Sunday, February 3, 2013

Eating Disorders in America


by Dr. Margaret Aranda


Everyone knows that American girls have eating disorders. It’s no wonder that the models and movie starts wear size 0 pants, sporting their figures as if that is the goal of American girls: to be skinny and skinnier. To be skinny, American girls are either seeing themselves fat in comparison to a starving, bloated abdomen girl in Africa (i.e., anorexia), or they are putting their fingers down their throat to vomit the food they just ate (i.e., bulimia). Genes or hormones may play a role, and whereas once it was thought that family conflicts played a causative role, they are no longer thought to contribute to eating disorders. 

On September 25, 2012, Lady Gaga shared her stories of both bulimia and anorexia, which can be seen here: Click Here. She shares photos of her body. And over a weekend in September 2012,  she walked the city streets of Paris in a huge hot-pink and blue dress, and she tweeted to her fans: "And thank(s) to my fans who love me no matter what, and know the meaning of real beauty & compassion, I really love you." 


We have to talk about this, because it affects us, our daughters, and our daughter’s friends.
Karen Carpenter died of anorexia, making headlines and bringing the disease into the forefront of medical issues for women. Other celebrity sufferers of eating disorders include: Paula Abdul, Nadia Comaneci, Susan Dey, Jane Fonda, Princess Di, Lynn Redgrave, Joan Riers, and Elton John.

The prevalence of eating disorders in America is staggering:
*  8 million Americans have an eating disorder;
*  7 million women and 1 million men have an eating disorder;
*  Bulimia affects 2-3 in 100 American women;
* About ½ of all Americans know someone with an eating disorder;
* Of all mental illnesses, eating disorders have the highest mortality rate;
* 10 – 15% of Americans with anorexia or bulimia are males.
.

Let’s talk about the Mortality associated with eating disorders:
* Anorexia nervosa can lead to death in 10% of cases;
* 1 in 5 Americans has a mental disorder;
* 5 – 10 % of anorexics die within 10 years;
* 18 – 20% of anorexics will be dead after 20 years;
* Only 30 – 40 % of anorexics will fully recover.

Why the staggering statistics? Part of the reason is that our girls are not getting treatment for eating disorders.
*  Only 1 of 10 people with an eating disorder gets treatment;
* About 80% of the girls and women who do get accepted into programs are failing to get the needed intensity of treatment. They just leave early;
* The cost of treatment in America is about $30,000 per month, with 3-6 months of inpatient care needed for definitive treatment. Health insurance companies do not usually cover the cost;
*  As an outpatient, costs can be upwards of $100,000 or more.

Among adolescents, anorexia is the 3rd most common chronic illness, with 95% of girls with eating disorders being from 12 and 25 years of age. 50% of girls age 11 – 13 think they are overweight, and 80% of 13-year old girls have been on diets to lose weight. Who are they losing weight for? How can a 12-year old suffer from anorexia?

Anorexia is a self-imposed starvation. It is serious, life-threatening, and the underlying cause is usually emotional. People try to control what they can when everything seems out of control, and eating seems to be one of the things that teens think they can control.

Risk factors for anorexia include having a negative self-image, having in anxiety disorder as a child, having eating problems during early childhood, and trying to be perfect or live up to unrealistic expectations when a father wants his daughter to be a surgeon, and she wants to be a singer. The thing we can do is to look for warning signs: she leaves after eating dinner to go to the bathroom, she hardly eats at all, and she observes others that are too skinny, envious of their bodies. Helplines and hotlines exist. Let's see what we can do to make this problem better. 

Marilyn Monroe said, "To all the girls that think you're ugly because you're not a size 0, you're the beautiful one. It's society that's ugly." Quote on Goodreads


Medical Disclaimer: Contact 911 if you have a medical emergency. Not responsible for errors in numbers, non-working numbers, or numbers that have changed since the time of this writing. Apologies but we are just doing our best to help.


