Behavioral or eating behavior disorders are one of the most common chronic diseases in adolescence. They are characterized by presenting a defined alteration in the pattern of intake or behavior over weight control, which leads the adolescent to suffer physical and psychosocial deterioration.
Today we are going to analyze the main disorders of eating behavior in adolescence, and the signs that should put parents on alert. Because early detection and treatment are keys to avoid associated complications.
Anorexia nervosa
According to the AEP, anorexia nervosa is a psychosomatic disease, characterized by a alteration of body image and eating disorder, the main feature being the adolescent's refusal to feed properly due to an irrational fear of gaining weight.
Even though the number of male adolescents with anorexia is increasing in recent decades, the incidence among females is ten times higher, being the mean age of onset between 12 and 14 years old.
In Babies and more Adolescents: these are the biggest risks to your health, according to the WHOIf we observe unusual behavioral changes In our child, or any of these symptoms occur, we should consult with the pediatrician to make the appropriate assessment:
You skip one or several meals a day, have semi-weekly periods alternated with normal food intake, or avoid eating certain foods that you used to eat.
We observe an anomalous manipulation of food, such as hiding them, washing them a lot, crumbling them to waste part of them, removing the fat ...
Talk frequently about your weight or the calories in food.
Performs strange rituals during the meal, such as compulsive water intake, exaggerated chewing, excessive attention to the food intake of the rest of the family ...
Some teenagers present purgative anorexia, that is, they resort to purges to avoid gaining weight, such as self-provocation of vomiting, use of laxatives or extreme physical exercise.
As for the physical aspects, parents should pay special attention if we observe that our son has lost weight or you always saw in baggy clothes. Likewise, if we have a girl, you should alert us to the delay of your first menstruation, or the absence of at least three consecutive cycles.
In general, the adolescent who falls into anorexia is a very dissatisfied person with himself and with his physique, and also tends to present a high degree of perfectionism, academic success being common among them.
Bulimia nervosa
Unlike anorexia, Bulimin is characterized by the presence of uncontrolled food bingeing, which then lead the patient to apply a series of purgative measures aimed at neutralizing the effects of these binge eating.
Bulimia affects 2-4% of adolescents, with a greater predominance of females. In addition, it is estimated that approximately half of adolescents with anorexia also develop bulimic behaviors.
In Babies and more, the more you become obsessed with your weight, the greater the risk of your daughter becoming obsessed.Between the symptoms or behaviors that should put us on alert stand out:
The recurring binge eating, which are characterized by massive food intake in a short space of time. If these behaviors occur at least twice a week for three months, we should immediately consult with the pediatrician.
To avoid gaining weight after that uncontrolled binge, the teenager uses purges such as laxatives, diuretics, enemas, diet pills or self vomiting. But, as in anorexia, there can also be a type of non-purgative bulimia, with fasting or excessive physical exercise, although to a lesser extent.
Our son seeks to eat alone, gets up several times from the table to go to the bathroom, or gets into the bathroom immediately after eating.
Between the main physical changes that we can notice the alterations in the enamel of the teeth stand out, due to the continuous erosion of the gastric juices.
As for other behavioral problems, it is common to find symptoms related to anxiety and other impulsive compartments, such as consumption of alcohol and dogras, or hasty sexual intercourse.
It should be borne in mind that, unlike anorexia, Bulimia has a more difficult diagnosis as the patient does not have symptoms of nutritional severity or weight loss (sometimes even an inmate may be overweight). That is why it is so important to observe the warning signs to make an early diagnosis.
Binge eating disorder
Binge eating It is another eating disorders. Unlike bulimina, binge eating is not followed by vomiting, and there are no measures of appetite containment as occurs with anorexia.
It has an incidence similar to bulimia, but It is not a disorder unique to adolescence. Another difference with respect to bulimia and anorexia is that it occurs with equal prevalence in men than in women.
Binge eating disorder can occur regardless of weight, being more common among people with depression, frequent fluctuations in weight or tendency to obesity.
Between the main warning symptoms to which we must pay attention they emphasize:
Recurring binge eating, at least twice a week for six months.
Our son eats very fast and so much that he even feels physically ill. It is also frequent that he seeks to eat alone and that he does so, even if he is not hungry.
After the binge eating, the teenager feels guilty for what he has done.
In general, there are no changes in their behavior related to greater physical intensity, periods of fasting or self-induced vomiting.
In Babies and more A mother reminds us of the importance of speaking positively about our bodies in front of our daughtersNonspecific Eating Disorders
But they can also happen atypical or incomplete forms of eating disorders, in those that lack some of the most important symptoms that we have mentioned, these occur in a milder way, or there are no alterations with menstruation or weight.
In this sense, The AEP also highlights the "fear of obesity syndrome", frequent among adolescents and characterized by the fear of gaining weight, the use of hypocaloric diets and the abundant physical exercise to control weight. In this case there are no purgative behaviors nor is there a distortion of the body image.
Adolescence is a particularly vulnerable stage of life, due to the amount of physical changes that occur and that can lead the child to experience new lifestyles with alterations in eating patterns.
In Babies and more Suicide in adolescents, a harsh reality: how to detect alarm signals and help our children That is why the observation of parents is so important, as well as the application of preventive measures from the family and the school environment. In any case, if we have doubts or suspicions it is important to consult it as soon as possible with the pediatrician.Photos | iStock
