VOA慢速英语--疫情期间,美国饮食失调人数明显上升

Increase in US Eating Disorders² During Pandemic

From VOA Learning English, this is the Health & Lifestyle report.

In the United States, restrictions³ are loosening and COVID-19 cases are decreasing. However, eating disorder¹ cases are on the rise, report doctors and specialists.

For people with eating disorders, the pandemic created a more dangerous situation. In lockdown, feelings of anxiety and loneliness are common. Experts warn that being alone and feeling anxious can increase the severity of eating disorders.

"We are absolutely seeing massive increases," said Jennifer Wildes. She is an associate psychiatry⁴ professor and director of an eating disorders program at the University of Chicago Medicine.

Wildes told the Associated Press that some patients are waiting four to five months to get mental health treatment and medication. Before the pandemic, she added, wait times were usually only a few weeks. Currently, Wildes' program treats about 100 patients. Before the pandemic, the number of patients was half that amount.

A treatment program for eating disorders at the University of Minnesota is experiencing the same thing. Daily calls to its program from people seeking treatment have doubled. In 2019, there were about 60 calls a day. Since the pandemic began, that number is up to 130 calls a day, said Jillian Lampert. She is one of the leaders of the program.

Lampert stated that increases were seen in all races and ages. She says, however, that women and girls are more commonly affected⁵ than men.

Different types of eating orders

Some of her patients have told Lampert that their lives feel "out of control" because of the pandemic. As a result, they use binge eating as a way to deal with their problems.

Binge-eating is a disorder in which a person often eats large amounts of food and feels unable to stop.

Other people are doing the opposite of binge-eating. They are taking the message "don't gain pandemic weight" to the extreme. They are restricting their meals to the point of anorexia⁶.

Anorexia is one of the more common eating disorders. Anorexic people restrict eating to achieve extreme weight loss. It can cause abnormally low blood pressure and organ damage.

Bulimia is another eating disorder. Bulimic people eat large amounts of food and then force themselves to throw it up.

Peyton Crest⁷, an 18-year-old from Minnetonka, Minnesota, said she developed anorexia before the pandemic. She has relapsed twice since it began.

When her classes moved online, she suddenly lost her support system of friends and classmates. She would spend all day alone in her room and could only think of food and her anorexic behavior.

She got treatment last June but then relapsed last September and spent almost two months in a treatment center.

Her school recently returned to in-person classes. And she was accepted to Rhodes College in Memphis, Tennessee. Crest says her mental health has improved greatly.

How widespread are eating disorders?

Eating disorders affect at least 9 percent of people worldwide. They will affect nearly 30 million Americans in their lifetimes and cause about 10,000 U.S. deaths each year. These numbers come from the National Association of Anorexia Nervosa and Associated Disorders.

A study of electronic medical records from about 80 U.S. hospitals found a 30 percent increase starting after March 2020, compared with numbers from 2019 and 2018. The study was published in April in the Epic⁸ Health Research Network journal.

The leader of the Epic study is family doctor and researcher Dr. Dave Little. He said that the COVID pandemic has given society, and in particular young people, a lot of mental health difficulties.

"This has been a big event that has disrupted a lot of people's lives in many ways," he said. It may be months or years before we know the true damage, Little added.

But he said the information should serve as a warning to parents and health care providers.

"Talk to your kids. Talk to your patients. Ensure that eating behaviors remain healthy," Little warned. He added that "the sooner you respond the better."

Warning signs of a possible eating disorder

Here are some signs of eating disorders from the U.S. National Eating Disorders organization.

Thinking about weight, body size, and food too much

Restrictions against types of food, for example, bread or sugar

Seems uneasy eating around others

Develops strange food routines, such as chewing too much or not allowing foods to touch

Skipping meals or not eating enough at regular meals

Avoiding usual friends and social activities

Disappearing immediately after eating

Extreme change in mood or behavior

Words in This Story

anxious – adj. afraid or nervous about what may happen

massive – adj. large in amount or degree

throw up – v. vomit⁹

relapse – v. a recurrence¹⁰ of symptoms of a disease after a period of improvement

disrupt – v. to cause (something) to be unable to continue in the normal way : to interrupt the normal progress or activity of (something)

mood – n. a person's emotional state

routine – n. a regular way of doing things in a particular order

1 disorder   

n.紊乱，混乱；骚动，骚乱；疾病，失调

参考例句：

• When returning back,he discovered the room to be in disorder.回家后，他发现屋子里乱七八糟。
• It contained a vast number of letters in great disorder.里面七零八落地装着许多信件。

2 disorders   

n.混乱( disorder的名词复数 )；凌乱；骚乱；（身心、机能）失调

参考例句：

• Reports of anorexia and other eating disorders are on the increase. 据报告，厌食症和其他饮食方面的功能紊乱发生率正在不断增长。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The announcement led to violent civil disorders. 这项宣布引起剧烈的骚乱。 来自《简明英汉词典》

3 restrictions   

约束( restriction的名词复数 )； 管制； 制约因素； 带限制性的条件（或规则）

参考例句：

• I found the restrictions irksome. 我对那些限制感到很烦。
• a snaggle of restrictions 杂乱无章的种种限制

4 psychiatry   

n.精神病学，精神病疗法

参考例句：

• The study appeared in the Amercian science Journal of Psychiatry.这个研究发表在美国精神病学的杂志上。
• A physician is someone who specializes in psychiatry.精神病专家是专门从事精神病治疗的人。

5 affected   

adj.不自然的，假装的

参考例句：

• She showed an affected interest in our subject.她假装对我们的课题感到兴趣。
• His manners are affected.他的态度不自然。

6 anorexia   

n.厌食症

参考例句：

• Anorexia can creep up on young girls when they least expect it.年轻女子可能在最没有防备的情況下患上厌食症。
• Anorexia is a common eating disorder.厌食是一种常见的饮食紊乱症。

7 crest   

n.顶点；饰章；羽冠；vt.达到顶点；vi.形成浪尖

参考例句：

• The rooster bristled his crest.公鸡竖起了鸡冠。
• He reached the crest of the hill before dawn.他于黎明前到达山顶。

8 epic   

n.史诗，叙事诗；adj.史诗般的，壮丽的

参考例句：

• I gave up my epic and wrote this little tale instead.我放弃了写叙事诗，而写了这个小故事。
• They held a banquet of epic proportions.他们举行了盛大的宴会。

9 vomit   

v.呕吐，作呕；n.呕吐物，吐出物

参考例句：

• They gave her salty water to make her vomit.他们给她喝盐水好让她吐出来。
• She was stricken by pain and began to vomit.她感到一阵疼痛，开始呕吐起来。

10 recurrence   

n.复发，反复，重现

参考例句：

• More care in the future will prevent recurrence of the mistake.将来的小心可防止错误的重现。
• He was aware of the possibility of a recurrence of his illness.他知道他的病有可能复发。