Struggling to be skinny

She strolls down to the neighbourhood mall on weekends, and notices billboards with svelte figures and perfectly curved abdomens. Suddenly, she realises that this is what she wants to look like, and she isn’t going to be happy until she does. So she stops eating!

Until now, not many people in India have been aware of eating disorders. But recent surveys suggest that it might be time for Indian parents to wake up and take notice of their children’s eating habits. The International Journal of Eating Disorders recently published a paper that indicated some alarming results — of the 66 doctors polled, 45 of them reported witnessing a case of eating disorder in the last one year. Metrolife speaks to a few physicians and psychiatrists to find out why exactly this is happening. Dr Prabha Chandra, at the Department of Psychiatry in NIMHANS, says that these disorders generally originate in girls of about 14 and peak at the age of 16, when they become completely preoccupied with dieting. She maintains that it is largely a female phenomenon.

“For some people, this obsession is just a phase. But if a girl is going through other emotional issues, it could develop into an eating disorder,” she says. She adds that eating disorders have become more common lately, and NIMHANS has been dealing with about five cases of full-fledged disorders annually.

Dr Mallika Raghavendra, who has dealt with sporadic cases of such disorders, feels that it is most common amongst girls in high school and college.

“The trend these days is to be thin. The media plays a large role in influencing such girls. At that age, they are under a lot of pressure and feel that they will be better accepted if they are skinny,” she says.

Dr Raghavendra explains that there are different types of eating disorders. “Girls suffering from anorexia nervosa have a distorted body image. They believe that they are overweight even if they aren’t. Those with bulimia nervosa tend to alternate between binge eating and self-induced vomiting,” she says.

Admittedly, awareness about eating disorders has increased drastically in recent years but this doesn’t account entirely for the sudden upsurge in such cases. Dr K M Druva Kumar, a consulting physician, believes that this has to do with the increasing levels of stress amongst youngsters today.

 “These are neurotic disorders, associated with tension and nervousness. External factors like marital problems and loneliness intensify the problem. It’s important to identify the cause of this frustration and eliminate it,” he says.

Dr Chandra feels that detecting the problem early is imperative because once established, it is difficult to treat it.

“Victims of these disorders are secretive but generally their friends know that something is wrong. If someone is dieting excessively or losing weight rapidly, it’s important to talk to them about healthy eating habits,” she says.

Dr Raghavendra agrees. “Starvation can lead to a host of other issues, like heart problems and hormonal deficiency. Detecting the problem early and getting the patient admitted is important. Sometimes anti-depressants help but counselling is much more effective in order to improve their body image,” she says.