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National Eating
Disorders Awareness Week is February 22 to February 28, 2004. |
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Margo Maine,
Ph.D., Director, Eating Disorder Program, The Institute of Living
- Tips
for friends and families
- Recognize
how powerful an eating disorder is – remember that it is an illness
- Be compassionate
toward the person suffering
- Admit
your anger, frustration, and helplessness
- Consider
getting help for yourself from a therapist
- Help
your loved one to see that there is more to life than food, weight and
shape
- Ask the
individual how you can help
- Don’t
expect your loved one to be perfect in his or her recovery
- Men
and eating disorders
- Men need
basic information about eating disorders because they relate to women
as fathers, brothers, grandfathers, friends, uncles, teachers, coaches,
and/or colleagues
- In addition,
eating disorders are becoming increasingly more common among males,
especially male athletes
- Food,
weight, and body image have a special meaning to women that men must
appreciate in order to help in the battle against eating disorders and
to support the recovery process of those who suffer from them
- Eating
disorders and body dissatisfaction
- Many
children are preoccupied with their weight and dissatisfied with their
bodies
- While
boys identify a broad range of characteristics when asked to describe
themselves, girls focus on weight and shape as primary ingredients of
their self-assessment
- Women
are raised to please other people, to be concerned with others’ opinions,
to place others’ needs ahead of their own, and to be good-looking to
others
- Advertising
campaigns capitalize on the natural desire of women to please others
and on their willingness to change things about themselves to achieve
these goals
- When
women encounter constant messages from advertising and the cultural
environment that stress dieting and pursuing the “perfect body,”
they often feel compelled to do these things
- Eating
disorders and power
- Eating
disorders are associated with poor self-esteem, inadequacy, and feelings
of powerlessness
- Individuals
with eating disorders feel that the only way they can assert themselves
is through excessive control of their own bodies
- Women
may incorrectly conclude that their only asset is their body and that
weight determines personal power
- Economic
and social systems reinforce these values; the only two professions
where women earn more than men are modeling and prostitution
- Eating
disorders and male approval
- Women
of all ages may manipulate their bodies and their weight in order to
gain approval, affection, and acceptance from the opposite sex
- Male
approval becomes more and more important to girls as they approach adolescence
- Adolescent
girls experience bodies and appetites that are becoming fuller and bigger,
coupled with an increased awareness of the messages that dieting and
self-control around food are critical to women
- How
fathers can help in the battle against eating disorders
- Set a
good example by your own behaviors involving food and exercise
- Talk
to your daughter about the pressures women feel to lose weight and be
attractive
- Evaluate
the messages you are sending about weight, dieting, beauty, and body
image
- Let your
daughter know you love her no matter what she weighs
- Help
her determine what is really important about herself and others
- Show
appreciation for her uniqueness, particularly when her opinions differ
from yours
- Convey
respect, trust, and approval so her self-esteem will grow
- Give
her the opportunities and encouragement that you would give a boy
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