Myths About Eating Disorders

February 1, 2023

Welcome to The Balanced Dietitian Podcast! I hope that you are doing so wonderful. Happy February! Today is February 1st! How are we feeling entering the second month of 2023? Oftentimes, as we come to the second month of the year, the high of January, has ended and it can be a really hard time. February can be one of the tricky months.

Today I want to talk about eating disorders because from February 1st-7th it is Eating Disorders Awareness Week here in Canada. Today I am going to talk about certain myths and facts that are not known about eating disorders.

In this episode, we discuss:

[05:59] Myth: Eating disorders do not have a body size

[08:01] Myth: Eating disorders are not really serious

[15:55] Myth: It is easy to tell if someone has an eating disorder

[18:31] Fact: There is no one cause for an eating disorder

[21:34] Fact: Different types of eating disorders

[27:37] Fact: You can recover

In this episode, we discuss:

[05:59] Myth: Eating disorders have a body size

The first eating disorder myth that we see all the time is that an eating disorder has a body size. The majority of folks who have an eating disorder don’t actually live in thin bodies. People of all sizes, shapes, colors, abilities, ages, and genders can be impacted by eating disorders. It does not have a look. This is probably the most important fact.

[08:01] Myth: Eating disorders are not really serious

The second myth is that eating disorders are not really serious and are maybe just a choice or a thing of vanity. Eating disorders are serious, chronic illnesses. They are a mental illness. It’s not about look, it’s not about attention, it’s not a choice that someone is making. It is a very real illness. There are two things I want to share on this in terms of the seriousness of eating disorders. First of all, is the mortality rate of eating disorders. Eating disorders are the number one mental illness and have the highest risk of mortality. This can be from the eating disorder itself, or it can be dying by suicide.

It is so important for us to keep that in mind when we think of the severity of eating disorders.

[15:55] Myth: It is easy to tell if someone has an eating disorder

The last myth that I want us to talk about is that we can tell if someone has an eating disorder and it is easy to tell if someone has an eating disorder. That is not true. Most people actually suffer with their eating disorder in silence. Most people who have eating disorders, you would never be able to tell by looking at them.

[18:31] Fact: There is no one cause for an eating disorder

The first fact that I really want to talk about is that there is no one cause for an eating disorder. They are like an onion with multiple layers. There’s so many reasons why someone develops an eating disorder. We do see that there are definitely some biological factors in terms of our own DNA or genetics. Our sex and age can contribute as well as our history. We also have our social factors and some psychological factors too. There’s so many factors that all together combine to create this perfect storm to create an eating disorder. The environment we are in also plays a very big part.

[21:34] Fact: Different types of eating disorders

Another fact around eating disorders is the understanding that there are different types of eating disorders. We learn a lot about anorexia, which is a very restrictive diet, eating disorders, and binge eating. Binge eating is making a big wave right now. There are so many different nuisances where we struggle with our body.

[27:37] Fact: You can recover

I wanted to finish up with this one because sometimes when we have an eating disorder it feels like it is so hard and heavy and takes so long. I want you to know that you can recover. It is hard but you can recover.