Eating disorders increase after summer: identify the warning signs

Summer brings us many good things, but also insecurities. Everyone has some complexes, and as we have left more of our body exposed in recent months, our worries have also been exposed.

During the summer months, there are people who devote themselves to merciless self-analysis, to comparing themselves with others – oh, those glances at the beach or the pool to evaluate others – and to “compensating for excesses or filling themselves with deprivations that intensify or help the development of eating disorders,” warn health experts.

Eating Disorders (ED) are a group of mental disorders that include, among others, anorexia nervosa, bulimia nervosa and binge eating disorder. According to the nurse specialising in Mental Health, Isabel Mateo, their onset is not due to a single cause: their appearance is usually a mixture of genetic, environmental and psychological influences. And if we add to this the summer eating binge and the comparison of bodies to which we subject ourselves… the problem is served. From the General Council of Nursing (CGE), they emphasise that the greater bodily exposure in the summer and the proliferation of messages that exalt extreme thinness act as triggers for these disorders, which already affect, according to their data, 400,000 people in Spain.

They also point out that adolescence is a particularly vulnerable stage in this regard. “Summer becomes a critical time when social pressure to achieve unrealistic beauty ideals intensifies, which can lead to the development of an eating disorder in predisposed people,” warns Isabel Mateo, a nurse specialising in mental health. The statistics are worrying: eating disorders are the third cause of chronic illness among young people aged 13 to 14 and affect mainly women.

Rapid weight loss, sudden mood swings, avoidance behaviour around food… there are signs that we should not ignore in our loved ones or in ourselves (sometimes we are the ones who take the longest to see them). For this reason, Florentino Pérez Raya, president of the CGE, emphasises that “learning to recognise these signs and adopting a healthy lifestyle saves lives.”

Dr. María Zubillaga, a specialist in Nutrition and Endocrinology, also insists that “early intervention is crucial.” That is why we must be even more vigilant than usual these days. This is a message that she sends to families, primary care health professionals and education professionals.

What to stop eating

“In my practice I often come across patients who come with photos taken from Instagram, which are obviously edited or have filters. And they tell me ‘I want this body and I want it now, what do I have to stop eating?’ Completely crazy,” says Zubillaga.

For this reason, the CGE is insisting these days on the need for constant vigilance and on educating children in healthy habits that are maintained throughout the year. Nurses, with their ability to accompany and educate, are essential to prevent these disorders and provide support to those who already suffer from them. “Summer should not be a cause of anxiety or a catalyst for mental health problems, but rather an opportunity to reinforce self-esteem and well-being,” say the professionals.

Tips

Dr. Zubillaga insists that it is vital that as soon as it is detected that a person enters into a “risk behavior” area, they should go to a mental health professional, because in most cases “they are psychological distortions of the conception of our body, we see defects where there are none and we magnify those small things. Calling ourselves a cow, seal, fat, pig… are words that I encounter daily in my consultation. The problem begins when we degrade ourselves to the maximum and believe that happiness is in thinness. But after reaching that dangerous goal, the crash comes when the person continues to be unhappy…”.

So if you know of any such case, the first thing to do is to go to one of these professionals or to your family doctor, although it is very possible that you will be referred to a team specialising in the treatment of eating disorders, which includes mental health experts, but also dieticians and experts in other disciplines – such as dentists – to deal with the problems arising from the eating disorder.

In addition, in the case of young people who are still living at home, parents should actively participate in the treatment and supervise meals. It is a task that must be addressed from different fronts, but the family has a stellar role if we want to avoid relapses or anticipate and prevent an incipient summer obsession from becoming a serious problem. Making mealtime a pleasant and enjoyable moment, avoiding television and electronic devices at the table (taking advantage of the moment to listen to each other) and not going on diets that are not prescribed by professionals are some of the things we can do to improve the situation. Likewise, we must stop praising thinness and praise a great body as a life goal. In fact, the healthiest thing is to praise other people for characteristics that have nothing to do with their physical appearance, they advise.

Red flags

Often, until you get back into your routine, you are not aware of the changes that indicate that an eating disorder is beginning or that an already latent one is getting worse. Zubillaga recommends being especially alert these days to possible warning signs. These are:

-Excessive food intake in a short period of time.

-Skipping meals or eating only low-calorie foods.

-Feeling of guilt after eating.

-Avoid eating in front of people.

-Fluctuations in weight.

-Use of laxatives or diuretics. 

-Need to hide the body.

-Mood swings, isolation.