Panel Discusses Eating Disorders and Prevention

About 15 percent of girls in their teens through their early 20s are suffering from anorexia, and health officials say it's important to model good eating behavior to help prevent an eating disorder.

The Millburn Municipal Alliance Committee, the United Way of Millburn-Short Hills, the Millburn Special Eduation Committee and the National Eating Disorders Association sponsored a panel to talk about eating disorders and what parents can do to help prevent them or assist their child if they are battling one.

"Prevention is tough," said Deborah Belfatto, a Summit resident and member of the National Eating Disorders Association Board of Directors. "Early intervention is the answer ... Our society makes it very difficult. How do we ask about it?"

Belfatto's daughter suffered from an eating disorder, and she told the people assembled there's never a "slam dunk" solution to it. "It's an out of control ball that will make you feel like an incompetent parent," she said.

It's important for parents who has a child suffering from an eating disorder to find the right treatments and resources, which NEDA can help provide, but it's also important to find support for themselves.

There are three types of eating disorders—anorexia, bulimia and binge eating disorder—and those with an eating disorder can go between all three, said Pam Brodie, clinical supervisor and day program team leader at the Renfrew Center in Ridgewood. There are still a number of myths about eating disorders, she said, like that it's not an illness or it's not common or it's a lifestyle choice, she said. But it's important to take an eating disorder seriously even if there's not an official diagnosis yet, she said.

It is possible for someone suffering from an eating disorder to recover and it's even expected, Brodie said, speaking about how people who have recovered will come back and talk to patients at the Renfrew Center. "There are so many of those (recovery) stories and it gives everyone hope," she said.

Belfatto said there may have been some sort of trauma the child does not want to reveal. The eating disorder is a result of them dealing with the trauma internally, she said. Brodie said they assume the disorder is a survival mechanism, but there needs to be a better way to cope. "We teach them better coping skills," she said.

Brodie said the practices of eating disorders are usually done with "tremendous guilt and shame." The person may slip into isolation, she said, but a parent may not notice at first. "Some (parents) will live with it for years and are surprised when they find out it's been happening," she said.

Skylar Griggs, dietitian and nutrition counselor at Renfrew Center, said it can be more difficult to notice bulimia than anorexia because the person is still taking in calories before they purge. And purging may not be just vomiting, she said. It could also be excessive exercising or laxatives use.

It's important for families to normalize eating and food, Griggs said, and family meals is when parents can model appropriate behavior. "You don't want to label food as good or bad," she said. "Everything is O.K. in moderation ... You have to be careful not to set an example of what you should look like."

Parents can have a conversation saying something is a preferred, healthy choice over another, but it's acceptable to have something less healthy once in awhile, she said. "It's important to make that distinction," she said. "We need to get away from the black and white thinking."

Belfatto said dramatic shifts in eating habits can be a way to pick up a child's eating disorder, like if they shift from being a vegetarian. When her daughter was preferring some foods over others consistently, it became an indication of an eating disorder, she said.

Griggs, Brodie and Belfatto said parents should ask a child why they are doing something with their eating habits. If they want to become a vegetarian, a parent should ask why, they said. Griggs said it's important to have the dialogue on why they are shifting their eating habits, although it will be a challenge.

Also, a child who says they are full may not be full. They could be suffering from an emotional problem that makes them not want to eat, Griggs said. Is the habit because of something physical or emotional?

Brodie said having a power struggle over food, though, will not solve any problems. It will create hostility rather than being supportive, she said.

Griggs said other hints to an eating disorder could be an increase in drinking fluids, excessive gum chewing, always being cold, excessive hair growth on the chest and arms, deep circles around the eyes and dry hair.

Also once someone's body weight is 80 percent of what is ideal, their brain will not function as well, she said. Brodie said parents may see a slip in academics, but they also will have a difficult time staying on task or being organized. "It's easy to see when they're slipping," Griggs said.

National Eating Disorders Awareness Week is Feb. 20-26. Find out more about it on the NEDA website.