Awareness About All

September 20, 2021

When raising awareness about eating disorders, the ones most talked about in media are anorexia nervosa, and bulimia nervosa, but what about all the others? Binge eating disorder, and many others, need to be addressed as well. I believe the problem in society is that we focus on AN and BN because they often lead to weight loss, and we want to encourage healthy lifestyles and body positivity for "skinny girls", which is great, don't get me wrong, I believe those are important things to promote, but eating disorders that lead to weight gain are often overlooked, and those who are viewed as over weight or obese need mental health help as well rather than just telling them to lose weight, because it's not that easy. Binge eating disorder consists of large quantities of food being eaten in a short amount of time, either on a regular basis, or when the individual comes in contact with a triggering event. Binge eating disorders can stem from abuse whether that be emotional or physical, and when individuals who suffer from this ED come in contact with a trigger it causes them to have a binge eating episode. Those who suffer from BED need help, and we as a society need to spread awareness about all different types of eating disorders in order to educate the public, as well as give people with eating disorders a chance to feel cared about and be helped.