BUFFALO, N.Y. (WKBW) — When did you first start to watch what you eat and become aware of your body? Lately in WNY, children are distressed about their body image, leading to eating disorders.
"We're seeing kids as young as 10 presenting for care," said Dr. Kristen Cercone of Oishei Children's Hospital.
Thanks to grant funding, Oishei has a new outpatient program catering to children ages 10-14.
"They're under a lot of pressure, there's pressure to fit into a certain body ideal that unfortunately we're kind of obsessed with in our country," said Dr. Cercone.
For Eating Disorder Awareness Month, here are some statistics about eating disorders:
- Eating disorders are the second deadliest mental illness behind opiate use
- Every 52 minutes someone dies because of an eating disorder
- Only 6% of people with eating disorders are "medically underweight"
The Peer Mentor
Thinking about her body and food 24/7, that was Nicole Watson's high school experience.
"I look back and I asked my parents, 'how did you know?' and they said the biggest thing was that my personality changed, I became basically a complete shell of myself," said Watson.
She was an athlete, so it took some time for people to notice, but she started losing muscle because of a lack of nutrients. That's when she started getting treatment.
"I didn't tell anyone, because there was such a shame, stigma and guilt around it that no one knew. So it was something I felt really isolated in," said Watson.
Now, years later, she's symptom-free and helps people around WNY as a peer mentor. So she wasn't shocked to hear that cases are on the rise locally and that patients are younger.
"There's so much editing and filtering and all that stuff, when I was growing up, it wasn't in my face 24/7," said Watson.
The Oishei Psychologist
Dr. Cercone says this increase is across the board, across all genders, races and areas around WNY.
"Diet culture has always been there, what's different now is kids are being exposed to it earlier probably because of social media and during COVID kids had a complete shift in culture," said Dr. Cercone.
Parents first notice a dramatic weight change.
"But it's important to note that even people that "look healthy" could be very sick," said Dr. Cercone.
But that's where Oishei steps in.
"Kids who are younger tend to do better and I've seen kids who've been very sick, they've gone away to care and have finished treatment with us and are doing very well," said Dr. Cercone.
The UB Counselor
The University at Buffalohas a team on hand to helps students who are struggling. Counselor Brianna Persutti helps athletes.
"I would say a lot of people with eating disorders I work with it does start in adolescence, your body is developing and changing and gaining weight can be scary," said Persutti.
She says it can be hard for young people to ask for help, but there are harmful consequences if they don't.
"It can cause heart problems, it can cause early osteoporosis, it interrupts your mood, I don't know if you've ever been hangry before, if you can imagine what it feels like to feel like that all the time," said Persutti.
She was glad to hear about Oishei's new resource.
"Most areas in WNY could use more eating disorder treatment. I think more people are struggling this than we realize," said Persutti.
The Licensed Mental Health Counselor
Mental Health Counselor Samantha Sessamen says the majority of people are not diagnosed.
She herself was experiencing an eating disorder through her 20s and didn't know.
"It's feeling constant shame, but then getting rewarded for your behavior. It's in the privacy of your own home that are kind of disgusting and embarrassing and then the next day your uncle's like 'you look so good'," said Sessamen.
She's been in the field for eight years and says she saw this increase coming.
"We went through the pandemic, which is a trauma, that exacerbates eating disorders. We're also in Ozempic land, so people are hearing you should accept your body as it is, because we are moving toward body positivity but then people are scrambling for Ozempic in a desperate attempt to lose weight," said Sessamen.
She wants more of us to adopt body liberation.
"Body liberation is there is no system in society that should be discriminating against you or limiting your access based on body size," said Sessamen.
What can you do to reverse this trend?
- Sam's tip: Parents can't be talking about their bodies in a poor way. So no more diet talk at home, no more I need to lose a few pounds. "So at the dinner table, they should be talking about what our bodies do for us, "did you feel strong today?", "did you feel happy in your body today?"
- Nicole's tip: Making exercise fun and I like to say movement, not exercise it should be something that hey even if it's just going for walks, doing something that moves your body and also not moralizing food, no food is good or bad.
- Dr. Cercone's tip: It's never too early to check in on your kids, especially if they do have a cell phone, access to social media
Need help? Here's the National Eating Disorder Association's resource center. There's also a helpline available from the National Association of Anorexia Nervosa & Associated Disorders (ANAD): The Helpline 888-375-7767 is open Monday to Friday 9 am to 9 pm.
