William Gladden Foundation

Welcome to the William Gladden Foundation library of educational materials about Childhood Eating Disorders. These publications are FREE to read on-line or download to hardcopy and reproduce.

The blur of media attention and government studies concerning the eating habits and eating disorders of Americans presents a confusing picture. On one hand, studies find that 13% of children between the ages of six and 11 - and 14% of adolescents aged 12 to 19 - are overweight. Conversely, other studies estimate that 40% of nine-year-olds have dieted, and children as young as preschoolers are expressing the need to diet. It is little wonder, then, that millions of Americans, including young people, are caught in a see-saw battle between consuming too much and eating too little.

Anorexia Nervosa, by Cheryl Grady Mercier, M.A., and Waln K. Brown, Ph.D., 3,667 words, 16 pages. Our culture says, 'Thin is beautiful. Thin is smart. Thin is in. Be thin.' Thousands of impressionable young people ' mostly young women ' decide to do just that. They diet and exercise to attain this ideally thin body. Generally, they stay within reason, but not always. Usually, the brightest and most agreeable children are the ones who decide not just to be thin but also to be the best at being thin, and it becomes an obsession, a disease known as 'Anorexia Nervosa.' An Anorexic stops seeing her own body objectively. She ' usually ' she because 90% to 95% of anorexics are female ' sees only a fat, imperfect self even in the face of the near-skeleton that stares back at her from the mirror. Fat is bad. She will not be bad. This fierce dedication to starvation is, to the victim, the height of virtue. To the parents, siblings, teachers, school counselors and friends, it is terrifying. They see the child or young woman so obsessed that she rarely eats. She vigorously exercises for hours. She agonizes over eating small amounts of food. She looks gaunt and emaciated. Family members are right to be concerned. This disease ' and disease it is ' can be fatal if not arrested in time, which is the purpose of this publication. We write it in the hope that parents, families, friends, school officials and teachers will learn the signs of anorexia and guide its victims to arrest it in time. We hope that, with the facts, you will be able to ignore the false reassurances of people with anorexia ' 'Everything is under control.' Since anorexia can lead to serious complications, even death, the lives of many young people can depend on this knowledge and understanding. The good news is that early detection and treatment usually achieve a full recovery, though it may take some time for the person with anorexia complete recovery, physically and psychologically.

Bulimia, by Cheryl Grady Mercier, M.A., and Waln K. Brown, Ph.D., 3,564 words, 16 pages. 'Thin is in.' The desire to have a thin and trim body has influenced millions of Americans to diet. They read magazine articles about dieting, buy diet books, go to diet doctors, join diet programs and count calories so they can lose weight and have thin bodies. Others, usually young women, find a 'better' way to lose weight. The pursuit of being thin becomes an obsession that begins when she breaks her diet. She is overcome with guilt and has the idea of 'getting rid of the bad food' by vomiting or using laxatives. At first this approach seems to work and she discovers that she can eat almost anything and as much as she wants. She only has to get rid of the 'bad food' when she is done eating. This behavior can continue for an extended period, occurring occasionally or frequently. The binges may get closer to each other and happen when she is feeling 'down,' upset, stressed or disturbed. The eating behavior helps to fill an emotional need and the purging behavior helps to avert the physical consequences of eating. The bulimic knows that her behavior is abnormal, but find that she cannot stop. Her binge-purge behaviors have become an addiction. She begins to plan her binges. She steals food from family or roommates. Binges ' and planning them ' begin to occupy her time. Other addictions, such as alcohol and other drugs, may also arise. Because of their addictions, some bulimics experience financial problems. It takes money to buy the food needed to binge. Family, friends and social relationships recede in importance. Binging becomes all-consuming. The bulimic hides her binges ' often quite cleverly. At some point, however, family and friends take notice and become concerned. Maybe it is the food disappearing, or the money or regularly excusing herself after meals ' and they are right to be concerned. This disease poses potential health problems and can be life threatening.

Childhood Eating Disorders, by Cheryl Grady Mercier, M.A., and Waln K. Brown, Ph.D., 3,633 words, 16 pages. Any discussion of eating disorders becomes a difficult task when attempting to distinguish one disorder from another - anorexia nervosa, bulimia and compulsive overeating. All three share certain symtpoms and characteristics. Differenting them becomes a delicate matter - often one more of degree than difference of symptom type. The three are similar in that they are not so much about eating and food as they are about control of one's life and environment. All three share the obsession with thinness that pervades our culture. Additionally, nearly all young people with eating disorders have low self-esteem. Besides having serious psychological components, these disorders can also have dangerous side effects. They range from digestive problems to metabolic disturbances and even to death if the eating-disordered child does not seek help or cannot cooperate in fighting the disorder. This publication provides concerned parents, counselors, teachers, friends and citizens a general overview of eating disorders. It covers what they are, how they develop and what kinds of treatment are available. In all this information, we cannot lose sight of the primary focus ' the child in the grasp of a potentially dangerous eating disorder. Above all, the purpose of this publication and any other treatment approach must be to help that young person find her or his way back to emotional health.

Understanding & Overcoming Your Eating Disorder, by Waln K. Brown, Ph.D., 642 words, 3 pages. Eating disorders are disturbances in eating behavior that can harm physical and mental health. Although the symptoms center on eating behavior, food and appetite are not the main problems. A person with an eating disorder is 'acting-out' other serious concerns or problems through food and eating. The exact cause(s) of eating disorders is unknown. However, food is not the central issue. The three most common eating disorders include anorexia nervosa, bulimia nervosa and compulsive overeating. Anorexia nervosa is an emotional problem during the course of which a large amount of body weight is lost. Anorexics deeply fear becoming fat. Bulimia nervosa is an emotional problem in which there are periods of binge eating followed by some type of purging or severe dieting. Bulimics often experience low self-esteem and depression. They usually know that their eating is out-of-control and abnormal. Compulsive overeaters use food as a response to stress. They use food like some people use alcohol, tobacco or drugs to get rid of anger, depression or other emotions. Compulsive overeaters tend to alternate between overeating and dieting. They may binge on food, especially carbohydrates and sweets, but do not purge.