YOUR HEALTH Is social media making your child ill?
ITV newsreader Mark Austin has seen many harrowing things in a career spanning 35 years.
But as he revealed last week, few haunt him like watching his teen daughter “shrinking away before his eyes” as she battled life threatening anorexia while her weight plummeted to five-and-a-half stone during her A-levels.
And it’s a growing problem – 650 children in Britain were admitted to hospital with eating disorders in 2004. By 2014, the number had risen to 1,790.
Austin blamed his daughter’s illness partly on social media that encourages children – and in particular girls – to develop unhealthy ideas about the way they should look.
But how do you protect your children, how do you tell if they have an eating disorder, and what should you do if you suspect they do? Pyschologist Dr Linda Papadopoulos, author of Unfollow: Living Life On Your Own Terms, shares her top tips for parents. becomes obsessed with their training regime, their muscle tone or their eating habits, it can become unhealthy.” Linda says: “For most children nowadays there is no distinction between online and offline, so you may find your child’s obsession with food manifests itself in them documenting everything they eat.
“Taking pictures of food is a very big thing online. But if taking pictures of their food, or looking at food photographs posted by others, suddenly becomes a big part of the way your child is using social media, it could be a warning sign.”
Linda says: “Unfortunately there are things online called pro-ana websites which promote anorexia.
“These are quite literally guides on how to stay ill. These sites contain some horrific advice. For example, if you are going to make yourself sick, they suggest eating beetroot first. That way you can tell your stomach is entirely empty when the beetroot comes back up. Such unusual behaviour can be a sign your child is using these websites.” #Thighgap. It’s about the need to look a specific way, not just the need to be a certain weight. It’s indicative of a preoccupation with weight and size.
“On social media everyone’s life, looks and meals all appear perfect, even though they aren’t. When children see their own life isn’t perfect, they become upset about their appearance and who they are. “So whenever someone talked about my daughter being pretty, I talked about her being good at maths, because she needed to remember that how you look is not what really matters.”
Linda says: “We know the sooner you get help, the better the chances of treating an eating disorder.
“You need to raise it with your children as soon as you suspect something is wrong. You need to love them enough not to be afraid of making them uncomfortable.
“Tell them things are going to be OK, and that you are going to help them get through this. Make sure they know they will come out of it feeling better.”
Linda says: “Denial is par for the course with eating disorders. If they are ill they probably won’t see it right away, so you need to be brave and you need to be adamant.
“Don’t be put off by their reluctance to talk about it. Tell them it’s your job to make sure they are OK, just the same as you would if they had diabetes because they were overweight.”
Linda says: “Make them see their GP and find out their Body Mass Index (BMI). It’s not an ideal measure, but it is a good guide for establishing the scale of the problem.
“If their BMI is lower than it should be, a GP can give you advice on the counselling and therapy that is available to help you nip this in the bud and refer you to the appropriate service.
“You need support as well as your child and the sooner you have an expert advising you, the better.” ■■Unfollow: Living Life on Your Own Terms by Dr Linda Papadopoulos is published by Piatkus.