EATING DISORDERS ARE THE SECOND HIGHEST DEATH CAUSE

Although it is still talked very little about, eating disorders are the second highest death cause of girls ranging from 15 to 24 years old. The 15th of march is the day of the purple bow.

The 15th of march as a symbol for eating disorders was an initiative of the association “Mi nutro di vita” back in 2012. Their goal was to promote the spreading of awareness of eating disorders.

Why the 15th of march? Stefano Tavilla, father of Giulia and President of the association “Mi Nutro di Vita”, started the initiative due to her daughter's bulimia. It is due to her eating disorder that Giulia passes away at 17 on the 15th of March 2011. A year later, Stefano decides to do something to avoid others suffering as his daughter did.

When referring to eating disorders, the more common examples are anorexia, bulimia or binge eating disorder. For someone affected by eating disorders, everything evolves around food, even when now sitting at a dining table. Simple moments with friends become reasons for anxiety: for example, a causal pizza night out with friends.

Although it is still talked very little about, eating disorders are the second highest death cause of girls ranging from 15 to 24 years old. A lot of improvement has been made compared to the “diet culture”  of the 1900s and early 2000s. However, even today some celebrities show their extreme diets, simply to enter into a dress.

Eating disorders are common also in men, even though it is less ordinary to see them hospitalised for it. The “ideal figure” of a man is different from the “ideal figure” of a woman: whilst the latter usually wants to be extremely thin, men tend to be more interested in having muscles. For this reason, men usually have different eating disorders from women.

Several times, eating disorders victims do not acknowledge that they are: weight loss usually brings compliments from people, making them feel happier with themselves and not seeing the reality of things. For this reason, we should refrain from commenting on one's body: we never know their relationship with food.

Why do we still talk so little about eating disorders?

Because the relationship that one has with food is not always perceived to be a real problem. Rather, it is portrayed to be a whim. In reality, an eating disorder is a profound uneasiness within the person.

Nowadays, there is a myriad of online trends to follow regarding idealistic aesthetics to satisfy: our body becomes a piece of clay to model. We stop perceiving food as fuel and start redeeming it as a means to become what society wants.

In Italy, eating disorders affect over 3 million people, raging between teens and adults aged over 50 years old. It is for this reason that is essential to be informed and inform others on how to tackle this situation to assure a speedy recovery.