Are you aware that, based on the data, people in your church are struggling with eating disorders? Faith communities are “often the first point of contact for someone struggling,” says Christie Dondero Bettwy, and as such, it is crucial that churches know how to help those who grapple with disordered eating.
“We can’t be full disciples and true neighbors to people in our community if we’re held captive by the chains of disordered eating and body image issues,” said Bettwy in a talk she gave Monday, Oct. 10, at the Church Mental Health Summit. Bettwy is a pastor’s wife and executive director of Rock Recovery, an eating disorder therapy nonprofit.
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Eating Disorders: What the Church Needs To Know
“People of any shape and size can struggle with an eating disorder. It is not limited to people who are in small bodies,” said Bettwy. “Even though we might have a certain idea in our head of who might have an eating disorder, we need to really break through that and realize that all kinds of people struggle.”
Christians and church leaders should care about being educated about eating disorders because God created us with bodies, and our bodies matter to him, said Bettwy. Scriptures such as Gen. 1:26, Psalm 139:14, Luke 12:6-7 and 1 Corinthians 6:19-20 show us these truths.
What’s more, significant numbers of Americans struggle with disordered eating. Bettwy cited data from the National Eating Disorders Association that says 30 million Americans deal with disordered eating. Thirty-nine percent of women between the ages of 25 and 45 “have concerns regarding eating or body image that interfere with their happiness,” and anorexia is the third most common chronic illness among adolescents.
But what are eating disorders? Bettwy said they are “bio-psycho-social illnesses where individuals are engaging in detrimental eating-related behaviors such as restriction, binging, purging, etc.” Eating disorders, which often begin at very young ages, develop as a result of various pressures, and arise from family, sports or societal expectations. Dieting is “one of the highest indicators” of an eating disorder, said Bettwy, who added she hears from people who never meant to develop an eating disorder, but did when they started dieting.
Noting our society’s obsession with being thin, Bettwy stressed that being healthy looks different for each person. She defined healthy as “moderate, balanced, joyful and a good weight for someone’s individual created body.”
Examples of eating disorders include anorexia nervosa, bulimia nervosa, and binge-eating disorder. Often, disordered eating is a way of coping with underlying emotional issues, such as poor self-esteem, a need to gain control, or an inner emptiness.
Betty said the three keys to true healing for an eating disorder are 1) supportive people (a person’s family or community), 2) eating disorder experts (such as counselors or therapists), and 3) spiritual or faith communities. She encouraged churches to talk about eating disorders more than they currently do. Church leaders and their communities cannot solve every problem, but they can be educated and learn where to refer people who need help.
