Girls & food

Young girls
Children, and girls in particular, copy others so eating as a family, including at school, encourages them to eat well. Some young children can be faddy eaters and, although you should tell your daughter’s school if she is vegetarian or has any significant food issues, she may well feel more confident to try new foods away from any home tensions.

It is important that the kitchen table is not a battleground and there are several helpful books that offer strategies for encouraging healthy eating.

If your daughter is aware that family members are unhappy with their body or with hers she may fall into bad eating habits. With the media’s obsession with body image it is important that your daughter gets the right message about food from home.

Growing children need a balanced healthy diet that includes carbohydrates and fats in order to form strong bones and at various stages a little body fat is natural. Obesity is a significant concern however and an overweight child is laying down health problems for her future.

Teenagers

In the teenage years especially, girls and food can be a strange combination. Your daughter spends many hours in school so it is important that what is provided is both what she needs and what she wants..Girls schools in particular are sensitive to the dangers of eating problems so work hard to provide interesting, healthy food. If you’re providing packed lunches you should cater for your daughter’s preferences but also ensure her meal is balanced and nutritious.

Food matters: your daughter is growing fast and studying hard and needs sustenance. Breakfast is vital, whether eaten at home or on arrival at school. Local shops or school tuck shops should supplement main meals, not replace them. A constant supply of chilled water helps everyone to re-hydrate and to concentrate.

But girls and food is a relationship which can be fraught with potential problems. The over weight girl is sometimes bullied and can become very unhappy; the most popular girl is often the one with the best figure and she is bound to be slim. Most girls will diet at some stage in their school lives. Bombarded by images of super-skinny celebrities your daughter may equate size with success, fame and happiness. For her puppy fat is not a natural part of growing up but an unnecessary evil. Playground crazes may give way to diet fads and calorie counting. Even lessons on healthy eating can rebound if once she is aware of fats and carbohydrates she decides to avoid them.

Schools are very aware of the importance of a healthy diet and as they see your daughter each day will keep an eye on her. It really is quite simple: a growing girl needs sufficient nutritious food of quality to give her the energy she needs. If your daughter doesn’t eat well she won’t be able to work or play to her full potential.

I need information. Where do I start?
There are vast amounts of information available on all types of eating disorders such as anorexia and bulimia. There are 7 million references on Google, numerous articles in magazines, examples in films and on TV and your daughter will know a great deal about them. One of the best web sites is b-eat.co.uk. It contains a wealth of information and some simple but basic statements which will help you understand whether your daughter is a faddy eater, is just on a relatively harmless diet or actually has an eating disorder.

• Neither anorexia nor bulimia is a dieting craze;
• an eating disorder is not attention seeking;
• an eating disorder is serious;
• an eating disorder is an illness;
• Eating disorders can be beaten.

The following extracts are taken from the b-eat site; www.b-eat.co.uk

What is an eating disorder?

Food and eating play a very important part in our lives. It is not unusual to experiment with different eating habits, for example you may have decided to become a vegetarian or tried changing your diet to improve your health. However, some eating patterns can be damaging.

Problems with food can begin when it is used to cope with those times when you are bored, anxious, angry, lonely, ashamed or sad. Food becomes a problem when it is used to help you to cope with painful situations or feelings, or to relieve stress perhaps without you even realising it.

If this is how you deal with emotions and feelings and you are unhappy about it, then you should try to talk to someone you trust. It is unlikely that an eating disorder will result from a single cause. It is much more likely to be a combination of many factors, events, feelings or pressures which lead to you feeling unable to cope. These can include: low self-esteem, family relationships, problems with friends, the death of someone special, problems at school, college or at university, lack of confidence, sexual or emotional abuse.

Many people talk about simply feeling too fat or not good enough.

Often people with eating disorders say that the eating disorder is the only way they feel they can stay in control of their life, but as time goes on it isn’t really you who is in control, it is the eating disorder.

Who do eating disorders affect and when?

Anyone can develop an eating disorder, regardless of age, sex, cultural or racial background, although the people most likely to be affected tend to be young women, particularly between the ages of 15-25.

The attitude of other family members towards food can have an impact. A key person – a parent or relative may unwittingly influence other family members through his or her attitude to food. In situations where there are high academic expectations, family issues or social pressures, your daughter may focus on food and eating as a way of coping with these stresses.

Traumatic events can sometimes trigger an eating disorder: bereavement, being bullied or abused, an upheaval in the family (such as divorce), long term illness or concerns over sexuality. Someone with a long-term illness or disability – such as diabetes, depression, blindness or deafness – may also experience eating problems.

How will I know there is anything wrong?

As with all teenage girls, talk with your daughter about everything. Keep an eye on her weight. There is a difference between the faddy diet and the disorder. There can be many signs: if your daughter has lost a great deal of weight quickly and wants to lose more, if she is hiding under layers of clothes, if she hides food or goes immediately to the bathroom after eating.

What do I do if I suspect my daughter has an eating disorder?

Talk to her but go carefully and do not accuse her straight away. Seek help and advice especially from your doctor and the school.