Posts Tagged “Teenagers”

You might have started the new school year knowing you were struggling with an eating disorder. Or you might only be beginning to suspect that something isn’t right.

Either way, maybe you hoped the routine would help: that classes, friends, and a full schedule would leave less room for it. Maybe you decided you could manage for now and wait to see whether things got “serious enough.” When getting help could mean missing class or watching everyone else keep going without you, waiting can feel like the safer choice.

Postponing help doesn’t protect your school year from an eating disorder. Left untreated, these illnesses can interfere with everything you’re trying to protect: your focus, your health, your friendships, and your ability to participate in school.

If you’re a parent, keeping up with the latest slang your child uses can sometimes feel like learning another language. And when it comes to social media, that language can change quickly.

Some terms kids and teens use online may seem harmless (and may be completely unfamiliar to parents) but can sometimes signal exposure to content focused on weight, appearance, dieting, or exercise, including content that promotes disordered eating or negative body image. This doesn’t mean that using a particular word automatically means your child has an eating disorder. Rather, understanding the language can help parents know what their child may be encountering online and open the door to supportive conversations.

Episode description:

When a well-known person’s body is suddenly all anyone can talk about, the pull to pile on—or to compare yourself against them—can be strong.

Jillian’s general guidance is simple: we’re typically better off not commenting on other people’s bodies at all. But the real exception is genuine concern for someone in your life, and she models the I-framed language that can help keep a comment from tipping into judgment. She also gets practical for the adults listening, including how to have conversations with kids about what they’re seeing online, why what you say about your own body in front of them matters, and how to talk about comparison itself, which rarely leaves anyone feeling better.

School’s out, and the house is full again. Maybe your teen is home all day for the first time since the fall, or your college student just moved back in with a semester’s worth of laundry. Either way, summer puts more of your child’s daily life where you can see it. Meals that happened in a school cafeteria or dining hall now happen in your kitchen. Downtime is at home now, not between classes.

Sometimes that closer view comes with a sense that something about your child’s eating habits, exercise, or mood has changed.

Behaviors that might have developed during the school year—and were easy to miss between classes, practices, and packed schedules—can come into focus with more time face-to-face. If your gut says something is off, that’s worth your attention. Eating disorders are serious and more common than most people realize. But they’re also treatable, especially when they’re caught early.

Episode description:

In this episode of Peace Meal, we welcome back Dr. Charlotte Markey to discuss the newly released second edition of her book, The Body Image Book for Girls, and what the latest body image research means for the young people in our lives.

Charlotte reflects on how much has changed since the first edition, including the pandemic’s lasting impact on young people’s mental health and a social media landscape that’s evolving faster than most adults can track—and what parents, caregivers, and clinicians can actually do to help amid it all. Central to that, says Charlotte, is being willing to examine your own relationship with food and bodies first. She and Jillian also explore what it looks like to help kids build a relationship with their bodies grounded in function and appreciation, and why it’s worth starting that conversation early.

Episode description:

In this episode of Peace Meal, dietitian Gretchen Wallace joins us to explore how we can protect the next generation’s relationship with food. Together, we unpack why body image struggles in adolescence shouldn’t be dismissed as a harmless phase—and why the fact that these struggles are common doesn’t mean they’re acceptable or something young people should simply have to endure.

Gretchen sheds light on the environmental influences that shape kids’ views of food and bodies, from developmentally inappropriate health class curricula to the highly curated world of social media. She challenges the idea that nutrition should feel like a math problem, offering a more compassionate, body-trusting framework instead.

With warmth and wisdom, Gretchen outlines a hopeful, practical roadmap for families—one that emphasizes supportive boundaries, curiosity, and compassion as the foundation for lasting food freedom.

Academic excellence can vanish almost overnight when eating disorders take hold. High-achieving students find themselves unable to concentrate, missing classes, and watching their GPAs plummet. The academic consequences extend far beyond temporary setbacks—they can derail entire educational trajectories.

Learn more about eating disorder treatment and school support for teens and families

Introducing Between Bites:

The Peace Meal podcast is launching Between Bites, a new series of short, focused episodes hosted by Dr. Jillian Lampert. Designed to offer quick insights and meaningful support for eating disorder recovery, these bite-sized conversations will explore practical topics in a more accessible format.

Episode description:

In this inaugural episode of Between Bites, Dr. Jillian Lampert explores the common concern of how eating disorder treatment fits into school life. She highlights that recovery and academics are not mutually exclusive, and delaying care for school can have lasting consequences. The episode addresses questions parents and students often ask—from middle school through college—about balancing coursework, treatment schedules, and future goals. Dr. Lampert emphasizes that prioritizing health is the best way to ensure long-term academic success and a fulfilling recovery journey.