Dangerous Teen-Age Dieting Methods Stir Medical Concern
An alarming number of teen-agers use dangerous dieting methods, says a researcher who found that one in eight high school sophomores had tried to lose weight by vomiting or by consuming laxatives or other drugs.
“What’s alarming is that at age 15, we see kids beginning to use some of these unhealthy weight-regulation strategies that, if unchecked, may develop into full-blown eating disorders,” said psychologist Joel D. Killen, whose study was published in the Journal of the American Medical Assn.
Killen and his colleagues at Stanford University medical school surveyed 1,728 sophomores at four California high schools, and also measured their height, weight and body fat.
Few of the 10th-graders would be diagnosed as true bulimics--people who frequently binge on food, then fast or purge themselves. But 13% admitted at least occasional use of self-induced vomiting, laxatives or diuretics, which increase urine output.
Most of the so-called purging behavior occurred monthly or less often. A few of the students used such methods as often as once a week.
Twice as many girls as boys used purging to lose weight. But the proportion of males was surprisingly high considering most studies have shown that bulimia and anorexia--self-starvation--overwhelmingly afflict females, said Susan C. Wooley, co-director of the University of Cincinnati’s eating disorders clinic.
Wooley called the Stanford study “very plausible.”
“We should be appropriately alarmed. Parents, teachers and doctors should be aware of it and vigilant.”
“A lot of physicians may not be aware of the extent of purging in teen-agers,” Killen said. “It’s important if they’re going to work with adolescents on weight control to focus on healthy eating and increasing physical activity.”
He also suggested that school health classes should include information on eating disorders.
Bulimia can result in potentially fatal problems such as stomach rupture, heart attack and abnormal heart rhythm. Other complications include serious dental problems, disruption of the menstrual cycle and inflammation, laceration or rupturing of the esophagus.
Researchers do not know exactly why some people develop bulimia. But many note that thinness has been linked to beauty, success and happiness in modern times. That may trigger extreme dieting measures, even in some thin people who perceive themselves as overweight.
The Stanford study is one of few to examine binge-purge eating habits among adolescents and among males as well as females.
Killen found that boys who made themselves throw up or who used drugs to lose weight tended to be significantly heavier than those who did not. But girls who purged themselves were no heavier than non-purgers.
