With increasing frequency, parents, teachers and professional counselors are requesting factual information from Rimrock Foundation regarding problems they're seeing associated with eating disorders. Our purpose in providing a fact sheet on eating disorders is to lend credible information to better answering frequently asked questions as well as dispelling some of the myths most often associated with this medical problem. We believe this paper provides valuable information to individuals suffering from eating disorders, as well as to family members and friends trying to help someone cope with this illness.

Eating disorder problems

Each year millions of people in the United States are affected by serious and sometimes life-threatening eating disorders. The vast majority--more than 90 percent--of those afflicted with eating disorders are adolescent and young adult women. One reason that women in this age group are particularly vulnerable to eating disorders is their tendency to go on strict diets to achieve an "ideal" figure. Researchers have found that such stringent dieting can play a key role in triggering eating disorders.

Approximately 1 percent of adolescent girls develop anorexia nervosa, a dangerous condition in which they can literally starve themselves to death. The medical consequences of anorexia nervosa can be severe. One in ten cases leads to death from starvation, cardiac arrest, other medical complications, or suicide. Fortunately, increasing awareness of the dangers of eating disorders--sparked by medical studies and extensive media coverage of the illness--has led many people to seek help. Nevertheless, some people with eating disorders refuse to admit that they have a problem and do not get treatment. Family members and friends can help recognize the problem and encourage the person to seek treatment. In recent National Institute of Mental Health supported research, scientists have found that people with eating disorders who get early treatment have a better chance of full recovery than those who wait years before getting help.

Anorexia nervosa

People who intentionally starve themselves suffer from an eating disorder called anorexia nervosa-People who have this disorder often develop elaborate rituals around food, continue to lose weight, and can literally starve themselves to death. They also may exercise excessively. The disorder, which usually begins in young people around the time of puberty, involves extreme weight loss--at least 15 percent below the individual's normal body weight. Many people with the disorder look emaciated but are convinced they are overweight. Sometimes they must be hospitalized to prevent starvation.

Medical complications

Medical complications most normally associated with anorexia nervosa include breathing, pulse and blood pressure rates drop and thyroid function slows and the body's electrolyte balance becomes dangerously unstable. Hair and nails may grow brittle. Similarly, skin may dry, yellow and develop a covering of soft hair called lanugo. Mild anemia, swollen joints, reduced muscle mass and lightheadedness also commonly occur. Severe cases also lead to brittle bones that easily break as a result of calcium loss. Heart failure is a risk for those who use drugs to stimulate vomiting, bowel movements or urination. Starvation can also damage the heart and brain.

Case study

Jennifer developed anorexia nervosa when she was 16. A rather shy, studious teenager, she tried hard to please everyone. She had an attractive appearance, but was slightly overweight. Like many teenager girls, she was interested in boys but concerned that she wasn't pretty enough to get their attention. When her father jokingly remarked that she would never get a date if she didn't take off some weight, she took him seriously and began to diet relentlessly-never believing she was thin enough even when she became extremely underweight.

Soon after the pounds started dropping off, Jennifer's menstrual periods stopped. As anorexia tightened its grip, she became obsessed with dieting and food and developed strange eating rituals. Every day she weighed all the food she would eat on a kitchen scale, cutting solids into minuscule pieces and precisely measuring liquids. She would then put her daily ration in small containers, lining them up in neat rows. She also exercised compulsively, even after she weakened and became faint.

No one was able to convince Jennifer that she was in danger. Finally, her doctor insisted that she be hospitalized and carefully monitored for treatment of her illness. While in the hospital, she secretly continued her exercise regimen in the bathroom, doing strenuous routines of sit-ups and knee-bends. It took several hospitalizations then referral to Rimrock Foundation for Jennifer to face and solve her problems.

Jennifer's case is not unusual. People with anorexia typically starve themselves, even though they suffer terribly from hunger pains. One of the most frightening aspects of this disorder is that people with anorexia continue to think they are overweight even when they are bone-thin. For reasons not yet understood, they become terrified of gaining any weight.

Food and weight become obsessions. For some, the compulsiveness shows up in strange eating rituals or the refusal to eat in front of others. It is not uncommon for people with anorexia to collect recipes and prepare gourmet feasts for family and friends, but not partake in the meals themselves. Like Jennifer, they may adhere to strict exercise routines to keep off weight. Loss of monthly menstrual periods is typical in women with the disorder. Men with anorexia often become impotent.

Helping the person with an eating disorder

Treatment can save the life of someone with an eating disorder. Friends, relatives, teachers and physicians all play an important role in helping the ill person start and stay with a treatment program. Encouragement, caring and persistence, as well as information about eating disorders and their dangers may be needed to convince the ill person to get help, stick with treatment or try again.

Since the very early 1980's Rimrock Foundation has been delivering care to patients with eating disorders through our multidisciplinary team-based staffing approach that permits treatment in a safe, caring setting. Our outcome studies indicate these patients can generally be expected to achieve positive outcomes particularly when inpatient treatment is combined with aftercare services in the patient's home community.

For further information about our effective eating disorder treatment programs, call Althea Bartlett, Admissions Supervisor at 1-800-227-3953 or 1-406-248-3175. For more educational information on eating disorders, contact the Library at 1-800-227-3953 or 1-406-248-3175.