The Center for Disease Control has reported that rates of eating disorders in teenage girls rose during the pandemic, including an increase in emergency room visits, anxiety, depression and stress.
Melissa Spann, Chief Clinical DIrector at Monte Nido and Affiliates, said the pandemic brought on a mental health crisis generally, too.
"What the research says is, we know if you are already prone to an eating disorder or are prone to a mental health particular challenge, it only got worse," Spann said "So things like isolation, lack of structure, and just increased anxiety are all possible triggers."
Spann also said that there are more eating disorders than people are generally aware of, and symptoms can go unnoticed.
"There has been an increased awareness in binge eating disorder. Typically, when people think of eating disorders, they often think of anorexia nervosa sort of as the hallmark -- someone who perhaps looks thin or emaciated," she said. "The challenge with other eating disorders like bulimia and binge eating disorders, is they often go even further unnoticed, because the physical symptoms might not be the same."
Spann added that some people can be more prone to eating disorders due to genetics, but often outside stressors are what push people into disordered habits.
She also discussed the increased prevalence of eating disorders in boys and men.
"I don't know if they're becoming more common, or now we have a greater awareness to them, which is really great," she said. "Because we do see that the stressors around weight and body image are just as significant in adolescent boys as they are in adolescent girls."
Spann said the best thing parents can do is look for warning signs, like their child eating secretly alone, starting fad diets, new obsessions with exercise, avoiding social situations, or hiding their bodies in baggy clothes.
Listen to the full conversation from Total Information AM: