It’s National Eating Disorder Week And Health Experts Want To Raise Awareness

They say the disease sometimes tends to go unnoticed.

FARGO, N.D.- There are a variety of eating disorders, but the primary disorders health experts see are: Anorexia Nervosa, Bulimia Nervosa and Binge eating disorder.

“With Anorexia Nervosa we see that very restrictive, rigid eating patterns often lead to that low weight. With Bulimia Nervosa we see that there are binge like episodes, so eating extreme amounts in one sitting followed by compensated behavior. Often times purging via vomiting, but could also be excessive exercise, laxative abuse and so forth,” says Bri Srnsky, a Registered Dietitian at Sanford Health.

In a time where the lens is focused on obesity, health experts are saying being so focused on everything health is almost encouraged.

“Having an obsession with healthy eating or healthy habits can go unnoticed or it can be looked at as a positive because there is such a focusity on the obesity piece of things,” she says.

All eating disorders cause disturbance with a person’s eating pattern that affects their physical and psychological health.

“I think just that overall awareness of getting back to that healthier relationship, the balanced mindset balanced variety and moderation and so forth. Instead of looking at that rigid extreme rule,” Srnsky says.

They say social media creates an unrealistic expectation of what you should look like.

“Individuals have a societal ideal that people have and it’s not even just with our population, it’s just the general population that has those messages out there,” says Candice Blumhardt, Behavioral Health Therapist at Sanford Health.

If you have concerns that a loved one may be by going through an eating disorder, health experts recommend verbalizing your concerns and reaching out to a health care provider.