PROLOGUE

Our child developed anorexia at age thirteen and a half and was well on her way to recovery a year later. It took another year and a half of steady progress to catch up to her expected growth and maturity level.

During the rapid growth phase of the early teens even a brief well-meaning attempt at food restriction is enough to set the stage for anorexia to develop. Rapid spurts in height lead to the long slender body shape that has a large surface area and loses heat most rapidly¹. Subcutaneous fat is often less than at other times in the life cycle, minimizing insulation against the loss of body heat. Physical activity levels are often high, burning more heat. Energy demands soar² and growth will fail if these are not met by generous food consumption.

Our child’s illness was apparently caused by the sum of many small but significant stresses. She was beautiful and in perfect physical condition when she became ill, having always stayed at an ideal weight without effort. Among the factors contributing to her illness she believes were:

Frequent exposure to women’s magazines in supermarket checkout lanes, constantly headlining ways to lose weight.
A visit to some relatives who had become seriously overweight since we saw them last.
The fact that her father, even though he was in excellent physical condition, had gone on a lean chicken and vegetable diet after listening to the advice of an acquaintance who was married to a cardiac surgeon.
The fact that she heard her father and me discussing concerns within my profession (I am a veterinarian) over the addition of growth hormones to milk and beef. Her father also brought concerns about beef and dairy that our acquaintance (the cardiac surgeon) had voiced into these discussions. We never suggested that these foods should be removed from her diet or mine (her dad chose to follow the chicken/vegetable diet for a few months), but she apparently decided to avoid them herself.
Social stresses related to school. Our child has always been an outstanding student and was very popular in school when we relocated for two years to the West. We then returned to the state and school where she had attended kindergarten and first grade. Although she had known many of these children well, they had become clannish and refused to allow her back into the cliques that had developed in her absence. Although the teachers were wonderful and she did very well academically, she began to suffer excessively from the behavior of the other kids.
Discussions in the media about excess sugar in the American diet (especially from soda pop) leading to obesity and diabetes. Although we consumed soda pop only at fast food places and mainly on trips, she became concerned about beverages in general and started choosing water instead. The elimination of milk and healthy juices was a significant loss of calories for a child in a growth spurt.
A special upcoming formal event, celebrating the Millennium, for which she wanted to look her best. This may have played a role in her decision to make the slight but significant changes in her eating patterns that led to the illness.
Food allergies that our child developed following an intestinal infection, confirmed by allergy testing by a specialist. These caused recurrent intestinal upsets and made it necessary to avoid eggs, milk, corn, apples, peanut butter, food dyes, and other items. Although she was on a well balanced diet and a multivitamin daily, I suspect she suffered nutritional losses due to the intestinal upsets and diarrhea which became significant over time, and from the absence of milk and eggs, which are such a significant part of most children’s diet. The allergies lasted for about four years, until the onset of the eating disorder. After recovery from anorexia, the allergies were almost entirely gone.

We have no experience with other types of eating disorders, only anorexia. However, many of the points in this book should be helpful to anyone who is significantly underweight due to over-dieting. CAUTION: Always be sure that your physician and health caregivers are aware of and approve of all vitamins, minerals, dietary changes and exercises that you are instituting at home, as well as any travel plans you make.