Worries about weight: information for young people
About this factsheet
This is one in a series of factsheets for
parents, teachers and young people entitled Mental Health and
Growing Up. The aims of these factsheets are to provide
practical, up-to-date information about mental health problems
(emotional, behavioural and psychiatric disorders) that can affect
children and young people. This factsheet looks at some of the
reasons why people worry about their weight, and offers advice
about how to maintain a normal and healthy weight and not let these
worries get out of control.
Why do
we worry about our weight?
Most of us, at some time in our lives, feel
unhappy about the way we look and try to change it. Being smaller,
shorter, or less well-developed than friends or brothers and
sisters can make us feel anxious and lacking in confidence. So can
being teased about size and weight. Many of us have an idea of the
size and shape we would like to be.
Our ideas about what looks good are strongly
influenced by fashion and friends. You might compare yourself with
the pictures in magazines. The models in these magazines are often
unhealthily thin.
You may then worry that you are fat, even if
your weight is normal for your age and height. There are a variety
of sizes and shapes that are within the normal, healthy range. If
you’re interested, there are tables showing normal height and
weight. Ask your school nurse, doctor or library. Your weight, like
your height and looks, depends a lot on your build, your genes and
your diet.
Staying a healthy, normal
weight
Our bodies need a healthy diet, which should
include all the things you need to develop normally – proteins,
carbohydrates, fats, minerals and vitamins. utting out things
you might see as fattening, such as carbohydrates or fats, can stop
your body from developing normally.
There are some simple rules that can help you
to stay a healthy weight. They sound quite easy, but might be more
difficult to put into practice. You can ask your family and friends
to help you to stick to these rules – and it might even help them
to be a bit more healthy!
- Eat regular meals – breakfast, lunch and dinner. Include
carbohydrate foods such as bread, potatoes, rice or pasta with
every meal.
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- Try to eat at the same times each day. Long gaps between meals
can make you so hungry that you eventually eat far more than you
need to.
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- Avoid sugary or high-fat foods and junk foods. If you have a
lunch of crisps, chocolate and a soft drink, it doesn’t feel as if
you’re eating much, but it will pile on the pounds. A sandwich with
fruit and milk or juice will fill you up, but you are much less
likely to put on weight – and it’s better for your skin.
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- Take regular exercise. Cycling, walking or swimming are all
good ways of staying fit without going over the top.
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- Try not to pay too much attention to other people who skip
meals or talk about their weight.
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- If you follow these suggestions, you will find it easier to
control your weight, and you won’t find yourself wanting sweet
foods all the time.
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Miracle cures – do they work?
There seems to be a new one of these almost
every week. Sadly, they often do more harm than good.
- Crash diets don’t help you to keep your
weight down. In fact, they might make you put on weight after a
while. At worst, they can be dangerous.
- Exercise helps, but it’s got to be regular
and increased only gradually. Too much exercise, or too much too
soon, can damage your body.
- Laxatives might help you feel less guilty and
bloated. Unfortunately, they don’t reduce weight and can upset your
body chemistry.
- ‘Slimming pills’ can’t make you thinner. They
might make you feel a bit less hungry, but unfortunately, they can
also harm your health.
Common eating problems
Problems or pressures at school, with friends,
or at home, are common. Your appetite can be affected by stress,
pressure, worry or tiredness.
Some people turn to food for comfort. This can
lead to eating more than we need, and can make us put on weight.
It’s easy to start worrying about getting fat and we find ourselves
eating even more to comfort ourselves. It becomes a vicious
circle.
‘Comfort foods’ often contain a lot of fat or
sugar – sweets, biscuits, chocolate, cakes and pastries. It can be
helpful to keep a diary of what you eat to make sure that you don’t
slip into this.
If you are unhappy or stressed, it can be easy
to focus on your weight and eating habits instead of the things
that are bothering you. If this goes on for long enough, you might
develop an eating disorder. The most common eating disorder is
becoming overweight (obesity). Other eating
disorders are less common. Anorexia nervosa and
bulimia occur most often among girls, but can
occur in boys.
