More eating disorders are being added to the list, the demographics are shifting and more South Africans are affected than ever before.

These facts were highlighted at a recent symposium on sugar and health, which was held in Malelane, Mpumalanga. The symposium, which was organised by the SA Sugar Association and the Mpumalanga Department of Health and Social Services, highlighted a number of fascinating new insights into food intake, diet and health.

Advertisement

Of particular interest was a paper presented by Dr Marjanne Senekal of the University of Cape Town entitled "A continuum of weight-management-related problems: from classic eating disorders to obesity".

DietDoc forum users are always asking me about weight management and eating disorders, so I thought it would be a good idea to give you an update on these topics.

Classification of eating disorders
Dr Senekal pointed out that the present-day classification of eating disorders has been expanded. Nowadays, all the following conditions are regarded as eating disorders:

• Anorexia nervosa – characterised by a body weight of 15% or less of normal, an intense fear of gaining weight, body image distortion, and a lack of menstrual periods in female patients (amenorrhoea).
• Bulimia nervosa – where weight may be normal, but patients are still fearful of gaining weight and have a distorted body image. These patients use binging and purging to rid themselves of food.
• Binge eating disorder (BED) – patients tend to be overweight, and indulge in binging, thus ingesting massive amounts of food every day that in turn leads to additional weight gain.
• Disordered eating occurs when patients are of normal weight, but fear weight gain, have a distorted body image and use some binging and purging to control their weight.
• Orthorexia usually occurs in patients with a normal weight and is characterised by extreme eating fads. Orthorexic patients only eat those foods that they regard as 'healthy', thus exposing themselves to deficiencies and even starvation.
• Bigorexia – this relatively new edition to the list of eating disorders occurs in individuals who increase their body mass and especially their muscle mass, to extreme levels – the 'Mr Universe body'. These people are also paranoid about fat gain, have a totally distorted body image and usually go in for supplement and steroid abuse.

Incidence of eating disorders
According to Dr Senekal, international surveys have shown that in western countries, 1-10% of the population suffer from anorexia. In the USA, this is the 3rd most common illness in adolescent girls. Anorexia is less common in males, with an incidence of 1 in 12. Patients with anorexia are 12 times more likely to die than non-anorexics.

Bulimia can occur in up to 30% of western populations and is the most common eating disorder in black women in the USA.

At present, there are no statistics on the incidence of binge eating disorder, but it is believed to be very common, especially in women. This disorder is often well 'hidden' and not easily picked up by doctors and other health workers.

Four to twelve percent of young boys suffer from bigorexia and want to increase their muscle and body mass.

Surprisingly, orthorexia, which was only defined as an eating disorder a short while ago, affects up to 7% of the population in western nations.

Unfortunately, we do not have accurate statistics for the frequency of eating disorders in South Africa, but there are indications that the prevalence of these conditions is increasing, particularly among black girls and women.

It would appear that many black women who used to be proud of their full figures have changed their mindsets as a result of urbanisation and westernisation and now want to be as thin as the models and actresses of the western world.

Women24.com survey
According to Dr Senekal, a 2007 Women24.com survey showed that more than 13% of the female participants suffered from an eating disorder. The survey was conducted among more than 7 000 women between the ages of 15 and 65 years who earned more than R3000 per month.

Fifty percent of the respondents were unhappy with their bodies and their appearance and wanted to lose weight. The incidence of eating disorders in black women in this category was as high as 20%, which is most disturbing. Special groups of women, such as competitive athletes had an incidence of 16% and 11% of women who regularly go to the gym reported eating disorders.

It is evident from Dr Senekal's lecture that eating disorders are a cause for great concern in South Africa and that more and more people are succumbing to these conditions. Many individuals – from the young girls who want to be as skinny as their catwalk icons to the young men who want perfect V-shaped bodies bulging with muscles – are at risk of developing eating disorders.

These people need to get professional help before they ruin their lives as well as their present and future health.

Text copyright: Dr I.V. van Heerden
18 June 2007

Reference:
(M Senekal (2007) A continuum of weight management related problems: from classic eating disorders to obesity. Paper presented at the 'Nutrition: the sweet sense of it all. Sugar & Health Symposium, Malelane, 12 & 13 June 2007)

Read more:
Bigorexia - the hankering to be huge
Orthorexia - a new eating disorder?

 

Print this article

Rate this article Poor 1 2 3 4 5 Excellent

JOBS

Civil Engineering Technician Gauteng - Johannesburg Accountant Gauteng - North/Sandton Financial Manager R550,000-600,000 Per Annum Central African Republic Financial Accountant R300,000-340,000 Per Annum Gauteng Treasury Specialist R500,000-630,000 Per Annum Gauteng - East Rand Credit Manager R300,000-400,000 Per Annum Mpumalanga Financial Manager R27,000-30,000 Per Month Gauteng - North/Sandton Delphi developers Gauteng - North/Sandton Find more jobs Register your CV Post a job