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The Medical Minute: Eating disorders on the rise

Mental health issues clung to COVID-19 like remoras to a shark during the height of the pandemic. And among the most serious were eating disorders.

During 2020, eating disorders spiked among teenage girls, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Worldwide, the numbers had already been increasing steadily. Today, about 30 million people suffer from these particularly cruel conditions that can lead to death if left untreated.

Quarantining, while essential to slowing the spread of the coronavirus during the pandemic’s deadliest months, was “almost like a perfect storm,” said Amy Ethridge, an occupational therapist and clinical psychiatric specialist in the Adolescent Medicine and Eating Disorders Program at Penn State Milton S. Hershey Medical Center.

The causes of eating disorders are “like pieces of a puzzle,” Ethridge said. Among the pieces is the constant drumbeat of ads and TV shows idealizing unattainable body types. Get fit. Lose weight. Sequester everyone with their TVs and cell phones, let anxiety and depression rise and mingle with other factors like heredity ― it’s little wonder eating disorders started to spread like wildfire.

“It is usually a response to stress, too,” Ethridge said. “The point is eating disorders are complex medical and psychiatric conditions that patients don’t choose and parents don’t cause.”

Ehtridge and Jamal Essayli, clinical psychologist and director of the Young Adult Eating Disorders Program at the Penn State Milton S. Hershey Medical Center who holds a PhD in clinical psychology, describes eating disorders, what they are, what they aren’t, why they’re so dangerous and, if you’re worried about yourself or someone you care about, what you can do to help.

What are (and aren’t) eating disorders?

For starters, eating disorders are not a choice. Patients don’t wake up one day and decide to give anorexia nervosa a try. Also, the sufferers aren’t all teenage girls. All age groups, genders, cultures and backgrounds can be affected, and the disorders can become life threatening.

Common eating disorder categories include:

How do you know if someone has an eating disorder?

Some of the patients with eating disorders do their best to hide their conditions. Also, don’t assume ― trust a medical professional to make an actual diagnosis. However, some warning signs can be discerned, depending on the type of eating disorder:

How do I talk to someone about getting help?

“The best way is to express concern about the behavior,” Ethridge said. “Discuss what you have noticed has changed or has become difficult. Avoid simplifying the situation by recommending to ‘just eat.’ Be prepared for negative reactions and even denial of the issue. The intent is not to diagnose it, but rather help them get to treatment by starting with a medical evaluation.”

If they’re open to seeking help, they can visit the National Eating Disorders website and call the hotline.

The Adolescent Medicine and Eating Disorders Program at Hershey Medical Center also provides screenings. Representatives can be reached at 717-531-7235.

Programs like the one at Hershey Medical Center provide treatment for adolescents and young adults (ages 10 to 24) at various levels of care, including outpatient, intensive outpatient and partial hospitalization treatment. Patients in these treatment programs receive evidence-based care from an interdisciplinary team of experts, including therapists, dietitians, physicians, and psychiatrist. The programs use cognitive-behavioral therapy and family-based treatment to help people begin to recover.

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The Medical Minute is a weekly health news feature produced by Penn State Health. Articles feature the expertise of faculty, physicians and staff, and are designed to offer timely, relevant health information of interest to a broad audience.