by Gordon Hamilton

Created on: December 21, 2008

Eating to live or living to eat for me represents two extremes, with the vast majority of us living somewhere in between. As with anything in life, eating and the enjoyment of such should know neither extreme and a natural healthy balance has to be determined and achieved. So what are the signs of verging upon one extreme or the other? How do we recognise them and take action upon them before the issue gets totally out of hand?

In most instances, the warning signs will be apparent in childhood. Let us deal with the former extreme first, "eating to live." I myself, both as a child and as an adult, have seen small children sitting picking at a plate of food, taking the occasional reluctant morsel in to their mouths. This of course in itself is not a sign of any eating disorder, it may simply be that they do not like that which is on the plate or that they are genuinely not hungry at that time. When this becomes a habit or a trend with the child, however, it is the responsibility of the parents to take action.

So what do the parents do? Let me give you an example here from my own childhood. When I was very young, my parents had absolutely no problem in getting me to eat. I am in fact reliably informed that the first word I ever spoke was, "more!" Getting me to eat a balanced diet, however, was a different story altogether. I was quite happy to eat meat, even potatoes, but fresh fruit and vegetables were a distinct turn off to my young palate. So what my mother did was make mealtimes fun. She would fashion the food on my plate in to pictures, such as a smiling face, and get me to enjoy the pictures and essentially alter them by eating the food. I used to love "biting the snowman's nose off" by eating the carrot sticking out of a plate of mashed potatoes! Experimentation in this way can produce very significant results - I am living proof of it!

If the problem is more serious, however, than it was in my case, professional advice may have to be sought. The child should be taken to the family doctor or physician. There may be a very genuine and physical problem. It is important therefore that it be addressed at the earliest opportunity, and whether physical or not, not left to fester in to adolescence and adulthood.

Living to eat is a very different kettle of fish and I believe there are two principal causes of this - unhappiness and boredom. If a child - or an adult - is unhappy, they make seek solace in so-called "comfort" foods. The endorphins released in the brain by the consumption of chocolate, for example, can provide the illusion of comfort from the root source of said unhappiness but this is only one stage of a vicious cycle. As the person's weight increases, it is likely that so too will their unhappiness and they will again seek refuge in eating, and so on. It is the root cause of the problem - perhaps at school - which should be determined and addressed by the concerned parent.

If boredom is the cause of the eating disorder in this instance, it is much more likely to be an adult we are talking about. This in theory should be an easy problem to address by getting a hobby or some other form of interest but it is perhaps convincing the person - or the person convincing themselves - of the existence of the problem that could prove to be the tricky part.

Whichever extreme applies, the course of action should be the same in that the existence of the problem has to be recognised by all parties before it can be treated. Only then is there any hope of the unfortunate individual developing a natural and healthy diet and enjoying life to the full.

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