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HELPFUL RESOURCES FOR TEENS, WOMEN, and THE ELDERLY

 ✔ = 24/7 HOUR HOTLINE

Resource
Phone
AARP
888-687-2277;
AARP
Spanish: 877-342-2277
ACOG
202-863-2518 ET
Adult Day Services
800-308-0179
Adult Day Health Care
877-222-8387

AIDS Hotline
800-342-AIDS
Alcohol and Drug
Helpline
800-527-5344
Al-Anon and AlaTeen
888-425-2666
Alternatives to Domestic Violence
Crisis Line: 951-683-0829
America’s Pregnancy Hotline
888-672-2296
American Diabetes Association
800-342-2383
Americans with Disabilities Act
800-949-4232
American Sexual Health Assoc.
919-361-8400
Anorexia Nervosa and Associated Disorders National Association
650-577-1330
Anti-Defamation League
212-885-7700
Bill Wilson Center
408-850-6125
Center for Assistive Technology
213-371-2354
Animals Hotline
310-392-5153
Australian Government GP Helpline
800-022-222
Baby Surrender Hotline
877-222-9723
Battered Women’s Justice Project
800-903-0111 X1
Boys Town
800-448-3000
Bureau of Indian Affairs Indian Country Child Abuse Hotline
800-633-5155
California HIV Information
800-367-2437
California Smoker’s Helpline
800-nobutts
Campaign for our Children
Teen Guide
Care in the Home:
88-413-0880
Caregiver Magazine:
800-829-2734
Childhelp USA
Child abuse hotline
800-422-4453
Child Welfare Information Gateway
800-394-3366
CDC
800-232-4636
Prevention (CDC) Colorectal cancer statistics.
800-232-4636
CDC and Prevention (CDC)
800-232-4636

CDC National AIDS/Sexually Transmitted Disease Hotline
800-342-2347
CDC National Prevention Information Network
1-800-458-5231

CDC National STD Hotline
1-800-227-8922
CDC and Prevention, Smoking & Tobacco Use
800-232-4636
CDC and Prevention, Stroke
800-CDC-INFO
CDC and Prevention: Traumatic Brain Injury.
800-CDC-INFO
National Child Abuse Hotline and Referral Service
1-800-422-4453
Child Find
800-292-9688
Child Protection
800-540-4000
CHOICE Menstruation
800-84-TEENS


Cocaine and Crack Helpline
800-COCAINE
Cocaine Anonymous
800-347-8998
Colon Cancer

CTIS Pregnancy Risk Information
800-532-3749
Cost of Assisted Living, ALFA
703-894-1805
Crisis Call Center
800-273-8255
Crime Stoppers, MN
800-255-1301
Crime Stoppers, TX
800-245-8477
Covenant House
800-999-9999
Depression and Bipolar Support Alliance
800-826-3632
Domestic Violence Hotline
800-799-SAFE;

Don’t CUT
800-DON’T-CUT
Eastern Virginia Pregnancy Hotline
800-552-1861
Eating Disorders Association, National
800-931-2237
Eldercare:
800-677-1116
Eldercare Locator,
800-677-1116
Eldercare Online
800-677-1116
Emergency Contraceptive Pill
888-668-2528
Domestic Violence Hotline
800-799-7233
Elder Abuse Hotline
877-477-3646 
Drugs
800-729-6686 
Eating Disorders
866-883-9801
Eating Disorders
Falls
Familial Dysautonomia
800-841-1515
Family Caregiver Alliance.
415-434-3388
Family Care Navigator: CCAL
732-212-9036
Federal Trade Commission Identity Theft Hotline
877-ID-THEFT
Fertility: Dr. Stanley West
212-206-1435
Find Child of America
800-I AM LOST
Florida HIV/AIDS Hotline
800-FLA-AIDS
Funding for Elder Falls Prevention
Gastroparesis 
202-479-0735

Gay/Lesbian Issues
800-2246-7743
Geriatrics and Extended Care
800-827-1000
Hearing Aid Helpline
800-521-5247
HIV/STD Hotline
1-800-243-2437
TTY: 1-800-782-0423
Homemods.org.
213-740-1364
Hormone Replacement Therapy
212-206-1435
Hot Flashes
212-206-1435
Hot Flashes with Cold Front
877-694-2210
Human Trafficking Hotline, National
888-373-7888
Hysterectomy Complications
212-206-1435
The Hysterectomy Hoax
212-206-1435
Insure Kids Now
1-877-543-7669
Juvenile Diabetes Foundation
800-533-CURE
KARA for grieving death or illness
650-321-5272
Lavender Youth Recreation and Information Center, LYRIC
800-246-PRIDE or 800-246-7743
Legal Zoom
1-800-962-7490
Brain Injury Association of America
800-444-6443
Lupron-P Nursing Support
1-855-587-7667
Marijuana Anonymous
800-766-6779
Menopause
212-206-1435
Mommies Enduring Neonatal Death
972-506-9000
Mothers Against Drunk Driving
800-GET-MADD
Mystery Diagnosis

