Eating disorders carry the highest mortality rate of any psychiatric condition and are notoriously hard to treat. If an eating disorder doesn’t kill, it can leave a painful legacy of long lasting medical complications, affecting bones, heart, hair and skin.
One in three children are overweight or obese, a fact that has instigated a $76 million dollar campaign by the New Zealand Government to help fight the epidemic. While this action is to be applauded, kids are increasingly being exposed to ‘perfect bodies’ as portrayed on TV, in films and in magazines everywhere. The result is that younger and younger children are dangerously dieting in an attempt to lose or avoid weight gain.
Eating disorders carry the highest mortality rate of any psychiatric condition and are notoriously hard to treat. If an eating disorder doesn’t kill, it can leave a painful legacy of long lasting medical complications, affecting bones, heart, hair and skin. An increasing number of cases show that family therapy, under the guidance of a trained therapist, is a way to treat someone with an eating disorder, especially when this person is young. More tips in the main article.