How to Prevent Eating Disorders and Disordered Eating w/ Dr. Tom Hildebrandt
Apr 18, 2025
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In this engaging conversation, Dr. Tom Hildebrandt, a clinical psychologist and director at Mount Sinai’s Center for Excellence in Eating and Weight Disorders, discusses the crucial difference between disordered eating and eating disorders. He emphasizes the importance of regular family meals in fostering healthy eating habits and outlines how to talk to kids about body image. The dialogue also explores the impacts of food delivery culture and strategies for parents to address their children's emotional connections to food while promoting a positive food environment.
Adopting an additive mindset encourages parents to focus on adding healthier food options instead of restricting certain foods for their children.
Understanding the distinction between disordered eating and eating disorders is crucial for timely intervention, especially during adolescents' independence phase.
Creating regular family meals fosters a supportive food environment, which helps promote good eating habits and prevents disordered eating behaviors.
Deep dives
Mindset Shift for Parenting
Adopting an additive mindset rather than a deprivation mindset is crucial for parents guiding their children's eating habits. When children, especially adolescents, are told not to do something, it often backfires, leading them to be more curious about that forbidden behavior. Instead of focusing on what children should avoid, parents should emphasize adding healthier options to their meals. This positive reinforcement can encourage healthier eating choices without the pressure of restriction.
Understanding Disordered Eating vs. Eating Disorders
Disordered eating refers to patterns of eating that deviate from healthy norms, often influenced by psychological stressors, while eating disorders are diagnosed when these patterns evolve into detrimental behaviors that cause significant distress. Disordered eating can be an early indicator of potential eating disorders, particularly during times of increased independence in adolescents. For instance, many adolescents experience eating disturbances as they gain more control over their food choices, which can lead to unhealthy patterns. Recognizing when disordered eating trends escalate into eating disorders is essential for timely intervention.
Creating a Healthy Food Environment
Establishing a supportive food environment is key to promoting good eating habits in children. This can involve creating regular family meals, which serve as protective factors against disordered eating by encouraging consistency and social interaction during eating. Parents should model healthy eating behaviors and provide a range of food choices without creating overwhelming autonomy for children at a young age. The aim is to educate and guide children on making good food choices while also ensuring they have consistent access to balanced nutrition.
Balance and Family Dynamics in Food Choices
Encouraging a balanced approach to food can prevent unhealthy eating habits from developing in children. While it is important to allow kids some choice in what they eat, young children, especially, benefit from structured meals where parents set the parameters for what's offered. When children develop the habit of grazing or excessive snacking, parents can help redirect this behavior by focusing on scheduled mealtimes and recognizing cues for hunger rather than leaving all decisions up to the child. This can also promote a sense of security around food, assuring children that their needs will be met.
Navigating Eating Disorders and Parental Support
When eating disorders arise, it's vital that parents approach the situation with empathy while also recognizing the gravity of the issue. Parents should avoid blaming the child for their disorder and instead focus on providing a stable, supportive environment conducive to healthy eating. Open communication regarding feelings and emotions associated with food can foster a healing atmosphere, allowing children to feel safe discussing their struggles. It's also important for parents to seek professional guidance and support if they suspect that their child is dealing with a serious eating disorder to ensure appropriate interventions can be enacted.
In today’s episode I sit down with with Dr. Tom Hildebrandt, clinical psychologist and director at Mount Sinai’s Center for Excellence in Eating and Weight Disorders, to unpack the difference between disordered eating and eating disorders—and why that distinction matters. We dive into how to foster healthy food environments at home, when (and how) to talk to your kids about food and body image, and why regular family meals might be your best defense against future struggles. Plus: the impact of food delivery culture, what to do when kids self-soothe with snacks, and how to respond if you suspect something deeper is going on.
Link to Mount Sinai's Center for Excellence in Eating and Weight Disorders, HERE
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