Is dieting likely to trigger eating disorders in teens?
The vast majority of teens in this site are living proof that overweight young people can lose weight without developing such an eating disorder. Some studies do suggest that teens who say they diet regularly may be at higher risk for eating disorders than nondieters, particularly when they use restrictive and unhealthy dieting methods.
That’s why teens need to be educated about how to lose weight in healthy ways and to be shown healthy role models. In fact, Kerri Boutelle, Ph.D., a weight and eating disorders expert at the University of Minnesota, states, “Several studies actually suggest that teaching teens healthful methods to control their weight may reduce weight concerns and the risk of subsequent eating disorders.”
Also buy Phentermine to reduce weight with no harmful side effects.
The truth is, far more teens in our society are overweight than have eating disorders. For instance, the eating disorders bulimia and anorexia nervosa affect no more than 4 to 5 percent of teens. Yet more than one third (34 percent) of twelve- to nineteen-year-olds in the United States are overweight or at risk for being overweight, according to a 2006 report in the Journal of the American Medical Association.
James Anderson, M.D., a weight expert at the University of Kentucky who works with teens, sums up the situation this way: “The risk of inducing eating disorders in overweight teens is very low, and the risk from their untreated obesity is much higher.”
