Can veganism in a young person be the beginning of an eating disorder?

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   dandelionweedsposted 9 years ago

   Can veganism in a young person be the beginning of an eating disorder?
   
   I'm not sure if it is but I know a young person who went through some rough times and then became a vegan.  I'm not a psychologist but I am aware a few things.  I'm thinking that this is the only thing that have control over in their life right now. I would like to know your thoughts.
   
   

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2. 84

   Express10posted 9 years ago

   I would not worry, becoming a vegan is a very healthy lifestyle choice for people of all ages. For example there are many protein sources aside from meat and dairy and even people who are not "total" vegans benefit their health via better blood pressure and weight loss just to name a couple of benefits. I would be very careful to not jump to an erroneous conclusion regarding another person's eating habits. While some people who do have eating disorders crave control, this is not always the cause of their eating disorder.
   
   Most people have suffered through rough and actual traumatic times in their lives and do not have or will ever develop eating disorders. Your knowledge of some rough times in that young person's life does not mean they are on the road to an eating disorder or have one. Choosing to go vegan in and of itself is a healthy lifestyle choice and is not a step to an eating disorder. There are many healthy vegans, a fair number who are actually overweight due to the calories available in some vegan dishes. If I were you I would be extremely careful to not project negative conclusions or assumptions onto them. I do not mean to offend you and apologize if I have with my answer.

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      dandelionweedsposted 9 years agoin reply to this

      Well, of course I wouldn't say this to them.  Although veganism is a  fairly healthy lifestyle in a young person eating disorders are quite common and are a mental disorder. Did it sound like I came to a conclusion regarding this? No, it wasn't!

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      Express10posted 9 years agoin reply to this

      I mentioned a negative conclusion or assumption about veganism being linked to eating disorders by the question asked. There is no link between veganism and eating disorders as the question asks. I truly apologize for any offense.

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3. 77

   dandelionweedsposted 9 years ago

   http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2 … order.html

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      Express10posted 9 years agoin reply to this

      Using veganism as a cover for an eating disorder not the beginning of an eating disorder. Claiming to be vegan when one is anorexic is a lie. The author of this article did state that most vegans don't have the mental illness of eating disorders.

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4. 61

   Lisa HWposted 9 years ago

   I don't think the veganism-factor should automatically be assumed to be connected with wanting control over one's life (not that you've "automatically" done that) beyond - maybe - just wanting control over one's own diet.
   
   Not only are there a lot of people (and these days, more and more, I think) who struggle with the idea of eating other creatures.  Also, young people are often either aiming to be "the latest form of enlightened", so even it it's only because of health reasons, many will tend to follow trends.
   
   Although I know there are boys or young men who don't care a lot about food in the first place; I think there's a thing with girls and women of all ages when they have a small frame, don't have a particularly big appetite, and aren't the kind of people who have a big interest in food-as-entertainment and/or food-for-the-sake-of-more-than just getting rid of hunger and having other interests in life.
   
   I'm not young, and I'm far from under-120 lbs I was when I was young; but between not having a big appetite or big love of/interest in food in the first place; and any other factors there are with food I find too heavy, too hard-to-digest, or too whatever-else for my preferences (which are pretty much the same as they were when I was six, and pretty much similar to the preferences of a lot of six-year-olds); I can see how easy it would be to lose whatever appetite, say, a young woman has to the point where it's hard to even imagine eating or even drinking much of anything.
   
   Just this week I've been through that kind of thing because of stress and "frazzlement", and I'm having a really hard time making sure I at least eat/drink something.  Some types of stress make a person need higher calorie/fat foods.  Some (enough) can make a person feel like she has absolutely no appetite at all - almost as if she has no digestive system/needs at all.  People who can eat when they're not hungry often just don't understand that.
   
   While I can see how easily a young, small, person at the mercy of adults who don't understand one thing or another could be at risk of developing an eating disorder, I tend to think (as evidenced by today's overweight kids) that stress and demands tend to make people eat more calories/fat, not less.

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   Penny Gposted 9 years ago

   I know many people eating a meatless diet. I for one. This is the age of getting healthy,making our own food choices and the internet has provided us with a wealth of information to help us decide. It seems those who are NOT eating this way tend to be critical,  pass judgements, and have not done their home work before speaking  out. I encounter this on a daily basis. Their thoughts ideas and comments are strictly that, their thoughts, and opinions. Use that internet research, read and then decide. Please be sure your decisions are for you, others will decide for themselves.

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      Express10posted 9 years agoin reply to this

      I could not agree with you any more. Well said.

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