TIME Magazine: Is Vegetarianism a Teen Eating Disorder?
April 9, 2009
YogiClareBear shared an article with me yesterday that I want to post here today to see what you think about it.
The article, “Study: Is Vegetarianism a Teen Eating Disorder” was published in TIME magazine this week, and you can read it here.
The premise is that for some teens, “going vegetarian” is an easy way to mask disordered eating behaviors.
Here’s a snippet:
“…Parents tend to overlook seemingly mild, earnest teen pursuits like joining the Sierra Club, but a new study in the Journal of the American Dietetic Association suggests that another common teen fad, vegetarianism, isn’t always healthy. Instead, it seems that a significant number of kids experiment with a vegetarian diet as a way to mask an eating disorder, since it’s a socially acceptable way to avoid eating many foods and one that parents tend not to oppose.”
Hm … what do you think? Isn’t this how disordered eating starts? A food, or food group, is banned? And then something else and so on and so on?
But is it really a cause to wave the red flag if your teen suddenly becomes a vegetarian? I just don’t know; every teen’s motivation is different.
“In a research venture called Project EAT-II: Eating Among Teens, Robinson-O’Brien and her team surveyed 2,516 young Minnesotans, ages 15 to 23. Of the respondents, 108 (or 4.3%) described themselves as currently vegetarian, another 268 (10.8%) said they were former vegetarians and the rest were lifelong meat eaters. The researchers found that in one sense, the vegetarians were healthier: they tended to consume less than 30% of their calories as fat, while non-vegetarians got more than 30% of their calories from fat. Not surprisingly, the vegetarians were also less likely to be overweight (17% were heavy vs. 28% of non-veggies).
“But approximately 20% of the vegetarians turned out to be binge eaters, compared with only 5% of those who had always eaten meat. Similarly, 25% of current vegetarians, ages 15 to 18, and 20% of former vegetarians in the same age group said they had engaged in extreme weight-control measures such as taking diet pills or laxatives and forcing themselves to vomit. Only 1 in 10 teens who had never been vegetarian reported similar behavior.”
I don’t think anyone would argue that teens are impressionable; they tend to follow what their friends are doing. So it’s not surprising to me that vegetarianism is a trend, as more and more people go green and strive to live organically.
In fact, right now, macrobiotic diets and raw foods diets are all the rage among celebrities, and even many of our foodie bloggers are experimenting (healthily!).
But should it be a valid concern for parents? I’d be curious to hear your opinions. I think as long as parents stay engaged and ask questions, maybe help with menu planning, than the transition can be a healthy one and any red flags would be obvious.
How about you? Do you think the trend is a way to mask an eating disorder/disordered eating?
Entry Filed under: Uncategorized. Tags: Is Vegetarianism a Teen Eating Disorder?, teens, TIME.
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1.
marafaye | April 9, 2009 at 6:31 am
I have personal experience with this whole thing… growing up, my mom hid her ED by claiming she was following one diet or eating plan or another… vegetarian, vegan, macrobiotic, no-carb, low-carb, etc… she lost crazy amounts of weight, and attributed the restriction to the diet rather than her disease.
While for some people, the restrictive diets are necessary (due to gluten intolerance, allergies, etc) I do think a lot of times, they’re masks for EDs, or even encourage them.
2.
jenngirl | April 9, 2009 at 7:42 am
I feel like I need to weigh in on this. I did use “vegetarianism” as a way to “mask” my very obvious eating disorder. I convinced myself that I just didn’t like meat anymore (because it had too many calories) and so that’s what I told everyone. I think teens do not have the knowledge they need to make choices like this, and it should definitely be a decision made after talking to parents and professionals.
3.
lissa10279 | April 9, 2009 at 7:53 am
I appreciate your first-hand insight, Jenn and Mara. It does seem like it could be a cause for alarm for some people.
4.
lara | April 9, 2009 at 10:49 am
Another person here that used vegetarianism and then on to veganism to “mask” eating disorder. It was a way to restrict in a more socially acceptable manner. It makes it much easier to turn down food or not eat when you can say “I am a vegetarian so can’t eat x,y,z” especially when you have lost a lot of weight from the ED and people are concerned about your lack of eating.
I did group therapy for a while and several other women in the group were also vegetarian and while no one ever came out and said it, I have a feeling like myself many of them hid their ED behind their way of eating.
5.
lissa10279 | April 9, 2009 at 12:19 pm
Thanks for your insight, Lara. I am beginning to think maybe the study was more on to something than I originally thought …
6.
Hangry Pants | April 9, 2009 at 3:06 pm
This is a really interesting article. Several people I know who had odd (I hesitate to say an ED because I don’t know) eating behaviora did no eat meat.
7.
lissa10279 | April 9, 2009 at 3:15 pm
We can all thank Clare for sharing this one, but it def. resonated here with several of you, so I think that is a good sign!
On the flip-side I have some friends who have always been vegetarian (for religious reasons, most typically) and they would be considered precluded from this study as a result; the study was looking at people who “became” veg. in their teens.
8.
lara | April 9, 2009 at 4:18 pm
Sure, there are many people who are Veg/vegan for religious or ethical reasons and of course not everyone who chooses to be Veg in high school of course has an ED but definitely something for people to be aware of.
This article is timely because latelyI have been exploring more and more of the world of flood blogs and I have come across several Vegetarian/Vegan focused blogs and when I read what the people are eating and see pictures of them I just can’t help but think there could be some disordered eating going on.
9.
lissa10279 | April 9, 2009 at 7:05 pm
I know what you mean … I have seen a lot of that, too. I would be starving to death on some of the stuff people are eating, not to mention bored to tears and miserable
To each her/his own!
10.
Susie | April 10, 2009 at 6:02 am
I have created many of my own rules in the past. Although I have never been vegetarian, I can see how this would be a way people would mask an ED. I’ve cut out bread and sugar because I thought I had an intolerance (I probably was just bingeing on them and gaining weight from it which I was uncomfortable with) but this is a genuine allergy for some people and I used that type of restrictive diet for my own use.
I do not think every vegetarian has a disorder - clearly. But I do think that parents need to be aware that it could be a sign. Just as hearing your child say negative things about their body and complain about fattening foods is one too. Parents need to constantly communicate with their kids and set a good example and even then that doesn’t guarantee anything.
11.
lissa10279 | April 10, 2009 at 8:06 am
I totally agree, parents need to be aware. “Parents need to constantly communicate with their kids and set a good example and even then that doesn’t guarantee anything.” — exactly!
12.
CeeJeeMcBeeGee | April 10, 2009 at 10:08 pm
I did this very thing: became a “vegetarian” and used it as an excuse to not eat much of anything, save for the occasional Green Machine or Protein Drink. Like Lara, Jenn, Mara and others said, it’s a clever way to hide the fact you are denying yourself food to achieve a certain body image. You tell people you are a veggie/vegan and they don’t bat an eye when you barely eat anything…ever.