Eating disorders may prove to be hereditary

Erica Fatland
Dekalb (U-Wire)

DEKALB, Ill. (U-WIRE) - According to the American Anorexia Bulimia Association Inc., an estimated 1,000 women die of anorexia nervosa or bulimia each year.

Kathy Hotelling, Northern Illinois University director of Counseling and Student Development, said research has shown that eating disorders can span generations, much like alcoholism, substance abuse and depression.

"Some of the evidence is true of some people," Hotelling said. "There is a genetic link in when we look at monozygotic (identical) twins."

After studying twins, Hotelling said researchers found a high possibility that both twins would have eating disorders. She added that in a family with a history of eating disorders, a child is 10 times more likely to get an eating disorder.

The problem of eating disorders and distorted body images is not getting any better. In fact, Hotelling said the age of those suffering from eating disorders decreases each year.

"It's becoming younger and younger all the time," she said. "Our young girls are expected more and more to be women."

Hotelling said 20 years ago the normal age for a person with an eating disorder was between 17 and 22, but now the age is down to grade school and junior high level, ranging from ages 12 to 14. But she added that the disease can hit all ages. She said she has known of a child as young as 9 years old and an adult as old as 50 with anorexia or bulimia.

There are many reasons for the age decrease, Hotelling said, including television, society and a decline in the age when females begin to menstruate.

"With that change comes a change in the body," Hotelling said. "There is an emotional shift."

The change in how society looks at fat also has made an impact in how children view themselves.

"We have an emphasis in our society now in fat grams," Hotelling said. "When they hear you should count your fat intake, they hear you shouldn't use fat at all. They see things in black and white. It is really very dangerous, for young people in particular."

Hotelling said even though the age of those with eating disorders seems to be getting younger, college students still need to be aware of their eating habits.

"I think at any college campus this is a prime age for eating disorders," she said. "Certainly the 18- to 22-year-old (group) is the age group with the highest concentration."

Hotelling said eating disorders affect 15 percent of college students. She added that many students come to a university with an eating disorder, either carrying a dormant eating disorder that flares up later or they eventually develop one.

Eating disorders are more than a desire to get thin, Hotelling said.

"It's much deeper than that," she said. "It's a coping mechanism. They are trying to gain a sense of control."

Hotelling listed many warning signs a person can look for in determining whether someone is anorexic or bulimic. People with eating disorders can have a problem expressing feelings, are perfectionists, are sympathetic to the feelings of others and can be obsessive-compulsive.

Jill Zapf, a senior nursing major, said she has a friend who had an eating disorder and she knew her friend had a problem right away.

"She dropped a lot of weight really fast," she said...