Health Class might give your child an Eating Disorder: What you can do to prevent it

This might seem like an exaggerated attention grabbing title- and it is attention grabbing! I want parents and caregivers to know about this- but unfortunately, it is not exaggerated.

I have had many young adolescent clients who have told me their eating disorder was triggered or started when health class begin talking about “healthy eating”.

Their health teacher told the class about “bad foods” and to avoid them- so they started cutting out chips, sweets, candy, etc. After a while, they only ate “good foods”, like fruits and vegetables and before you know it they were slipping into an eating disorder- all while following the advice of their health teacher and textbook.

Let’s examine the context and setting of health class and the introduction of lessons on “healthy” eating.

Children get this lesson in middle school, typically anywhere from 5th-8th grade, making them around 11-14 years old. At this age, many of them are still in the stage of concrete thinking, meaning they think in “black & white”, i.e., it’s either good or bad, you’re smart or you are not, there is no in between. They struggle with the concept of abstract thinking, where you are able to reason and understand that often times, even most of the time, things are “in-between” or they are two things at once. Most concepts, ideas, rules, beliefs, events- they don’t fit neatly into an either/or dichotomy. We live in a world of gray- things have both good and bad components and exist on a spectrum instead of the black and white boxes.

This means, when health teachers introduce foods are “healthy” or “unhealthy”, children aren’t able to understand the nuances behind those labels and interpret them literally- meaning if cake is “unhealthy” then, I shouldn’t eat cake, ever, under any circumstances. If fruits and vegetables are labeled as “healthy” and other foods I eat aren’t mentioned at all, then I will only eat fruits and vegetables because they are “safe” and that’s what my teacher, who I trust, mentioned. See how this can become dangerous?

Teachers hold a lot of power and influence over children. We teach our children to trust and believe their teachers- they are safe people. We instruct them to go to their teacher if something is wrong or if they need help or protection. So of course, when they teach them something and then see it printed in their (often old & outdated) textbook, they are inclined to believe it without question. Most parents do not teach their children to questions teachers (at this age) or to look into what biases the teacher might hold.

All of this is compounded and made worse by living in a world of diet culture.

Teachers live surrounded by diet culture as well as students and parents. So when these messages are taught at school, it is easy to find confirmation bias all around. TV, Media, Parents, coaches, magzines and social media, are all spouting the same message that was just taught in health class- “these foods are good, these are bad. If you eat these foods, you are good and healthy and virtuous and if you eat these other foods, you are bad and guilty and lazy and unhealthy”. It is not hard to see why young adolescents in this age group and situation are so easily influenced from these messages. It is not the first time they have heard them- they are everywhere. And at this age, they are at a stage when fitting in, body image, making autonomous decisions and self-esteem are all coming to a head. It is often the perfect storm for developing an adolescent eating disorder.

Another factor that may put your child at risk is personality traits such as perfectionism, high achievement, and people pleasing.

Children and teens who develop eating disorders often have these traits in common- they are typically students who try hard and do well in school, they want to please their parents and teachers and they are often times hard on themselves and expect perfection from themselves. You can see how these traits, combined with messages from a teacher, might lead them into extreme behavior to conform to these messages or rules about what to eat and how to be “good” or “healthy”. These messages can also cause feelings of guilt or shame for children when they eat foods that were labeled by the teacher as “bad” or “unhealthy”.

So, now that we know the dangers and risks of health class lessons around food and diet, what can you do about it?

 

If your child is currently battling an eating disorder or receiving adolescent eating disorder treatment in Ohio or anywhere, I recommended removing them from health class while they are in recovery.

Typically, health class can be completed at different times of the year or even in the next year or summer. I have created a letter you can use as a template to send to your child’s school to request removal from health class for medical reasons. It may be helpful to have the support of an eating disorder diagnosis or letter from your child’s doctor or therapist, but it is not required. You are the biggest advocate your child has and you know what’s best for them! Their recovery from an eating disorder is more important than their GPA or transcript.

If your child is not in eating disorder treatment in Ohio or in recovery from an eating disorder, but you want to minimize their risk and prevent that from happening, you can request modification to their health class curriculum. I would recommend sending another letter where you request your child be removed from class and given alternative assignments when diet, food pyramid, “healthy eating”, exercise or body weight are discussed or taught. You can state why you are requesting this and provided information on eating disorder risks and prevention, but again you don’t need to. Be prepared for pushback from teachers or administrators as they may feel defensive of their curriculum. Let them know you are not attacking them or accusing them, but making the decision that you feel is best for your child.

Often times, schools offer health class online, which is another option.

This does not mean your child won’t be exposed to diet culture or dangerous messages about healthy/unhealthy food, but it might give you the opportunity to examine the lessons and assignments more closely and provide alternate messages and education to your child when they are working through those lessons. You can also request a copy of your child’s health class curriculum and dates they will be taught so that you can warn your child when they will be pulled from class or prepare to have discussions with your child about the dangers of those lessons and do some education of your own.

The most important defense to dangerous messages from health class is having a home environment that provides alternate messages about food, diet, health and body image.

If your child is raised with messages that all food is “healthy”, a healthy diet includes a wide variety of foods, foods provide nourishment, but also enjoyment and connection to others, and are allowed to consume a variety of foods freely, while trusting and listening to their own hunger and fullness signals, they will be so well prepared to handle lessons that are influence by diet culture. If you teach your child about what diet culture is, how to spot it in society and hoe to call it out, they will be able to navigate health class lessons with minimized risk for development of an adolescent eating disorder.

If you have more questions about eating disorders or eating disorder treating in Ohio, eating disorder treatment in Utah or eating disorder treatment in New Jersey, please reach out here.

Navigating eating disorder treatment can be daunting. If you need help along your journey, please reach out to schedule a free consultation call.

DISCLAIMER: The advice on this blog is for entertainment purposes only and is not indented to be medical or therapeutic advice.