Plastic Surgery Articles

A recent study reveals that binge eating in teenage girls and boys can be attributed to being teased by their peers at a young age. We have all been victims of child cruelty at some point or another, whether it is because of the clothes we wear, the way we act or even the way we look.

I remember being teased in grade school because my teeth were too big, and I remember the pain and embarrassment it caused. Now that I am older and have grown into my teeth, I can look back and laugh. The study shows, however such cruelty can have life-long, damaging effects on today’s youth, especially for those teased for being overweight.

Dr. Alison E. Field and colleagues analyzed 6,919 girls and 5,618 boys, aged 9 to 15 years over the course of seven years. The findings are shocking. At the end of the seven years, 4.3 percent of the females and 2.1 percent of the males were binge eating and of those, 5.3 percent of the girls were either throwing up or using laxatives to loose weight.

The study revealed that while some of the boys and girls were binge eating and others were purging very few were doing both, an illness known as bulimia. Sadly, this is an illness they may develop when they are older.

Dr. Field noted that most of the participants who showed signs of an eating disorder were at least 14 years old and overweight.  The girls who were caught purging to loose weight complained of being teased by boys their age for being overweight, while most of the boys who were participating in binge eating admitted to being made fun of by their own fathers. These findings demonstrate the harm teasing can have on a child’s self-esteem — from both their peers and their own family members.

Field suggests that parents encourage their kids to eat healthy and live an active lifestyle without emphasizing physical appearance. This approach is thought to teach kids to take better care of themselves at a young age so they won’t be pressured into the “quick fix” diets such as binging and purging.

Field also suggests that kids showing any sign of bulimic behaviors should be taken to see a psychologist, and/or psychiatrist immediately to sort through any insecurities caused by outside pressures to look a certain way.

Although Field focuses on binge eating and purging, other body image disorders, and food phobias, are becoming more common among today’s teens such as body image disorders and food phobias.

Written by: Sarah Strause