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Jan 2009: Our eating patterns and attitudes: Who is responsible?
Eating disorders are complex and dangerous conditions. Consider these facts: Close to ten million females and one million males in the US are battling eating disorders such as anorexia and bulimia, while millions more suffer from binge eating disorder and compulsive eating. The peak onset of eating disorders occurs during the teen and early adult years, but symptoms can occur as young as kindergarten. More than one in three normal dieters will progress to pathological dieting as the nation faces an epidemic of obesity and its related diseases.
We can point at our modern distorted concepts of beauty which have been promoted by the media and fashion industry. We can blame the fast food industry, peer pressure, societal expectations, our genes, our addictions to High Fructose Corn Syrup and over processed foods with empty calories and virtually no nutritive value (an entire discussion by itself) and a plethora of other external factors. The truth is that there may be countless reasons for the eating disorder epidemic, but our search for a solution is most successful through education and taking personal responsibility for our own attitudes and behaviors. Have a Healthy and Happy New Year!!!
...Linda
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