1/4/2020 Nutrition and Eating Disorders

Welcome back from break Trailblazers,

This week we will be discussing healthy eating and disorders regarding diet and eating. As you are getting older, more responsibility and independence are usually granted to teenagers. This means you have more choices regarding what music you listen to, who you want to connect with, what clothes you wear, and what you decide to eat daily.

Different foods have different nutrients that help your organs function properly, strengthen/maintain bone health, fight off illnesses and diseases, increase your mental wellbeing, and more! Sometimes people try and cut out groups of food falsely labeled as “unhealthy” such as carbohydrates, fats, and sometimes they will cut whole meals out of their diet altogether (skipping lunch). Leaving out important nutrients from our diet can damage our body and brain’s functioning. It can also affect one’s mood and proper developmental changes through adolescence. Here is a guide on choosing healthy foods that will benefit your body: https://www.niddk.nih.gov/health-information/weight-management/take-charge-health-guide-teenagers#foodAndDrink

Eating disorders can be defined as eating behaviors that negatively impact one’s health, emotional well-being and relationships. They can be caused by genetics, other illnesses such as anxiety or depression, social pressure to look a certain way, and other factors. Eating disorders can become life threatening and lead to chronic illnesses and death. Examples of eating disorders include:

Anorexia: Avoiding/refusing to eat to maintain a lean body image

Bulimia: When one binge eats and then vomits or uses laxatives afterwards to remove the food from their body

Binge eating: When one consumes large amounts of food in a short timeframe (called bingeing) with lack of control.

Prevention tips and methods for unhealthy eating:

· Educate yourselves further on eating disorders

· Avoid the mentality of grouping foods into categories of “good vs bad food”

· Challenge the belief that thinness and weight loss are always great and healthy

· Avoid judging yourself and others based on appearances especially regarding weight

· Celebrate size diversity and adopt a HAES (Health At Every Size) mindset

o https://www.nationaleatingdisorders.org/size-diversity-health-every-size