EDITORIAL: More prevention efforts needed to curb eating disorders in young people
Emily Rosenberg is a Montgomery County resident and, when she was younger, was treated for an eating disorder.
The overwhelming urge to be thin by denying yourself food, or purging what you have eaten, can be hard to comprehend for those who have never dealt with an affliction like anorexia nervosa or bulimia. The way Rosenberg describes it is particularly chilling.
“It was an intrusive, relentless and unreasonable voice in my head, telling me I was never enough,” she explained.
There are more people like Rosenberg in Pennsylvania than many of us might realize. Estimates have it that 9% of Pennsylvania residents will develop an eating disorder at some point in their lives. Across the country, eating disorders have been on the rise – the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has reported that during the pandemic, the number of young people needing hospitalization due to eating disorders soared. Health visits related to eating disorders have also skyrocketed, and experts report that those who do seek treatment tend to be in worse condition, both physically and psychologically, than ever before.
And though the typical image of a teen with an eating disorder is a white female growing up in well-to-do circumstances, the problem cuts across boundaries of race and gender – yes, there are also young men out there who have eating disorders.
Melissa Freizinger, the associate director of the eating disorders program at Boston’s Children Hospital, recently told NBC News, “As the pandemic started and then progressed, we kept thinking, ‘Oh, it’s going to get better in 2022. Oh, it’s going to get better in 2023.’ But it hasn’t.”
The reasons for the increase in cases of eating disorders can be tied to some of the causes that have fueled an overall crisis in teen mental health – the disorientation, disruption and isolation brought by the COVID-19 pandemic, social media, family strife, and more. Fortunately, some state officials realize the magnitude of the problem and are taking steps to confront it.
In late April, the Pennsylvania House of Representatives passed a bill written by Cecil Township Republican Jason Ortitay that would require schools to provide parents of students in grades six through 12 with information regarding eating disorders. Also, an advisory committee dealing with eating disorders would be created by the state’s education department. It would offer recommendations on ways to increase awareness about eating disorders.
Ortitay said he introduced the measure after meeting Rosenberg and Martha Watson, an Allegheny County resident whose daughter, Elizabeth, died at age 21 from an eating disorder. Ortitay explained, “By educating middle and high school students and their parents, I am hopeful that those who need help will be identified quickly in order for them to receive the assistance they need to recover.”
Research indicates that the earlier the intervention, the greater the likelihood of recovery. That being the case, lawmakers should get this law on the books as quickly as possible.