In the United Arab Emirates, disordered eating behaviours are now relatively common among young people. Sociocultural changes, including exposure to Western beauty ideals, have caused more children, adolescents, and young adults to develop eating disorders.
Eating disorders may be prevalent in urban centres, such as cities like Dubai.
There are many different types of eating disorders and disordered eating behaviours. Diagnosable eating disorders specify a particular set of traits and symptoms that relate to a specific diagnosis. But sometimes, young people have combinations of symptoms that don’t match up with any one diagnosis or constitute atypical diagnoses.
This blog offers some information about anorexia nervosa and restrictive eating among young people in Dubai. It also outlines the treatments available that promote long-term recovery and lasting well-being.
Understanding Anorexia Nervosa and Restrictive Eating
Anorexia nervosa and restrictive eating are both related to eating disorders. However, anorexia nervosa is a type of eating disorder diagnosis, while restrictive eating is a disordered eating behaviour and a symptom of eating disorders.
Anorexia Nervosa
Anorexia nervosa is a type of eating disorder characterised by a restricted energy intake. This might include restrictive eating, excessive exercise, or other ways for someone to take in less energy than they use. People diagnosed with typical anorexia have a low body weight relative to their age and developmental trajectory.
However, people at a normal or higher weight can also live with anorexia. This is usually called atypical anorexia, although some experts argue that people with atypical and typical anorexia should receive the same diagnosis. They say that weight should not be an important criterion in eating disorder diagnosis. In reality, research suggests that in the general population, people with anorexia are more likely to have a normal or higher body weight than a low body weight.
Restrictive Eating
Restrictive eating is a type of disordered eating behaviour and a symptom of some eating disorders, including anorexia nervosa, “avoidant/restrictive food intake disorder” (ARFID), and “eating disorder not otherwise specified” (EDNOS).
However, some young people may seriously restrict their diets without meeting the criteria for an eating disorder diagnosis. This doesn’t mean that their behaviour isn’t harmful or that it shouldn’t be taken seriously.
Restrictive eating may mean avoiding certain food groups or consuming less food than the body requires. It often involves strict eating routines and feeling very anxious if they’re not followed. It might include calorie counting, weighing food, and other behaviours.
Restrictive eating harms the mind and body in many ways. It can lead to malnutrition, tiredness, loss of concentration, anxiety, and depression. These symptoms also affect a young person’s social life and their ability to enjoy time with others.
This can lead to social isolation, which, in turn, contributes to the maintenance of eating disorders.
Eating Disorders in Dubai and the United Arab Emirates
Disordered eating behaviours are common among young people in Dubai and the United Arab Emirates. Studies have found that:
- 78% of female and 58% of male adolescents experienced body dissatisfaction
- In Al Ain City, 23.4% of children and adolescents up to the age of 16 were at risk of developing an eating disorder
- 23.4% of female school-aged adolescents had disordered eating attitudes
- 33.1% to 49% of male adolescents in five UAE states had disordered eating attitudes, particularly in Dubai and Al-Fujairah
Some groups of young people are at a higher risk of developing eating disorders than others. For example, high levels of disordered eating attitudes have been linked to age, BMI, internalisation of thin ideal, knowing someone who is trying to change their weight, having a family member with weight-related or mental health problems and watching Western TV programs.
However, anyone can develop an eating disorder, regardless of their age, gender, ethnicity, religion, or socio-economic background.
Treatment and Support for Anorexia and Restrictive Eating
All young people with eating problems require professional support. For some children and adolescents, outpatient care may give them the necessary support to recover, develop, and grow as a person. Other young people may require residential programs to keep them safe and provide the intensity of treatment they need.
There are several different treatment options available that support young people in recovering from anorexia nervosa and restrictive eating. Some young people may benefit from a combination of treatment options. They may also try more than one approach until they find the one that works best for them.
Some treatment approaches include:
- MANTRa
- Family-based treatment
- Integrated trauma therapy, including cognitive-processing therapy
- Enhanced cognitive-behavioural therapy (CBT-e)
MANTRa (Maudsley Model of Anorexia Nervosa Treatment for Adolescents)
MANTRa is a treatment approach that’s based on the cognitive-interpersonal maintenance theory of anorexia. It assumes that disordered eating attitudes and behaviours are largely caused and maintained by a young person’s ways of thinking and their relationships with other people.
MANTRa focuses on the personality traits that lead to the development and maintenance of anorexia while improving interpersonal relationships and individual perspectives to promote recovery and change.
Family-Based Treatment
Family-based treatment is an established treatment approach for children and adolescents with anorexia. It empowers parents to take responsibility for their child’s recovery by supervising their food intake, exercise, and other parts of their daily life. As a young person recovers, they gradually claim agency over their own recovery.
Integrated Trauma Therapy
Many young people with eating disorders have experienced some kind of trauma. Disordered eating behaviours can be a form of trauma response or a way to cope with past experiences. This means that meaningful recovery from eating disorders involves addressing the memories and emotions that underpin disordered eating behaviours.
Trauma-focused programs address trauma from the very start of a treatment program, opening the door to healing and recovery from the symptoms that it drives.
Enhanced Cognitive-Behavioural Therapy
Enhanced cognitive-behavioural therapy addresses the thinking patterns that underpin disordered eating behaviours. It focuses on the overvaluation of shape and weight as the core trait that underpins eating disorders. It may also address other underlying issues, such as low self-esteem, interpersonal difficulties, and perfectionism.
The Wave: Setting the Global Standard for Eating Disorder Treatment
The Wave offers residential and outpatient treatment for young people with eating disorders, from the age of 10 until young adulthood. We provide a diverse selection of evidence-based modalities, designed and delivered with exceptional expertise. We’re a Global Centre of Excellence for the treatment of eating disorders, catering to young people in all levels of need.
Family-Centred Programs
Family involvement is key to eating disorder recovery. Families can provide the emotional support needed to guide young people through difficult times while helping to reinforce positive behaviours and commitment to change. On the other hand, unhelpful family dynamics can unintentionally maintain disordered eating behaviours.
At the Wave, we work closely with families from the start of a treatment program, collaboratively planning different aspects of each treatment plan. We work directly with families through family therapy interventions, helping families develop the skills they need to achieve and maintain long-term recovery.
If you’re interested in finding out more about our programs, get in touch today.
