Eating Disorder or Symptom of Media Saturation?

"When you talk about food habits, it becomes extraordinarily complicated, because everybody has a relationship with food, and it’s usually a somewhat complicated one."  This is a very apt quote from an interesting article from today's NYT Science section about the rise in cases of what specialists call "Ednos" which stands for "eating disorder, not otherwise specified."  This acronym refers to cases of what I have also heard called "disordered eating behavior." Ednos cases now account for 4% of eating disorder diagnoses according to the NEDA.  We all know (or may be guilty of) Ednos behavior which might include a punish and reward mentality about food, like eating one day and not the next or exercising for 4 hours because we consumed a pint of ice cream the night before.  While I would disagree with the notion that every woman out there has food issues, many do, and I would argue that it's partly from information overload and media saturation of competing ideas about diet and health and ideal body size. Sometimes the more you know, the more confused you become. Most people no longer know how to define "thin" (is Victoria Beckham fashionably waifish or dangerously emaciated?) or how to accurately describe their own bodies (are you really fat or just no longer a size 2 like you were in high school?), much less what to eat in a day to maintain a healthy weight (are carbs bad or good? how many nuts is too many?).  I'm feeling overwhelmed just thinking about it! The truth is - we are born with everything we need to answer these questions: a body and a mind.  So, turn off the TV, put down the Cosmo and think about what your body is trying to tell you. Are you truly hungry?  Are you getting enough nutrients or are your cravings trying to tell you something? Did you know that craving crunchy things can mean you're angry or stressed? Or craving salty food can mean you are deficient in certain minerals? Or that you may actually just be dehydrated if you feel hungry all the time? Also, talk to your doctor and find out what a healthy weight for your height is. Maybe you are trying to maintain a dangerously low weight and your body is resisting because it knows better.  Be smart and listen to your body.  You will probably like what it has to say much more than the editorial team at Vogue. To find out more about my studies at IIN and how to deconstruct cravings, visit my website.