I think of anorexia as a chronic problem, a condition that just doesn’t go away. Even if someone were treated for anorexia as a teen, the eating disorder challenges remained with them as they grew older. In fact, I recently read (can’t recall where and I didn’t write it down) that patients who were diagnosed as anorexics as adults really had an eating disorder in their youth. The disorder was simply never diagnosed.
There’s been a recent nation wide study in Finland that refutes my thinking. The results of this study state that anorexia is a common, often severe condition but 70% of the women with anorexia recover before age 30.
The report stated that 2.2% of Finnish young women suffered from severe anorexia nervosa. When the researchers added milder forms of starvation and obsessive anxiety about weight and shape, the percentage of women suffering from anorexic symptoms during their lifetime rose to 5%. The study also reported that anorexic symptoms usually started between ages 10 and 25 and peaked between ages 15 and 19.
This was one of the big surprises in the report. Although Finland has a national healthcare system that covers everyone, only half of the women with anorexia were recognized by healthcare professionals. What’s more, fewer than half of these received any type of treatment for their symptoms.
The research showed that 70% of the women with anorexia recovered after a three years. The report also described the recovery as slow and gradual. Weight was regained and menstruation resumed. Even so, attitudes about body shape and weight took a much longer time to resolve. Within five years from weight restoration, outward appearances of women with anorexia were similar to healthy women. However, learning to deal with body shape and weight related concerns took another 5 to 10 years.
If I were to take that same 5% number and impose it on the U.S. population that would be a big number. What’s depressing is that half of those young women would not be recognized as having anorexia or getting treatments. It’s just so difficult for me to understand that young women could be so terribly skinny and no says or does anything. I don’t get it.
If you have a take on this, let me know and tell me why these conditions persist today. Scroll down to the window and send me a message.
Warm regards,
Ruthan Brodsky
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