Eating disorders, including anorexia and bulimia, might have their roots in childhood, including development of poor eating habits or early trauma, a Taipei-based psychiatrist said yesterday.
A 16-year-old female high-school student who lost her father in an accident and was sent by her mother to boarding school abroad three years ago, was found to have anorexia when she came back to Taiwan about a year ago, said Chen Chia-chu (陳家駒), chief director of the department of psychiatry at Shu-tien Memorial Hospital.
The girl also had frequent crying spells, constipation and irregular periods, Chen said.
Photo courtesy of Shu-tien Memorial Hospital
The mother talked to her daughter and found that she was a victim of verbal bullying in school, which caused her to be excessively concerned about her weight, so she often skipped meals and only drank water.
When the mother asked the girl to keep a record of her daily food intake, she began experiencing symptoms of bulimia and anorexia, often binge eating and later regretting it, then refusing to eat, Chen said.
The mother took her daughter to Chen’s clinic to seek help.
During consultation, he learned that the student has a close relationship with her family, but since childhood, her mother often forced her to eat food that she disliked, ordering and threatening her to “eat faster or I will take it away,” or “I’m going to be upset if you don’t eat it,” stressing her out, Chen said.
The girl developed poor eating habits from a young age as she often felt anxious during meal time, the doctor said.
Her anxiety was compounded by significant changes in her life three years ago, including the loss of her father, living abroad alone and peer pressure from classmates, causing her to develop eating disorders, he said.
People with eating disorders are more likely to be very concerned about the perceived flaws in their physical appearance, with some binge eating, followed by induced vomiting or using laxatives to avoid gaining weight, Chen said.
Eating disorders can put a person at a higher risk of malnutrition, obesity, drug abuse, excessive drinking, diabetes, metabolic syndrome, gastrointestinal diseases and other mental illnesses, he said, adding that studies on anorexia nervosa suggest a mortality rate of between 5 and 25 percent.
A person’s eating habits and interaction with family during mealtime are part of their social development and can affect their emotional processing ability and character development, Chen said, urging parents to create a more cheerful atmophere when having meals with their children.
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