Undereating

Back to the undereating film

Back to the Make My Body Younger programme page.

Dr Leanne Hayward's Wellbeing Guide to Undereating

Dr Leanne Hayward

I'm Doctor Leanne Hayward and I work as a Psychiatrist in the South West of the UK. I work with all types of different people with mental health difficulties and that have eating disorders.

Undereating

Eating disorders can vary from eating too little or perhaps eating a lot and then trying to get rid of food in an unnatural way.

So why is it that people get eating disorders? There are a variety of reasons and some of the common ones include body image. We live in a society where the way you look and trying to be thin is something that is pressed home an awful lot. And sometimes fear of becoming fat.

Often people find that by controlling their eating it gives them a sense of being able to achieve some control over their own life. People often have low self esteem and they use an eating disorder as a way of making themselves feel better. And both anorexia and bulimia have been linked to emotional distresses, things like sexual abuse or other upsetting life events. For young children this might be things like their family breaking down or there being a death in the family.

If you think that there is someone you know that has a problem with eating you should try and tell someone, whether it be a teacher or a parent or a friend or maybe even a GP or a school nurse.

Bulimia is one of the illness that can often be helped by self help books. Keeping a food and mood diary is a good way of looking at what you've eaten and when you have eaten it and perhaps why you've eaten those foods or how you feel about it. Joining a self help group can also be a very good idea because that way you can share your experiences with other people and you can learn from other people how to make things better.

Most people with an eating disorder, particularly anorexia need specialist help. So if you think you may have a problem it's really important that you go to your doctor. Your doctor would be able to refer you to perhaps a counsellor, or a psychiatrist or maybe a specialist eating disorder service.

It's very important to understand that treatments you will be offered will depend on your individual circumstances. If you are someone that is extremely underweight it may be necessary for you to be treated in hospital. If you are of a safe weight but still not eating enough you might be able to go to a day program or to see a counsellor.

Further Information

There's a lot of further information available on the BBC Headroom website and that can be found at www.bbc.co.uk/headroom.