Anorexia in a Larger Body
You may believe that eating disorders have to “look” a certain way. Someone with anorexia nervosa looks one way, while someone with binge eating disorder looks another way. However, that’s simply not the case. Eating disorders are not as clear cut or black-and-white as their symptoms may seem.
For today’s blog post, let’s consider a case study that focuses on a diagnosis of anorexia in a larger body.
In this case study, the female individual is 5 feet, 3 inches tall. In March 2019, she weighed 329.3 pounds with a lean mass of 124.4 pounds and a fat mass of 204.9 pounds. In September 2019, she weighed 270.1 pounds with a lean mass of 111.9 pounds and a fat mass of 158.2 pounds. You may have initially seen these numbers and thought, “Wow! That’s amazing.”
However, that’s a significant drop in weight — nearly 60 pounds! — in just 6 months. It’s not surprising, then, that this person was diagnosed with an eating disorder called atypical anorexia nervosa. With this diagnosis, she meets all of the criteria for anorexia nervosa except her weight is not low enough to be considered underweight.
During this time period from March to September, she engaged in behaviors that restricted her caloric intake to 500 calories or less per day. She was also purging once or twice a day. Occasionally, she would binge and then purge her binge or abuse laxatives as well. Of course, all of these choices were detrimental to her body and overall health, which led to her diagnosis. In September 2019, she entered residential eating disorder treatment because of the severity of her behaviors.
Why is it important to discuss this case study about anorexia in a larger body?
First, there is a need to increase awareness of atypical anorexia nervosa, as it is becoming more and more prevalent. Hospitalizations of this disorder equal nearly one-third of all hospital inpatient eating disorder treatment programs. In fact, over 40 percent of individuals with a diagnosis of atypical anorexia nervosa require hospitalization. Plus, research indicates that mental distress related to eating and body image is worse for people with atypical anorexia nervosa than those with anorexia nervosa.
Additionally, a lot of individuals believe that their eating disorder isn’t “bad enough” or that they’re not “thin enough” or “sick enough.” Still, they’re severely restricting their intake or engaging in other harmful behaviors. They may also experience an extreme fear of gaining weight. The mental disturbance that food and body is causing in their life can become all-consuming. But their weight is never low enough for them to believe that they need treatment.
“That’s not true,” explains nutritionist Elaina Efird, RDN, CD, CEDRD, CSSD. “What I want you to take from this example is that everybody deserves treatment. Eating disorders do not discriminate. Anorexia, bulimia, and binge eating disorder don’t look a certain way. There’s no one way that someone has to appear or behave in order to have an eating disorder.”
If this video resonates with you either personally or with a loved one in mind, remember that recovery is worth it.
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