The last week of February is designated as National Eating Disorders Awareness Week. This week is supposed to educate communities around the country about eating disorders and supporting those who have recovered and or are recovering. Many people in the United States are unaware of how many people struggle with eating disorders. 9% of the U.S. population, or 28.8 million Americans, will have an eating disorder in their lifetime. Many people throughout the nation struggle with eating disorders. There are several eating disorders that people can struggle with and as a community we should be aware of, such as, Anorexia nervosa, Bulimia nervosa, and Binge-eating disorder. 

Anorexia nervosa is a condition where people avoid food, restrict what they eat, or eat smaller amounts of food. Having anorexia nervosa does not always mean being extremely skinny. This condition affects people in different ways. There are two subtypes of anorexia nervosa: the restrictive subtype and a binge-purge subtype. Restrictive anorexia nervosa limits the consumption of food. Binge-purge anorexia nervosa is when a person alternates between eating a lot and not eating at all. 

Bulimia nervosa is when someone binges uncontrollably and then rids their body of the binged food by inducing vomiting or use of laxatives. Some Symptoms include: 

• Chronically inflamed and sore throat 
• Swollen salivary glands in the neck and jaw area 
• Worn tooth enamel and increasingly sensitive and decaying teeth because of exposure to stomach acid 
• Acid reflux disorder and other gastrointestinal problems 
• Intestinal distress and irritation from laxative abuse 
• Severe dehydration from purging of fluids 
• Electrolyte imbalance (too low or too elevated levels of sodium, calcium, potassium, and other minerals) which can lead to stroke or heart attack 

Binge-eating disorder is a condition where the person eats uncontrollably. This can lead to obesity and problems resulting from extreme overweight. Those with this disorder are often very uncomfortable, and will even eat even when they are very full. 

There are many ways to help those who are dealing with eating disorders. You can say, “I know this is difficult, but I am proud of you. You are worth more than your eating disorder. I might not understand, but if you need someone to talk to, I will help as much as I can.” Words help but so do actions. The Kaiser Permanente tells us to “Try to offer food more often, including healthy snacks, and ask what foods the person you’re caring for likes best. Offer those foods when you can. Serving meals one food at a time can also help encourage a person to eat. Try to prepare a variety of foods that look and smell good by using assorted flavors and colors.” Some small things that you can do are to not be critical of someone’s appearance, show compassion, listen, and especially do not get frustrated or annoyed by the person’s eating habits or try to force them to eat. 

Eating disorders can develop for many different reasons. Some of the causes of eating disorders are an issue with body image, OCD, depression, anxiety, many other mental illnesses, psychological disorders, genetics, and biology.