In Spain we have a clear problem of overweight and obesity which is already affecting our children for a few years, which in many cases lead a diet similar to that of parents, and in the worst case, an even less healthy diet, with an excessive consumption of processed foods loaded with sugars and saturated fats and a marked lack of fresh products such as vegetables, fruits and vegetables, and others such as legumes and vegetables, which are an essential part of our diet along with less refined carbohydrates .
But it is not the only problem, because for some time now there are the so-called eating behavior disorders (eating disorders), the most known being anorexia and bulimia, which mostly affects teenage girls, but more and more girls who still They have not reached puberty.
Precisely for this reason it is beginning to recommend to parents to be careful with their customs and habits, both at mealtime and when weighing, as The more you become obsessed with the weight, the greater the risk of your daughter becoming obsessed..
What is the incidence of Eating Disorders?
According to data from Ministry of Health The prevalence of eating disorders is as follows:
Based on studies of two phases carried out in Spain in the population at highest risk, women in the age range of 12 to 21 years, a prevalence of 0.14% to 0.9% is obtained for AN (Anorexia Nerviosa), from 0.41% to 2.9% for BN (Bulimia Nerviosa) and from 2.76% to 5.3% in the case of TCANE (Eating Disorders Not Specified). In total, we would be talking about a prevalence of TCA from 4.1% to 6.41%. In the case of adolescent boys, although there are fewer studies, we obtain a prevalence of 0% for AN, from 0% to 0.36% for BN and from 0.18% to 0.77% for TCANE, with a Total prevalence from 0.27 to 0.90.
Talk about a prevalence of 4.1% to 6.41% It is talking about very high figures, because we are talking about diagnosed cases. Before diagnosis, many girls from 12 to 21 years old are starting to play with food and weight and are not yet part of these figures, so we could be talking about a higher incidence.
Parent's obsession with weight can be a predisposing factor
It is not the only factor, of course. Eating disorders are multifactorial and it is known that they may be motivated by the following factors:
- Biological factors: there seems to be a certain genetic predisposition and certain neurobiological alterations that would increase the risk.
- Sociocultural factors: overprotective or excessively rigid and authoritarian family models; conflicting or unstructured families; Family history of affective disorders and obsessive-compulsive symptomatology, of eating behavior disorder (especially in mothers), parents constantly concerned with eating, and often doing relatively severe diets, obesity (especially in mothers), alcoholism (fathers) , little regular eating habits during childhood and that the child carries out activities during childhood or adolescence that excessively value thinness or weight.
- Psychological factors: disorders due to affective deficiencies, personality disorders, obsessive-compulsive disorders, impulse control disorder, abnormal and restrictive diet and concern for the body, personal history of eating difficulties, excessive rigidity, self-demand, perfectionism, social withdrawal and low self-esteem.
- Stressors: sexual and / or physical abuse in childhood, criticism of the physical, shocking events that lead the child to shelter in food, etc.
As you can see, there are many events in the lives of girls that may lead them to want to be who they are not, with the idea that in that way they will be happier and admired by the rest of society, and as you have read, parents are part of those factors if our behavior ends up serving as an example or trigger.
Weighing yourself every day abusing the use of the scale leads us to become obsessed with weight to the point that many people weigh themselves even during the day and at night (when the ideal is to weigh yourself every one or two weeks to avoid trying to changes are very fast); In the same way, having a controlling and obsessive attitude towards feeding can achieve the same effect on girls: that they begin to give their physique more importance than they should have, that they begin to become obsessed with their weight and feeding and that they begin with practices that can become dangerous, if they go to more.
So if you think you could be using the scale more times than recommended, or if controlling the calories you eat seems to be the most important thing in your day to day, maybe you should Find a way for your daughter not to see you do it, and meanwhile try to make the goal lead a healthy life avoiding miracle diets and eliminating the desire to achieve an ideal weight as soon as possible.
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