Do you feel guilty about eating?

Author: Wang Ying, Chief Physician of Tianjin Mental Health Center

Reviewer: Chen Jue, Chief Physician, Shanghai Mental Health Center

"Have you eaten?" is one of the unique greetings in China, which reflects the humanistic care of Chinese society and the long history of Chinese food culture. China has a civilization history of about 5,000 years, and the development history of food culture can be traced back to even earlier times. The colorful banquets and completely different flavors allow people to taste the ultimate beauty of food in the world.

However, with the rapid development of the times, the social culture of "thinness" as beauty has gradually prevailed, and the trend of advocating "thinness" has attracted people to imitate it, and the value concepts and behavior patterns of beauty lovers have also changed. The emergence of the concept of "fasting" and the hype of "health recipes" have made more and more people begin to doubt whether they eat healthily; worry about whether their body shape conforms to the public aesthetic; and constantly compare themselves with special groups (models, celebrities). With the accumulation of time and the strengthening of the external environment, people's anxiety and pain about diet will continue to increase. The delicious food that should have been used for enjoyment has become an invisible pressure.

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Next, we will first understand the problems related to eating, and then recommend that you make appropriate adjustments based on your own situation to establish a good eating pattern. Let's think about a few questions first: Do you have a desire for food but also aversion to it? Do you pay too much attention to your weight and body shape? Do you often have conflicts with family and friends because of the problem of "eating"? Do you often look up some weight loss recipes on the Internet or in books? If the above problems occur frequently in you, you may have unknowingly developed a sense of guilt about "eating". If you do not make adjustments in time, you may develop an eating disorder in the long run.

Eating disorders refer to a group of diseases with abnormal eating behavior and excessive attention to food, weight, and body shape as the main clinical features, mainly including anorexia nervosa and bulimia nervosa. In recent years, the prevalence of eating disorders has continued to increase. However, due to various restrictions, eating disorders have low recognition rates, low rates of medical treatment, and even lower rates of effective treatment. There are many causes and influencing factors for eating disorders, including genetic factors, gender factors, psychological factors, family factors, cultural factors, and traumatic experiences.

For patients with anorexia nervosa, "fear of being fat" is the core of their morbid psychology. Some people are already skinny but still think they are fat. In order to maintain what they think is a "perfect" body shape and weight, they will strictly control their food intake, reduce their intake, reject high-energy foods, and feel a strong sense of guilt for "eating". In order to alleviate the sense of guilt, they will accelerate metabolism in various ways, such as inducing vomiting, abusing laxatives, diet pills, excessive exercise, etc. Patients who have reached the diagnosis of anorexia nervosa may experience malnutrition, pale skin, hypotension, hypothermia, bradycardia, and even water and electrolyte disorders. Women may experience problems such as amenorrhea, and the accompanying emotional problems will bring more serious distress.

For patients with bulimia nervosa, eating large amounts of food quickly is completely different from the feasts that are usually imagined during holiday gatherings. They cannot control themselves and repeatedly engage in binge-purge activities. Patients who reach the diagnosis of bulimia nervosa will eat a lot of high-calorie, easily digestible foods such as ice cream or cake in a short period of time. They lack a sense of control over eating and cannot stop or control their eating no matter what or how they eat. After eating, they will repeatedly engage in inappropriate compensatory behaviors to prevent weight gain, such as inducing vomiting, abusing laxatives, or excessive exercise. Irregular eating can also easily lead to problems such as acute gastroenteritis and acute pancreatitis.

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Food is the most important thing for people. From babbling babies to gray-haired elders, different life cycles require different food. Eating is the material guarantee for the continuation of life. Therefore, we do not need to feel guilty about normal eating. We should learn to face various accidents in life and accept our own strengths and weaknesses. Even if "I am a little fat and not beautiful", as long as my body indicators are within the healthy range, I do not need to take any special food actions. Each of us must learn to understand what is a healthy life and what is true "beauty". Don't be easily swayed by external ideas. Try to eat steadily every day, exercise reasonably, and live happily!

References

[1] Zhao Chengyi, Jiang Zhaoping. The impact of self-objectification on abnormal eating behavior of female college students: moderated mediation effect[J]. Chinese Journal of Health Psychology, 2021, 29(06): 956-960.