If worries have altered your appetite or
weight, it will help to talk to someone.
Signs of an eating disorder
With anorexia
nervosa:
- you may be exercising a lot more than usual
to lose weight;
- you feel afraid of putting on weight;
- you don’t feel good about yourself and the
way you look;
- if you are female, your periods may be
irregular or may have stopped;
- you may have noticed changes in your physical health;
- you will feel you are fat and will avoid
eating, even though you aren’t actually overweight;
- you feel guilty when you eat;
- you avoid food, lose a lot of weight and
become extremely thin.
Strangely, the thinner you get, the fatter you
feel! We don’t fully understand why this happens, but it makes the
eating disorder harder to overcome.
People with anorexia usually remain very
active and say they are well, even though they become so thin that
they avoid undressing in front of others or wear loose clothes to
hide their size.
Anorexia nervosa can be dangerous if it gets
out of control. If you are a girl, and your periods have stopped,
this is a danger sign that means you need help right away (this
won’t happen if you are on the pill – so if you are, don’t wait for
this).
If you don’t eat much, you can feel like you
are starving! You may then find yourself bingeing – eating lots of
food very quickly. Bingeing also happens in an eating disorder
known as bulimia.
With bulimia:
- you avoid foods like chocolates, cakes or
biscuits, except when you binge;
- you feel fat, guilty and ashamed when you
binge;
- you try to get rid of the food by being sick
or using laxatives. It usually doesn’t make much difference to your
weight, but can damage your health and take up a lot of time and
energy;
- Some people have both anorexic and bulimic
symptoms.
Getting help
If you are worried about your weight or feel
you might have an eating disorder, you should get some help. Talk
to:
- a member of the family
- a teacher or school nurse
- a counsellor or social worker
- your general practitioner
- B-EAT
professional.
Your GP or practice nurse is the best
person for basic information and advice on diet and weight. If you
need more specialist help, they can refer you to a specialist or
suggest that you see a professional at your local child and adolescent mental health
service. This is a team of specialists including child
and adolescent psychiatrists, psychologists, social workers,
psychotherapists and specialist nurses. They can help you to regain
control of your eating and your weight.
Most young people do get better with help.
Recommended reading
Sources of further information
B-EAT: Adult
Helpline 0845 634 1414; Youth Helpline 0845 634 7650; textphone
service 01603 753322.
YoungMinds
provides information and advice on child mental health issues.
Parents’ Information Service 0800 018 2138.
References
Carr, A. (ed.) (2000) What Works with
Children and Adolescents? A Critical Review of
Psychological Interventions with Children, Adolescents and
their
Families. London:
Brunner-Routledge.
Dana, M. & Lawrence, M. (1988) Woman’s
Secret Disorder: A New Understanding of Bulimia.
London: Grafton Books.
Palmer, R. L. (1989) Anorexia Nervosa: A
Guide for Sufferers and Their Families. London:
Penguin.
Rutter, M. & Taylor, E. (eds) (2002)
Child and Adolescent Psychiatry (4th edn).
London: Blackwell.
Scott, A., Shaw, M. & Joughin, C. (eds)
(2001) Finding the Evidence: A Gateway to the
Literature in Child and Adolescent Mental Health (2nd
edn). London: Gaskell.
Nice
Guideline (2004) – Core Interventions in the
treatment and management of Anorexia Nervosa, Bulimia Nervosa and
related eating disorders .
Series editor: Dr Mona Freeman
Editorial Board: Child and Family Public
Education Editorial Board.
Revised: December 2009; next due for review: December
2011.
© [2004] Royal College of
Psychiatrists. This leaflet may be downloaded, printed out,
photocopied and distributed free of charge as long as the Royal
College of Psychiatrists is properly credited and no profit is
gained from its use. Permission to reproduce it in any other way
must be obtained from the Head
of Publications. The College does not allow reposting of its
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directly.
Please note that we are unable to offer advice on individual cases. Please see our FAQ for advice on getting help.
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