THEMarch 15th is an important day because it is dedicated to raising awareness of eating disorders. Important because, although the number of sick people continues to grow, even seriously, the number of centers dedicated to treatment is not adequate to deal with what is increasingly proving to be an emergency. And why families find themselves alone in facing it. Boys and girls get sick, adults get sick, children get sick. But the funds dedicated to prevention and treatment are few, the attention of those who should deal with them at an institutional level is still low.
This is why it is worth remembering the code of conduct for families that the Higher Institute of Health developed in 2024. A useful and unfortunately always current guide to give support to those in extreme need.
Eating disorders: the signs not to be overlooked
«The main symptoms of eating disorders», the experts highlight, «are the following:
Skipping meals, eating foods very rich in fibre, calculating the calories in foods, drinking large quantities of liquids and diet drinks, changing your eating style by switching to vegan, or vegetarian, or other types of diets.
Carry out excessive physical exercisethat is, practicing sports in addition to what the coach requires, doing a lot of movement with the aim of losing weight.
Fiorenza Sarzanini (photo by Carlo Furgeri Gilbert).
Pair the binge eating episodes to the feeling of loss of control over eating; these episodes are mostly experienced in solitude, eating in secret and with a strong sense of guilt and failure.
The self-induced vomitingwhich is used to eliminate food eaten in binges or to eliminate normal meals that are subjectively considered excessive.
Concern for body image which is mostly expressed as a desire for thinness and frequent weight control and body shape.
Mood depression, sadness, anger, social isolation, obsessions, anxious states and other emotional and psychological disorders that can accompany the symptoms described above and are often accentuated by the state of malnutrition”.
When a parent notices
Then the line to follow: «When a parent recognizes behaviors in their son/daughter that can be traced back to those described above, it is important that they talk about it with the pediatrician or the attending physician to be helped in the evaluation and in defining the procedures to follow for a specialist evaluation».
It is important, indeed fundamental. Observe, intervene, ask for help: this is the way.