Health Officials Aim to Bring Awareness Around Eating Disorders

ST. CLOUD (WJON News) -- An annual campaign meant to educate the public about the realities of eating disorders kicks off this week. This is National Eating Disorders Awareness Week.

Zayda Ewing is a Physician Assistant at CentraCare and says the most common eating disorder in our country is binge-eating.

A lot of people find that as a surprising answer because  social media, movies, etc have over emphasized bulimia and anorexia, but at the end of the day binge-eating disorder is the most common.

Ewing says some warning signs of possible eating disorders is someone skipping meals, missing for long periods after a meal, or cutting out food they typically eat.

She says oftentimes people don't see how severe their eating disorder is.

There is a term for it called Anosognosia, which means they lack the ability to see the severity of what's going on. It's the same thing that happens with patients with schizophrenia or bipolar disorder, where they live in a world where nothing is wrong with what they are doing.

Ewing says almost all eating disorders are brought on by the idea of wanting to be skinny or fit a certain body shape.

She says an eating disorder doesn't just affect the patient.

These eating behaviors cause issues with family, friends, social life, work, and your mental health where you may feel suicidal or have a mental health crisis as a result.

Ewing says one silver lining is that almost all eating disorders can be corrected with the proper nutrition plan, but ultimately it will be up to the patient to decide whether they want that help in making a lifestyle change.

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