Christmas can improve relapse of those suffering from eating disorders.

Barcelona, December 2009.- L ’ Institut of Trastorns Alimentaris de Catalunya (ITA) emphasizes the importance of these Christmas for people who have a problematic relationship with food.

Christmas is a time especially focused on the family reunions, expressions of affection and gifts, as well as the abundance of food. These holidays is eaten in all families a quantity of drink and food higher than usual, in addition, being more caloric food. For people with difficulties with food or body image tradition and the need to reunite with loved ones pass to second place, due to the intense anxiety that are subjected.

These people may develop not appropriate behaviours with food, with the aim of controlling the quantities, avoiding food with high calorie content, or calm sense of disorder in hours on the table or number of intakes. This concern and the feeling of shame and guilt are also the person to hide from the inevitable comments from family members, serve small portions, absent from the table, show aggressiveness or intense discomfort following meals, too go to the bathroom or stay longer than normal.
These are, among many other, some of the warning signs that can serve both for the early detection of a possible TCA (food conduct disorder) and to identify a relapse in the person who have a TCA identified.

ITA emphasizes the importance of the family firm that was followed by conduct standard in the table: to eat what they eat, in a reasonable time; to accept control if so required by their clinical condition; and that they do not make exceptions because of the disease, but encourage the person to confront their fears. At the same time, it is also necessary to create a climate of understanding to facilitate the expression of any problem without that generate a climate of opinion and scapegoating. In any case, the handling of these situations by the family often require the advice of specialized personnel.

Also deserves special mention is aware of the problem posed by obesity. The general tendency is to minimize this pathology and considered more an aesthetic problem of health. ITA fight to change this vision and to provide proper treatment to persons who suffer from. Childhood obesity in our country affects 13.9% of schoolchildren and 26.3 per cent suffer from overweight. Especially at this time, family members must take awareness of the problem and pass on good eating habits to children.

In general, Christmas can become a time of tension and conflict, both for people with a TCA for their families, but it can also be the time to promote awareness of problem and to establish an open dialog and development of the necessary confidence to produce the desired improvement and disappearance of the behavior of secrecy.

About ITA

Institut of Trastorns Alimentaris (ITA) is a healthcare network created in 1998 for treatment, training and research of alterations in eating behavior. It is the main private institution at the State level in comprehensive care for disorders of conduct food (TCA): unspecified eating disorders, obesity, anorexia and bulimia. The entity understands that the attention of this kind of disorders should encompass not only the disease prevention and restoration of health, but also rehabilitation and reintegration in their environment.

ITA different health care resources available to achieve their goals: centres of hospitalization, day hospitals, outpatient and therapeutic properties. This is the first centre of Spain in what it refers to number of squares and patients.