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Vegetarians Mask Eating Disorders
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| Wednesday, April 22nd, 2009 | | CWK Producer |
“Vegetarianism as a first step toward weight loss is often a very disordered, unhealthy direction.”
– Page Love, registered dietician
It may sizzle like real meat, but the sausage is made of soy. Eighteen-year-old Page Campbell has been a vegetarian since she was 15.
“I was just like, ‘I don’t want to eat that anymore,’ and I realized I never liked the flavor of meat, unless it was extremely doctored,” Page says.
She says that while choosing to be a vegetarian was about being healthier, “It was never about the weight.”
But she may be an exception. A new study in the Journal of the American Dietetic Association finds that, compared to kids who eat meat, teen vegetarians are twice as likely to have an eating disorder or are using unhealthy weight control methods like diet pills.
Registered dietitian, Page Love says one conclusion is, “that the primary reason adolescents are choosing vegetarian eating styles is they want to lose weight.”
Love says if your child is thinking about giving up meat, start asking questions.
“If it’s to lose weight,” says Love, “explore what that’s about because vegetarianism as a first step toward weight loss is often a very disordered, unhealthy direction because generally they’re doing other disordered behaviors, too.”
Another challenge is making sure teen vegetarians are getting all of the protein and nutrients they need. Even those with healthy intentions may need their parents’ help.
“And I think it’s very important that when you have a kid that wants to be a vegetarian, that you do research about what needs to be eaten and what kinds of things can be consumed, in order to get the right nutrients,” Campbell says.
What We Need To Know
A study by researchers at College of Saint Benedict and Saint John's University, found that twice as many teens and nearly double the number of young adults who had been vegetarians reported having used unhealthy means to control their weight, compared with those who had never been vegetarians. Those means included using diet pills, laxatives and diuretics and inducing vomiting to control weight.
The researchers collected data on over 2,000 teens and young adults. They classified participants as current, former or never vegetarians and divided them into two age groups: teens (15 to 18) and young adults (19-23).
About 21% of teens who had been vegetarians said they used unhealthy weight-control behaviors, compared with 10% of teens who had never been vegetarians. Among young adults, more former vegetarians (27%) had used such measures than current vegetarians (16%) or those who'd never been vegetarians (15%), the study found.
Among teenagers, binge eating and loss of control over eating habits was reported by 21% of current and 16% of former vegetarians but only 4% of those who'd never followed a vegetarian diet. For young adults, more vegetarians (18%) said they engaged in binge eating with loss of control than did former vegetarians (9%) and those who were never vegetarians (5%), the study found.
Whether a teen is vegetarian or not, parents need to be aware of the warning signs of an eating disorder. The American Psychiatric Association says the following signs may signal an eating disorder:
- Refusal to maintain weight at a normal weight for height and age
- Intense fear of weight gain
- Unrealistic or distorted ideas about how one’s body looks
- Strange behavior around meals, including rituals
- Missing menstrual periods
- Withdrawing emotionally from people
- Anxiety around meal times
- Bingeing (eating large amounts of food very rapidly)
- Purging (getting rid of food by vomiting, excessive exercising or using laxatives or diuretics)
If you suspect a member of your family has an eating disorder, seek professional help immediately.
Resources
- American Psychiatric Association
- College of Saint Benedict and Saint John's University
- Journal of the American Dietetic Association
- Support, Concern and Resources for Eating Disorders (S.C.a.R.E.D.)
