Eating Disorders: A Teenage Girls' Epidemic

According to The Renfrew Center Foundation for Eating Disorders (RCFED), as many as 24 million Americans currently struggle with an eating disorder. What's worse? Nearly all of these events are adolescent girls and young women. The RCFED's troubling release finds that 90 percent of the 24 million afflicted by extreme eating habits and compulsive behaviors are females between the ages 12-25.

According to the Public Health Service's office in women's health, anorexia nervosa, possibly the most destructive eating disorder, is currently considered the third most common illness affecting adolescent girls. 

Most Prevalent Eating Disorders Among Teenage Girls:

• Bulimia Nervosa - Purging food immediately or soon after consuming it. 
• Anorexia Nervosa - The afflicted individual abstains from eating whatsoever. 
• Binge-eating disorder - Periods of eating behavior that consists of abstaining from food then compulsively consuming it
• Purging Disorder - This is similar to that of bulimia, where the afflicted individual purges when they feel as though they need to lose weight (not restricted to immediately purging after eating).
• Night Eating Syndrome - A condition that combines overeating at night with sleep problems. With NES, you eat a lot after dinner, have trouble sleeping, and eat when you wake up at night.

What Causes Eating Disorders to Occur in Teenage Girls

An eating disorder can substantiate itself in adolescent females for a variety of reasons. Biological circumstances, mental illness, and our culture's warped perception of the female form all operate to develop unhealthy eating habits. 

Honestly, even the foremost experts can't reach a consensus on the leading cause of an eating disorder. However, mental health professionals can identify several factors that may increase a teenage girl's likelihood of developing unhealthy eating patterns.

Even leading experts don't know the primary cause of eating disorders or even if such a single cause exists. However, mental health professionals can accurately identify factors that may increase a young girl's likelihood of developing an eating disorder.

Despite commonly held beliefs, eating disorders seldom have anything to do with one's compulsion to be skinny. Eating disorders are mostly not a choice; rather, they merely indicate a deep-rooted and underlying psychical issue. 

The uncertainty doesn't stop there; according to eating behavior specialists, it is often infeasible to tell whether or not a person has an eating disorder or not.

While the misinterpreted view of eating disorders may only add to a parent's concern, having an in-depth understanding of their child may be the most effective and practical form of prevention.

ATTENTION PARENTS: If You Think Your Child Suffers From An Eating Disorder, Act Immediately!

If you are the parent of an adolescent girl who you suspect is living with an eating disorder, it is urgent that you seek help for them immediately. The good news is that, while severe, this condition is also highly treatable.

That said, it is critical to intervene as early as possible. If an undiagnosed or untreated eating disorder goes overlooked, it is all the more plausible your child will endure a life-long condition and even potentially fatal consequences.

According to the foremost experts on eating behaviors, the most dependable and most efficient way to treat a mental health disorder as critical as an eating disorder is residential treatment. 

Of course, choosing to send your daughter to an unfamiliar place for months at a time may be the most challenging choice a parent in your situation has most likely ever made. It is also a declaration that gives your child the greatest chance of full rehabilitation, and most importantly, the best opportunity they have of living a rich and fulfilling life. 

The method of evaluating troubled teen programs, therapeutic boarding schools, or residential treatment centers to send your daughter to is a daunting one. You might even come to the point that you wish you had a crystal ball to help you prophesy which program will be the most advantageous to your daughter.