Sports & Fitness
Living Well
Too fat? Too skinny? Too much: Realities of eating disorders
Sagan Morrow
A lmost 50 per cent of adult Canadians are overweight. A quarter of these are categorized as obese. One quarter of young girls in Ontario admitted to having eating disorders, and nearly 10 per cent of women battle anorexia or bulimia. A study conducted by Health Canada showed that 50 per cent of high school girls are dieting or uncomfortable with their weight. There is no question about it, our eating habits are out of control.
It is estimated that every day, we make about 200 choices regarding food. When most of that food is chemically-laden processed packages that line the shelves at the grocery store and another large proportion is from the fast food joints located at every street corner, it is no wonder that the obsession we have with food has hit an all-time high.
Let’s face it, food tastes good. Holidays revolve around what we eat and social occasions are really just excuses to pig out. But this is causing us to over-indulge far past a healthy capacity to do so and it’s showing on our waistlines.
The weight gain would not be such an issue if we were gaining muscle and choosing healthy foods. However this is not the case. Most of what we gain is unnecessary fat, a direct result of poor eating habits. We shove aside whole, natural food and instead stuff ourselves with questionable ingredients. It is taking a serious toll on our bodies.
As a culture we have grown to fear the obesity epidemic. Does this mean we are becoming healthier? No. Instead, we veer towards the other equally detrimental extreme, eating disorders.
Everyone seems to feel the pressure to adhere to whatever fad diet plan will make us thinner. Unfortunately it doesn’t stop at just losing the extra weight that we are carrying around. Instead, the urgency to become the societal ideal (read: skinny) is great enough to cause such extreme measures as engaging in disordered eating.
Eating disorders are prevalent among all age groups. Alarmingly, even girls in elementary schools are beginning to partake in disordered eating patterns. The love of and obsession with food has led us all to lose control.
The drive to be healthy is paradoxically so much affected by our obsession with food that a new eating disorder has recently been identified. Orthorexia, the unhealthy obsession with healthy foods, is just as dangerous as any other eating disorder. It can be difficult to recognize, but it is on the rise nonetheless.
Our obsession with food, whether we eat too much or too little, is problematic to us all. The preoccupation we have with it affects our entire way of life - we need to stop obsessing and start living once again.
University of Winnipeg student Sagan Morrow writes a health and wellness blog. Check it out at http://livinghealthyintherealworld.blogspot.com.
It is estimated that every day, we make about 200 choices regarding food. When most of that food is chemically-laden processed packages that line the shelves at the grocery store and another large proportion is from the fast food joints located at every street corner, it is no wonder that the obsession we have with food has hit an all-time high.
Let’s face it, food tastes good. Holidays revolve around what we eat and social occasions are really just excuses to pig out. But this is causing us to over-indulge far past a healthy capacity to do so and it’s showing on our waistlines.
The weight gain would not be such an issue if we were gaining muscle and choosing healthy foods. However this is not the case. Most of what we gain is unnecessary fat, a direct result of poor eating habits. We shove aside whole, natural food and instead stuff ourselves with questionable ingredients. It is taking a serious toll on our bodies.
As a culture we have grown to fear the obesity epidemic. Does this mean we are becoming healthier? No. Instead, we veer towards the other equally detrimental extreme, eating disorders.
Everyone seems to feel the pressure to adhere to whatever fad diet plan will make us thinner. Unfortunately it doesn’t stop at just losing the extra weight that we are carrying around. Instead, the urgency to become the societal ideal (read: skinny) is great enough to cause such extreme measures as engaging in disordered eating.
Eating disorders are prevalent among all age groups. Alarmingly, even girls in elementary schools are beginning to partake in disordered eating patterns. The love of and obsession with food has led us all to lose control.
The drive to be healthy is paradoxically so much affected by our obsession with food that a new eating disorder has recently been identified. Orthorexia, the unhealthy obsession with healthy foods, is just as dangerous as any other eating disorder. It can be difficult to recognize, but it is on the rise nonetheless.
Our obsession with food, whether we eat too much or too little, is problematic to us all. The preoccupation we have with it affects our entire way of life - we need to stop obsessing and start living once again.
University of Winnipeg student Sagan Morrow writes a health and wellness blog. Check it out at http://livinghealthyintherealworld.blogspot.com.