disorder that is characterized by an extreme concern with becoming more muscular. Some boys with muscle dysmorphia see themselves as smaller than they really are and want to gain weight or bulk up,” the National Institute of Mental Health’s, NIMH, website said. “Men and boys are more likely to use steroids or other dangerous drugs to increase muscle mass.”

            Another type of ED, binge-eating, is the opposite of what many expect. According to the Center of Disease Control, 35.7 percent of adults in the U.S. are obese, in which case, binge-eating is a problem.

“With binge-eating disorder a person loses control over his or her eating. Unlike bulimia nervosa, periods of binge-eating are not followed by purging, excessive exercise, or fasting. As a result, people with binge-eating disorder often are overweight or obese,” NIMH’s website said. “People with binge-eating disorder who are obese are at higher risk for developing cardiovascular disease and high blood pressure. They also experience guilt, shame, and distress about their binge-eating, which can lead to more binge-eating.”

Young experienced a drastic change in her social life as a result of her emotions, as well as her school life during her eating disorder.

“Thinking I was overweight was not the only reason I engaged in behaviors. I was used to [people] telling me I should just stop because I wasn’t overweight. There are lots of other reasons people engage in behaviors that people should take into consideration,” Young said. “My eating disorder hurt me by causing me to isolate and miss out on social events and become very behind on school work. It also caused me to feel very insecure.”

Aside from misconceptions about ED types, people may think that the only reason a person gets an ED is because a person may think he or she is fat, which is false.

“A wide range of situations can [influence the start of] eating disorders in susceptible individuals. Family members or friends may repeatedly tease people about their bodies. Individuals may be participating in gymnastics or other sports that emphasize low weight or a certain body image. Negative emotions or traumas such as rape, abuse, or the death of a loved one can also trigger disorders. Even a happy event, such as giving birth, can lead to disorders because of the stressful impact of the event on an individual’s new role and body image,” APA’s website said.

Just like one would not ignore another with depression, a person with an ED needs attention, however, they do not need to be babied.

“I think that people should keep in mind that people who have or had eating disorders are usually not comfortable with their bodies, so obviously any negative comments on someone’s body or on what they’re eating is not helpful. They should be supported,” Young said.

But as long as the person wants to defeat his or her battle with an ED, options are always open: the key to succeeding is effort and patience.

            In the grand scheme of things, it is important to remember EDs come in different shapes and sizes, different effects and traits, and different coping methods.

“Catching the illness early can be a key to recovery,” said National Eating Disorder’s website.  ”But lack of awareness as well as pervasive stereotypes plague eating disorders and often make prevention and early intervention unattainable.”