Instead of eating reasonable portions of fruit, vegetables, whole grains, and other healthy foods, lots of people eat too many cookies and chips. Many people just eat too much food in general.

One result is an epidemic of obesity that has swelled the waistlines of millions of adults and kids. This increase in obesity has led to increases in the occurrence of diabetes, heart disease, cancer, and other illnesses (see “Packing Fat“).

Some people have trouble controlling how much they eat. Others are so worried about getting fat that they strictly limit how much they eat and may end up starving themselves.

But for other people, food becomes the enemy. They worry so much about getting fat that they either severely limit what they eat or make themselves throw up right after eating. Doctors say that these people have eating disorders.

Eating disorders among teens are much less common than obesity is. Yet the health consequences of eating disorders can be just as severe.

Not eating enough can lead to heart attacks, weak bones, organ damage, and fainting spells. Repeatedly throwing up causes chemical imbalances in the body, erodes teeth, and destroys the stomach lining.

Researchers are zeroing in on what causes certain people to develop eating disorders, why some people are more at risk than others, and what kinds of education programs work best to keep people from taking drastic measures to lose weight or stay slim.

It’s important to learn how to recognize signs of disordered eating in yourself and your friends, doctors say, because research shows that getting treatment early on is the key to a quick recovery.

Starving yourself

In the United States, eating disorders affect as many as 10 million girls and women and 1 million boys and men.

One type of eating disorder is called anorexia (or anorexia nervosa). People with anorexia eat only tiny amounts of food. They’re often obsessed with measuring food portions or counting calories. They may exercise for hours every day to burn off the few calories that they do consume. Someone who weighs 100 pounds can drop to an unhealthy weight of just 80 pounds, or even less, if they develop anorexia.

People with anorexia may be obsessed with measuring food portions, counting calories, and checking their weight.

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Instead of starving themselves, people with an eating disorder called bulimia (or bulimia nervosa) eat a huge amount—like a quart of ice cream, a giant bag of chips, or a package of cookies—in a short time. Then, they try to get rid of the food by forcing themselves to vomit.

Both disorders often begin around puberty, when kids’ bodies change in important ways. These changes can be stressful, especially for girls.

People have long blamed eating disorders on a culture that idolizes skinny women and muscular men. The idea is that pictures in movies and magazines become unrealistic goals for people, who then take dangerous measures to change the way they look.

One of the most surprising findings in recent years, however, is that genetics and biology may also play a role. Anorexia and bulimia run in families, says Kelly Klump, a psychologist at Michigan State University in East Lansing.

Genes and hormones

Klump and her coworkers have found that the family connection starts to emerge after puberty, usually in the early teen years. That’s when levels of certain hormones start to change in kids’ bodies.

Hormones are chemical compounds that help keep our bodies working properly. Hormones control how quickly cells make and digest proteins. They play roles in how fast we grow, how hungry we are, and how we feel.

Klump suspects that each person’s genes determine his or her particular hormone levels. That’s what makes some people more likely to develop unhealthy eating behaviors. Hormone differences may also explain why eating disorders are more common among girls and women than among boys and men.

In one eating disorder, a person may be tempted to eat everything in sight, then try to get rid of the food by throwing up.

Finding a genetic link, however, doesn’t mean that fate determines who will end up with an eating disorder. “You’re not doomed,” Klump says. It only means that some people are at greater risk.

Media images

Whatever your risk for an eating disorder, one thing is certain: Media images have a big impact on how people feel about themselves.

Some studies have shown that girls who try to look like movie stars and fashion models are more likely to make themselves vomit than other girls are, says Alison Field. She’s an eating disorder expert at Children’s Hospital Boston.

And studies by Harvard psychiatrist Ann Becker showed that the occurrence of bulimia skyrocketed in Fiji after television was introduced to that South Pacific island in 1995. After just 3 years of watching commercials for exercise equipment and TV shows full of good-looking, superthin actors, the number of Fijian girls who said they vomited to lose weight jumped from 3 percent to 15 percent.

Media and advertising images can be misleading. Photos of models and actors are often touched up to make them look better.

Learning to resist the allure of media images may be the most important way for kids to protect themselves from eating disorders, Field says. After all, pictures can be deceiving.

The images that we see have usually been altered in various ways to make models and actors look even better than they do in person. “There’s manipulation behind all ads,” Field says. Ads are supposed to make you feel bad about yourself so that you buy stuff.

Dieting risks

Many schools today teach students about the hazards of obesity and the importance of staying lean. However, some studies have shown that kids who diet end up gaining more weight than those who don’t. The more people try to restrict their food intake, the more likely they are to think about food. And the more they think about food, the more likely they are to head for the kitchen.

The best strategy, Field says, might be to teach kids about obesity and eating disorders. After all, the underlying message is the same. If you eat well and get enough exercise, your weight and health should fall into place.

School-based educational programs can be quite powerful. In one recent study, 500 middle-school girls participated in a program called Planet Health. The program taught the girls about nutrition and fitness within the context of other school subjects. After 2 years, the number of girls who were using diet pills or vomiting to lose weight dropped from 6.2 percent to 2.8 percent. It might be worth encouraging your school to adopt a similar program.

In the meantime, if you or any of your friends are showing signs of eating disorders, it’s important to get help right away. Talk to a parent, a teacher, a doctor, or some other adult you trust.

You need to realize that you’re not alone, Field says. You can really benefit from the help that other people can give.

