Q: Are teens with diabetes more likely to develop eating disorders?
Studies have shown that female teens with diabetes are more susceptible to eating disorders simply because they are acutely aware of everything they eat, according to Rachel Calendo, R.N., B.S.N., C.D.E., manager of the Pediatric Diabetes Program at Banner Children’s Hospital at Banner Desert Medical Center. With a diabetes diagnosis, teens become responsible for personal meal planning, carbohydrate counting and the need to control blood sugars around meal times—all steps in a typical dieter’s routine. Plus, if the diabetic teen requires intensive management therapy, there is an increased chance of weight gain, which, during the teen years, can be emotionally—and physically—traumatic. Recent news stories have reported that some diabetic teens will purposely manipulate insulin dosages to lose weight. Parents of diabetic teens should be actively aware of their child’s diet and psychological health. Recurrent episodes of poor blood sugar control or diabetic ketoacidosis, a life-threatening condition that results from withholding needed insulin, should prompt parents to talk with their teen and review meal plans, insulin dosages and the consequences of poor diabetes management, says Calendo.
When an eating disorder is suspected, treatment may involve decreasing a teen’s dietary restraints, encouraging healthy eating and initiating psychiatric or psychological intervention. If the teen is not adhering to the treatment program, parents should remain hyper-vigilant; both diabetes and eating disorders can be life threatening.
A diabetes educator and registered dietitian can teach strategies for healthy weight loss and can devise a management plan that is mutually satisfactory to the teen, her family and the diabetes team with which they work. Banner Children’s Hospital at Banner Desert Medical Center offers outpatient diabetes and nutrition education. For more information, call 480-512-6275 or visit bannerhealth.com (keyword: children).
