Eating Disorders / Question
Published: March 4, 2009
Dear TeenHealthFX,
My friends have been calling me anorexic a lot lately because i hate eating, and i think im REALLY fat. I'm about 5'8'' and anywhere from 120-125 lbs.(BMI around 18.4) but i want to loose more weight.i try very hard not to eat, and/because whenever i eat i feel like i've failed at something but i don't know what. i am just sooo scared of getting fat(ter)and i am almost always depressed and lonely. also whenever they tell me i have an ED i yell at them and say i don't. i just want to know...are they right about me?
Signed: Are My Friends Right That I Have An Eating Disorder?
Dear Are My Friends Right That I Have An Eating Disorder?,
Depending on your age and frame it is possible for you to be 5’8”, between 120 and 125 pounds, have a BMI of 18.4 and be considered at a healthy weight range. However, to get a more accurate assessment about whether you are at a healthy weight range or are underweight, FX thinks that it would be helpful for you to talk with your school nurse or primary care physician about it since they will be able to take any pertinent medical history into account, as well as your body type.
Since you mentioned wanting to lose more weight, FX does want to stress that if you go too much below 120 you do run the risk of being underweight (according to BMI calculations).
More than your current weight, what really concerns FX – and what is clearly concerning your friends – is more the attitude you have about your body and about eating. You talk about hating to eat, seeing yourself as fat and trying to lose weight when clearly you are not close to being overweight, trying not to eat and feeling like you’ve failed when you do eat. All these patterns of thinking are representative of a person dealing with an eating disorder. Even though your weight may not be dangerously low right now, with this type of thinking, FX could easily imagine that you could quickly get to a place where your physical and emotional health will be highly comprised.
FX thinks that it is very important that you meet with a therapist who is trained in dealing with people with eating disorders so that these self-destructive patterns of thinking can be addressed before this problem gets any worse. Since you mention feeling lonely and depressed, FX also thinks it is important for you to talk to a therapist about these feelings so that you can get a better idea of what contributes to them and what kind of treatment plan needs to be put into place so that you can feel better.
To learn more about the symptoms of anorexia and the physical complications that can accompany eating disorders, please see our answers to “Am I Anorexic” and “On The Brink Of Developing An Eating Disorder” under the Eating Disorders section of the website.
If you live in northern
You can also contact the Eating Disorders Program at Atlantic Health at 908-522-5757 for more information and to set up an evaluation or call the National Eating Disorders Association at 1-800-931-2237 for more information and referral services.
Signed: TeenHealthFX
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