Eating Too Much or Not at All: Eating Disorders Found in Youth

An ongoing issue that continues to plague schools today is a silent yet catastrophic illness known to many as Eating Disorders. What many people do not realize that not only are there several sub-strands of eating disorders, but these can include either over eating or not eating at all. The following two articles presented will proceed to offer a glimpse into the reality of both sides of this particular mental illness.

In a study reported by Brenna K. Wood and Timothy F. Flanagan entitled: 'Increasing In-School Food Consumption of an Elementary Student with Emotional/Behavioural Disorders: A Case Study' they proceed to delve into the life of Michelle, an 8 year old third grader with a unique eating habit, who was not discovered until later on to have been diagnosed with Severe Anxiety Disorder and Mood Disorder. Michelle would refuse to eat or drink at school, no matter how unrelenting her peers and teachers were. She would sit for the entire lunch period all by herself while closely monitored by a nearby teaching assistant. Curiously enough, when Michelle would go home at the end of the day, she would occasionally accept food or drink in the presence of her mother (who remains nameless.) When Michelle is left home alone, she takes this opportunity and proceeds to binge and stuff herself full of unhealthy foods and her preferred drinks. The real problem occurred when Michelle's mother either tried to take this food away from her daughter, or did not purchase Michelle's favourite food before she got home. Tantrums would ensue followed by kicking, screaming, crying and other such violent behavioural actions. The mother would try to curb these fits of feasting by placing locks on the fridge and cupboards in order to teach Michell...

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...aster. Alternative ideas include having a 5 minute work-out time for jumping jacks or stretched between classes to avoid having students sit all day long behind a desk.

While this was a shorter article compared to others available, this one was found to be the most informative and intriguing read unlike others which strived to prove their points through statistics and not actual cases of students with eating disorders. As previously mentioned, eating disorders will continue to consume the minds of those who do not have the confidence to believe that they are beautiful and just fine the way they are. Both articles had two very different approaches to their styles of writing. One focused on analyzing and experimenting on a young girl who only binged at home, while the other focused on students who were starving themselves in a competition to lose weight at school.