Health is often associated with an ideal weight, regardless of what one has to do to achieve it. In order to achieve this goal, proper nutrition is often blatantly neglected.
Proper nutrition is extremely important at any age and at any stage of life. One of the systems most affected is the nervous system, including the brain, notes Rebecca Taylor holds a doctorate in counselor education and supervision and is an assistant professor of counseling with a specialization in eating disorders and body image at Colorado Christian University.
“The adolescent brain is not yet fully developed, so malnutrition and diets can have serious effects on normal brain development. As a person enters young adulthood and adulthood, we may find that their body responds poorly to previous nutritional errors,” she said.
“Similar to adolescents, we know that the diet of seniors can greatly enhance or inhibit brain function, depending on whether we provide our bodies and brains with the nutrition they need to function well or deprive them of it.”
She added: “Because cognitive decline, memory loss, muscle wasting and other medical complications are common in older adults, it is important to continue to nourish the brain through food, rest and exercise.”
spectrum
One of the consequences of the idea of having to lose weight at any cost is the wide spectrum of eating disorders.
When the term “eating disorder” is mentioned, the first thing that often comes to mind is anorexia or bulimia – lifestyles that either severely restrict food or involve vomiting after eating in an attempt to lose weight. It is also most commonly associated with teenagers who appear extremely malnourished.
However, eating disorders are not only a problem for young people.
“Eating disorders are absolutely a problem in the elderly,” Taylor said. “Often people will suffer from a subclinical eating disorder or an undiagnosed clinical eating disorder their entire lives. However, when they reach an age where their body is deteriorating and they actually start to lose weight, they may feel like they’re ‘finally succeeding.'”
This perceived success can cause many age-related problems, such as a focus on body image and calories, a loss of enjoyment in activities, memory problems, and other symptoms often attributed to aging.
The National Institute of Mental Health writes in “Eating Disorders: About More Than Food” that eating disorders affect people of all ages, sizes, races and genders.
“Even people who appear healthy, such as athletes, can have eating disorders and be seriously ill. People with eating disorders can be underweight, normal weight, or overweight. In other words, you can’t tell if someone has an eating disorder by looking at them,” the article says.
Sign
Knowing the signs of an eating disorder is the first step in getting those affected the help they need.
According to Taylor, the key signs to look out for are:
- Rigid behavior when eating.
- Count calories.
- Obsession with food.
- Excessive physical activity or compensatory behavior after eating.
- Shame about eating.
- Rapid weight loss or frequent weight fluctuations.
- Dealing with one’s own body image.
Malnutrition can lead to anxiety, depression and social isolation. These factors can contribute to suicidal thoughts and impulses, making suicide an indirect consequence of this condition.
In addition, malnutrition in eating disorders often leads to relationship problems because it “isolates those affected within themselves and creates secrecy and distrust,” says Taylor.
Treatment
Treatment options range from support groups to full-time residential programs to hospitalization. Addressing family systems and attitudes toward food is an important part of recovery. It is also important to combat isolation for those with eating disorders by providing support with mealtimes.
For teenagers and young adults, Taylor recommends a quiet, private setting in which to discuss concerns. A good way to start a conversation is: “Hey, I’ve noticed that you’re pretty nervous when you eat and you look different physically than I do. Would you be willing to talk about it?”
Anyone concerned about their aging parents or grandparents should, according to Taylor, “ask curious, compassionate questions about their relationship with food and their bodies.”
She mentioned a person whose 85-year-old mother was always overweight and lived in a world where dieting was a big deal. She is now very thin but still makes comments about the calorie count of a food and says she shouldn’t eat this or that.
The daughter was very worried that she was not getting enough nutrients.
Taylor’s advice was to ask about the difficulties involved in changing her diet to counteract the diet culture she may have heard throughout her life. Ways to help her include not participating in or talking about diets, listening before expressing an opinion, working with medical teams, and trying the same foods that doctors and nutritionists recommend.
The goal is to make her understand that getting the nutrients she needs is more important than following a “diet.”
“Many people who are suffering want support but don’t know how to ask for it. However, what an individual needs is always unique and specific to them,” Taylor said.
