COLLEGE STATION, Texas — During the pandemic, many more children and teens went to the emergency room with mental health problems. One of these issues is tied to the fact that there has been a notable rise in eating disorders, particularly among adolescent girls.
Local medical professionals want to give you advice for what to look out for as your child goes back to school.
Lauri Baker Brown, a certified Eating Disorder Specialist in College Station, gave insight on how adolescents may show signs of eating disorders.
“It's very unusual, for example, for a female in our society who's going through high school to never go on a diet," she said. "As sad as that reality is, it is very common. Its kind of culturally a piece of that, so we try and tease out that just going on a diet doesn’t really indicate an eating disorder. Folks with anorexia tend to be super dieters, they're just really good at it and there’s the anxious component to it like, 'I cant eat that or how many calories were in that.'”
There are many different types of eating disorders from anorexia nervosa, bulimia nervosa and binge eating disorder which can be brought on through different factors, but, according to Brown, there are common triggers.
“The research really tells us there’s a genetic component with that, we really see it running in families, but beyond that we also have this world in which we live in, and I feel like social media gets blamed for everything, but social media really has increased the focus on appearance,” explained Brown.
If you feel your child could be developing an eating disorder, there a few steps to take to ensure their safety.
“Initially, you start with, lets make sure they're medically stable and have a follow up with a pediatrician, and secondly, let's start talking with them about what's going on," the specialist said. "Teenagers don’t really tell us all of the truth so I have an awful lot of faith in momma gut and dad gut, so if your gut tells you something's not right then maybe seek out some support”.
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