Most people don’t realize eating disorders are a severe problem affecting 30 million Americans (60,000 estimated in West Virginia). Victims include 20 million women and 10 million men.
Teen girls are especially vulnerable because the culture pressures them to look slim — thus, some starve themselves obsessively. One report says:
“Eating disorders result in about 7,000 deaths a year as of 2010, making them the mental illness with the highest mortality rate.”
Sen. Shelley Capito, R-W.Va., deserves praise for ramrodding the Anna Westin Act, named for a young Minnesota woman who died of anorexia. Signed by President Barack Obama, the new law will force medical insurers to treat eating disorders as illnesses like all others.
Types of eating disorders include anorexia nervosa (starvation), bulimia nervosa (vomiting) and binge-eating. Victims damage themselves and may destroy their health. Those who sink into the psychological condition have difficulty escaping it. Specialists say cures are easier if sufferers get professional help early.
Dr. Jessica Luzier of West Virginia University’s Disordered Eating Center in Charleston told health reporter Lori Kersey:
“We want to teach children to value their bodies by feeding them nutritious meals, participating in meaningful movement and taking care of their health ... and not encouraging kids to diet excessively or to accept a specific body type as the ‘right’ body type.”
Adolescence is a tumultuous time. It’s a shame society imposes harmful pressures on young people. We hope Capito’s new law helps more victims escape the menace of eating disorders.