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Seasons can impact eating disorders

St. Joseph News-Press - 3/8/2023

Mar. 7—Eating disorders are a concern at any time of year, but issues can ramp up throughout the winter.

Eating disorders worsen from November through March for about a quarter of people struggling with eating disorders, according to a 2022 study in the New England Journal of Medicine.

Talking with a friend or family member can be difficult, and even reaching out to a professional about eating habits can be a tough decision, said Jada Johnson, an educator with the Buchanan County Health Department.

"Just eating overall can be very touchy for some people," she said. "So kind of just taking more of a simple approach to it and just being like, 'Hey, you know, if you need any help or need any guidance, feel free to reach out to me. You know, you can talk to me' Just kind of have interest in your family, in those professionals and knowing that they have a lot of knowledge and they can guide you."

Family therapy is one option local therapist Ellen Beier finds can be helpful. Family therapy focuses on improved communication between relatives, according to the Mayo Clinic.

Changing the perspective around eating disorders is important because they often function as a crutch and can affect a person's life similar to an addiction, Beier said.

"Any kind of addictive behavior has sort of a commonality in that it serves some purpose for people," she said. "I think one of the most helpful things is just to be open about understanding what function or what purpose that behavior serves."

Just discussing how to eat healthily can be uncomfortable, Johnson said.

"Eating healthy is just one of those touchy subjects," she said. "(It) can look different for everyone based on your diet, your lifestyle. If you have any disorder already, you can have many metabolic diseases. You have to have different diets suited to those disorders."

But discerning the difference between eating healthy and actually having a proactive mindset to go with those eating habits is its own distinction. While not as common as anorexia or binge eating, people can start fixating on eating healthy too much and develop a behavior called orthorexia, Beier said.

"Sometimes our society's idea of normal around food may not be encouraging, particularly healthy habits for individuals," she said. "If we have these super-high or idealized ideas about how folks ought to be eating, that can become problematic too."

Alex Simone can be reached at alex.simone@newspressnow.com. Follow him on Twitter at @NPNOWSimone.

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