This week and month we’ve been talking about eating disorders. While most eating disorders come with someone seeking to be skinny, there are eating disorders that involve consuming too much food. In fact, while food shaming can lead someone to seek out being skinny through unhealthy actions, it can also cause someone to eat too much and gain too much weight very quickly.
Many people don’t understand that their words are actionable ways to food shame someone. For example, if someone is struggling with being overweight- asking them if they are “really going to eat that” or saying something like “do you think that is a good choice for you” when it comes to food can be considered fat shaming. Anything, in fact, with a negative undertone- even if delivered with the best intentions- may only empower the eating disorder or cause binge eating.
When you speak with someone whom you are concerned about, don’t offer unsolicited hints or question their eating habits. Instead, offer support by providing a safe space to talk about food. In many cases, you probably want to seek out help in doing this as these types of conversations are always delicate and you don’t want unintentionally food shame someone.
We offer a licensed nutritionist who can help you deal with delicate food issues. If the concerns reach into the clinical side of medicine, Dr. Odom can provide you with referrals and resources for added medical help and support.