The hotline for eating disorders in Vienna Health Promotion – WIG draws attention to the serious illness on the World Eating Disorders Day) on June 2. “Eating disorders are often affected with taboos and stigmatization. It is all the more important to focus on this topic and encourage those affected to contact contact points such as our hotline for eating disorders,” said Dennis Beck, Managing Director of Vienna Health Promotion – WIG. Many factors often play together for the development of eating disorders – usually a single trigger is sufficient, whereby unrealistic ideals of beauty can be one of them. “It is a kind of call for help from the soul if those affected cannot process their mental problems. It is important to recognize eating disorders in good time, because they have serious health consequences,” said Ursula Knell, specialist director of the hotline for eating disorders in Vienna’s health promotion – WIG.
Between heroin chic, sports and body cult
Social media influence beauty ideals enormously and often increase the pressure to correspond to an unrealistic image. This can lead to the intensive use of social networks greater the dissatisfaction with your own body. One-sided diet tips, exaggerated sports craze and current trends, such as “Heroin Chic”-an extremely slim, often unhealthy look-additionally tighten this problem. The desire for a perfect body does not automatically mean that it leads to an eating disorder, but such ideals often convey questionable messages associated with diets or restrictive eating behavior. “Young people with little self-esteem in particular can be reinforced by AI-generated images and the constant comparison on social media in their dissatisfaction and this can trigger mental illnesses such as eating disorders,” continues Knell. Often it is concerned parents who observe unhealthy eating behavior in their children and look for professional help. The youngest affected are between 9 and 11 years old. In addition, not only girls, but increasingly also boys or young men have eating disorders. For them, the pressure often shows up in exaggerated sports behavior and striving for muscular bodies.
Recognize eating disorders and act early
The lives of those affected are compulsively revolved around food or not eating. The way out of an eating disorder needs a lot of patience and it is a process of small steps, both by those affected and the relatives. For those seeking advice, the hotline for eating disorders in Vienna’s health promotion-WIG free and anonymously stands free available. The offer ranges from short and longer-term consultations, support in crises to the imparting of further professional help. You can find more information here.
Mag.a Petra Hafner
Head of Public Relations Viennese Health Promotion – WIG
Telephone: +43 1 4000 76921
E-mail: petra.hafner@wig.or.at
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