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New food guidelines and the food pyramid that goes with them emphasize that we should eat more fruits, more vegetables, and more whole grains than we typically do now. We should also avoid lots of sugar, salt, and certain types of fats. And we should get plenty of exercise.

The best way to stay healthy is to eat foods packed with nutrients.

USDA

As a young person, you might not think that these recommendations apply to you. After all, you might consume greasy pizza and sugared soda pop every day and feel just fine. Or perhaps you stay skinny no matter how many French fries and candy bars you eat.

There are plenty of reasons to swallow your pride instead of a milkshake and pay attention to the guidelines, says Joan Lyon. She’s a nutritionist at the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) in Alexandria, Va.

Evidence continues to build that eating certain kinds of foods protects people from cancer, heart disease, obesity, diabetes, weak bones, and other health problems. Eating the wrong kinds of foods, on the other hand, causes your body harm.

As a dietician in the U.S. Army for 21 years, Lyon worked with a lot of young soldiers. They didn’t think it mattered what they ate, she says. They felt like they were going to live forever.

But, if you don’t pay attention to what you eat when you’re young, Lyon says, it’s really, really hard when you’re old and you find yourself sick and unable to do much about it.

New information

Every 5 years, the U.S. government enlists scientists to update a document called “Dietary Guidelines for Americans” and a food pyramid illustration that goes with it. (See “Building a Food Pyramid.”) As scientists learn more about the human body, nutrition, and disease, they adjust the guidelines to reflect the new information.

The cover of the latest edition of “Dietary Guidelines for Americans.”

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Lyon was a member of a large staff that helped a team of 13 scientists put together the latest set of guidelines. The USDA and the Department of Health and Human Services released the guidelines in January.

Coming up with new guidelines every 5 years is a complicated process. More than a year before the new report is due, experts gather the latest scientific evidence on vitamins, minerals, and various foods. They discuss the findings. Sometimes, different studies seem to give opposite results. Sometimes, the evidence is incomplete.

“It’s a very long process,” Lyon says. “People can interpret science in different ways even when they’re looking at the same data.” It’s sometimes tough to come up with firm conclusions that everyone agrees with.

And new discoveries keep coming along. A team of researchers in England and Denmark, for example, recently discovered a compound in carrots that appears to reduce a rat’s chances of developing cancer.

This kind of study wouldn’t have carried much weight with the USDA committee, though, because the scientists prefer to look at studies involving people. If researchers were to repeat the rat experiment with people and got similar results, the 2010 guidelines might end up suggesting that we eat more carrots.

Weight control

More than the old guidelines, the 2005 recommendations focus on weight control, Lyon says. (See “Packing Fat.”)

“There’s an energy equation,” she says. “The calories you take in need to balance the amount of energy you expend in terms of physical activity and exercise, or you’ll end up gaining weight. You need to make your calories work for you.”

Getting plenty of exercise is an important part of controlling your weight.

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The best way to stay healthy, Lyon says, is to eat foods that are packed full of nutrients.

Instead of the five servings of fruits and vegetables that used to be recommended, the new guidelines suggest that adults eat even more than that: 2 cups of fruit and 2 1/2 cups of vegetables each day.

Kids should adjust the amounts of fruits and vegetables based on energy needs and size. It might be worth talking to your doctor or school nurse for advice on the amounts that are best for you.

The widths of the colored triangles in the new food pyramid show roughly how much of different food groups a person should eat: Grains (orange), vegetables (green), fruits (red), oils (yellow), milk (blue), and meat and beans (violet). The new pyramid als

USDA

The guidelines also recommend that people 9 years old and up should drink three cups of low-fat or fat-free dairy products each day and eat lots of whole grains. Brown rice and whole-wheat bread, for example, are better choices than white rice and plain bagels.

Whole grains are important because they don’t go through all of the processing that strips fiber, magnesium, calcium, and other nutrients from many starchy foods. Look on labels for ingredients such as whole oats and whole wheat.

The new recommendations distinguish between different kinds of fats, as well. Young people between the ages of 4 and 18 should get between 25 and 35 percent of their calories from fat, the experts say.

But most of this fat should come from nuts, vegetable oils, and fish. You should avoid a type called “trans fats,” which appear on labels for cookies, crackers, and other foods as “hydrogenated” or “partially hydrogenated” oils.

As far as exercise goes, the document recommends 30 to 60 minutes of activity for adults on most days of the week and at least 60 minutes of exercise for kids every day.

Changing habits

As much sense as the new guidelines make, many people still have a hard time changing their habits, even when they know what’s best for their health.

Eating lots of fruits and whole grains is an important part of a balanced diet.

USDA

If you already eat lots of fruits, veggies, and whole grains, then keep up the good work. If you don’t, Lyon says, try to start with just a few small changes, one at a time.

“Reach for fruit instead of candy,” she says. “Try unsweetened beverages instead of soda. Get out and exercise and do physically active things with your friends.” Eventually, these will become your new habits.

Long blamed for encouraging people to eat unhealthily, some companies are now joining in to help improve diets. Kraft Foods, for example, recently announced that it will stop advertising Oreos and other snack foods to kids younger than 12. And General Mills recently began making all of its cereals with whole grains.

More than ever, kids are making their own choices about how to spend their time and what to put in their mouths. Even if you feel fine, it might be worth learning how to read labels on the food you eat—and keeping the food guidelines in mind next time you order a meal.

“If you follow the guidelines,” Lyon says, “they can help you feel better and look better. They can help you have clearer skin, healthier hair, and give you more energy.”

Who could complain about that?

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