Narcotics Anonymous
800-477-6291
National Alliance on Mental Illness
800-950-6264
NCCAM
888-644-6226
National Center for Missing and Exploited Children
800-843-5678
National Clearinghouse for Alcohol and Drug
800-729-6686 
National Council on Aging (NCOA).
800-677-1116
National Council on Aging (NCOA).
800-677-1116
National Council on Alcoholism
800-NCA-CALL
National Crime Prevention Council
800-NCPC-911
National Crime Victim Institute
Referral Line
888-768-6556
National Domestic Violence Hotline
800-799-7233
National Herpes Hotline
919-361-8488
National Hopeline
800-442-4673
National STD Hotline
800-227-8922 or 800-342-2437
National Hotline for Missing and Exploited Children
800-843-5678
National HPV and Cervical Cancer Hotline
919-361-4848
National Human Trafficking Hotline
888-3737-888

National Institute on Aging
301-496-1752
National Resource Center on Domestic Violence
800-537-2238 X5

Nebraska Aids Project, NE
800-782-2437
Needs of Caregivers:
Toolkit
New Jersey Domestic Violence Hotline
1-800-572-7233
North American Menopause Society
Nursing Home Solutions
440-442-7550
Menstrual Disorders
1-877-986-9472
Mental Health Access Center
800-854-7771
Company Nurse Injury Hotline
888-817-9282
National Center for Missing and Exploited Children
800-643-5678
National Runaway Switchboard
800-621-4000
National Sexual Assault Hotline
800-656-HOPE
Nurse Hotline
1-877-810-4236 
Nurse Hotline
Osteopenia and Osteoporosis 
800-337-4770
Parkinson Educational Program
800-344-7872
Poison Control, American Association
800-222-1222
Office of the Inspector General, VA
800-488-8422
Ovarian Conservation
212-206-1435
Overeaters Anonymous
505-891-2664
Parent Helpline, National
855-427-2736
PFLAG
202-467-8180
Planned Parenthood
877-4ME-2ASK
Planned Parenthood for Teens
800-230-PLAN
Rape, Abuse, Incest National Network
800-656-4673
Runaway Switchboard, National
800-786-2929
Sanctuary Crisis Line, CA
800-548-5222
SafeHorizon for Domestic Violence
800-621-4673
SAMHSA
800-662-4357
SAMHSA Bilingual Treatment Referral Line en Espanol
800-662-4357
SAMHSA Disaster Distress Helpline
800-985-5990
Self Abuse Finally Ends
800-366-8288
Sexual Assault Hotline
800-656-4673
ShineSH
1300-883-793
Shoplifters Anonymous
Sickle Cell Anemia
800-848-9595
Smoking
800-662-8887
Substance Abuse Treatment Locator
800-662-HELP
Surgical Menopause
202-216-1435
Student Emergency Care Hotline
866-315-8756
National Suicide Hotline
800-SUICIDE
Suicide Prevention
800-273-8255
Teenage Health Resource
888-711-TEEN
Teen Dating Abuse Helpline
866-331-9474

Teenage Health Resources Line
888-711-8336
Teen Relationship
650-259-8136
The Trevor Project
866-488-7386
Uterine Cancer
888-399-8121
Uterine Cancer
877-986-9472
Veterans Crisis Line
800-273-8255 Press 1
Virginia HIV, STD, and Viral Hepatitis Hotline
1-800-533-4148
Weightwatchers
800-651-6000
Wisconsin Handgun Hotline
608-266-1221
Women’s Care Center
877-908-2341
Women, Infants and Children
California: 1-888-942-9675
Womens Health

800-994-9662 (TDD: 888-220-5446)
Women’s Resource Center
877-986-9472
Women’s Sports Foundation, NY
800-227-3988
California Youth Crisis Hotline
800-843-5200
✔ = 24/7 HOUR HOTLINE

http://drmargaretaranda.tateauthor.com/other-works/


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Age 31: The Color Blue

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