Everywhere you look, it seems like there’s talk of eating and weight. But not all of it is true…Take a look at some of the “facts” we’ve heard and what we discovered when we looked into whether science could back them up.

Vomiting after you eat too much is a way to “have your cake and eat it too.”

Vomiting in order to get rid of food you’ve eaten is not normal behavior. In contrast to what many people believe, vomiting is a highly inefficient way of getting rid of calories. Studies confirm that vomiting does not rid the body of recently ingested food, and egular vomiting encourages the body to absorb calories more efficiently. In addition to a long list of medical problems, vomiting leaves your body depleted of nutrients and more likely to be hungry for another meal or a binge.  Frequent vomiting can cause many medical problems including dehydration and loss of needed electrolytes such as potassium. Weakness, dizziness, erosion and bleeding of the esophagus, constipation, muscle cramping and heart problems including arrhythmias are all possible developments in the context of regular vomiting behavior. 

Your weight can’t be too low if you are able to keep up your grades or keep your job going well.

Individuals who develop anorexia nervosa are often high achievers with excellent school and work performance prior to developing an eating disorder. Therefore, it is not a big surprise to learn that many individuals at exceedingly low weight continue to be on “Dean’s List,” or remain well regarded employees in the working world. Nevertheless, individuals with anorexia nervosa will commonly reveal that work takes longer and that concentration is diminished at low weights. Indeed, formal testing of cognitive function reveals significant abnormalities at low weight. Concentration and memory worsen, distractibility increases, and IQ falls to lower levels at low weight than compared with these measures at normal weight.

The calories you eat after 6pm stick to you as fat.

There is no scientific evidence to support that the time of day at which food is eaten affects the degree to which it is metabolized. Weight is maintained when the calories ingested equal the calories used. Your body uses calories 24-hours-a-day. Calories are used by the body’s organs at rest and during sleep (resting metabolic rate) and additionally by the body for every move it takes. Weight changes, either up or down when the calories ingested do not equal the calories used. 

Binge eating without vomiting is not an eating disorder.

The Diagnostic and Statistical Manual – Fourth edition (DSM – IV) identifies anorexia nervosa and bulimia nervosa as formal eating disorders. Binge eating, behavior that includes eating a larger amount of food than normal, accompanied by a feeling of “loss of control” together with compensatory behaviors such as vomiting or other methods of purging are symptoms of bulimia nervosa. Frequent binge eating without compensatory behaviors is labeled as Binge Eating Disorder or BED. BED is a diagnosis recommended for further study in the DSM – IV. Eating disorder clinics and programs regularly report that significant numbers of their patients present with complaints of past or current BED. Binge eating is a distressing symptom that often benefits from psychotherapy or medication treatment.

Skipping lunch is normal. All my friends do it.

Three-to-five meals or snacks daily is considered normal eating, amounting to the total calories needed to maintain normal weight for adults, and to that needed to meet expected growth milestones for children and growing adolescents. Skipping meals leads to poorer concentration, increased irritability, increased risk of binge eating and overall chance of receiving inadequate daily nutrition. Also, regular eating improves metabolism of calories and nutrients consumed.

You only have anorexia nervosa if you stop getting your period.

While loss of menstrual activity is described as a symptom of anorexia nervosa in the DSM – IV, several studies have looked at clinical samples of low weight eating disordered patients with and without menstrual activity and have found that these populations appear no different on a wide range clinical measures. Many research studies will define patients with anorexia nervosa, for the purposes of those studies, as individuals meeting all criteria except for the loss of menstrual activity. Additionally, individuals who have been placed on hormone treatments such as the birth control pills, will bleed whether or not they have anorexia nervosa, making the assessment of reproductive disturbance difficult to determine. Many, but not all, patients with anorexia nervosa will have menstrual irregularity or interruption.

You should only eat when you’re hungry. Your body will tell you what you need.

The body’s cues of hunger and fullness are reliable guides for eating healthy amounts when the body is healthy. In the presence of an eating disorder, many of the normal cues are disturbed. Patients with anorexia nervosa will commonly describe lack of “appetite” for food, and those with bulimia nervosa or BED will describe “never feeling full.” Treatment of eating disorders will commonly include nutritional plans that ask patients to structure eating in a prescribed fashion without reliance on cues of hunger or fullness. Patients in recovery will report that these sensations return after they return to normal eating for an extended period.

Natural laxatives and herbal diet pills aren’t bad for you.

Misuse of laxatives, diuretics and appetite suppressants are potentially harmful, and have been known to cause a number of medical problems, including dehydration, electrolyte imbalance, high blood pressure, stroke and death. Medications that are sold as herbal or natural supplements are under less scrutiny by the Federal Drug Administration (FDA) and may pose greater concern, because the ingredients may be less well studied. The taking of all  medications should be discussed with your doctor, whether prescribed or over-the-counter

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