Eating Disorders : Social And Cultural Factors

In March 2005, findings concluded from those surveyed that three out of four Americans believe eating disorders should be covered by insurance companies just like any other illness. Americans believe that government should require insurance companies to cover the treatment of eating disorders. Four out of ten Americans either suffered or have know someone who has suffered from an eating disorder. Dieting and thrive for thinness is very common in America. Over one half of teenage girls and nearly one-third of teenage boys use unhealthy weight control behaviors such as skipping meals, fasting, smoking cigarettes, vomiting, and taking laxatives. Commonly eating disorders are accumulated by society. The average American woman is 5'4'' tall and weighs 140 pounds. The average American model is 5'11'' tall and weighs 117 pounds. Most fashion models are thinner than 98% of American women. Americans spend over $40 billion on dieting and diet-related products a year! The list is never ending on the different types of eating disorders there actually are. The three most common types of eating disorders are Anorexia Nervosa, Bulimia Nervosa, and Binge Eating Disorder. Other eating disorders are mainly any combinations of the above listed. Anorexia Nervosa includes the symptoms of dramatic weight loss, dressing in layers to hide weight loss, constantly preoccupied with weight, food, calories, and dieting, makes frequent comments about

Eating disorder is a psychological disorder that causes a person to have disturbances in their eating habits. The main types of eating disorder are Anoerexia nervosa, bulimia nervosa and binge eating disorder. Anorexia nervosa is defined as “nervous loss of appetite which can be mainly characterized by denial of hunger, fear of weight gaining and also distorted image. On the other hand, in bulimia disorder one experiences binge-purge syndrome with the symptoms of eating in large amount at the short period of time followed by purging activities like vomiting, obsessive exercising. Similarly, binge eating disorder is consuming large amount of food without the purging. People having these kinds of disorder can have physical problems and sometimes

It has been found that eating disorders are most common in the western and industrialized culture where food is abundant. This is because these individuals attach a lot of importance to their physical appearance and are willing to do anything to get the dream figure. An eating disorder is not just watching what one eats and exercising on a daily basis but is rather an illness that causes serious disturbances in eating behaviour, such as great and harmful cutback of the consumption of food as well as feelings of serious anxiety about their body shape or mass. They would start to stop themselves to go out anywhere just so that they could work out and burn all of the calories of a meal or snack that they had scoffed earlier. Two of the most common eating disorders are anorexia nervosa and bulimia nervosa. The regular description of a patient with either disease would be a youthful white female, with an upper social standing in a predictably socially competitive environment.

This article describes how unrealistic standards of attractiveness set by Western society are internalized by women from a variety of cultural backgrounds and translated into fat-phobia and body dissatisfaction and then discusses alternative cultural influences for food refusal such as issues of control, acculturation, and religious asceticism. The author claims that there is a need for culturally sensitive questionnaires and diagnostic criteria and suggests that the notion of anorexia as a culture bound syndrome is no longer valid as the illness as been identified in a number of non-western societies. A valid point is made

The two most common eating disorders are bulimia nervosa and anorexia nervosa. Both disorders, primarily affect young women, therefore the majority of the research on eating disorders has been done with women subjects. The onset of bulimia is between adolescence and early adulthood while the onset of anorexia is between early and late adolescence. Not only is the onset different but the disorders are unique. Bulimia nervosa is characterized by loss of control over eating which leads to food binges. These episodes are interspersed with episodes of purging, such as vomiting or laxative abuse, to keep weight down. The goal of anorexia is also to keep weight down , but to a

In today's society, there is much attention being given to the subject of eating disorders such as anorexia and bulimia; unfortunately it is because these disorders seem to be becoming more and more common. The question that remains is whether eating disorders such as these are simply personal problems of the individuals, or if they have become a social problem that needs to be addressed more aggressively. Having grown up in this society, I see this issue as a definite social problem. To say that these increasingly common eating disorders are personal problems, implies that the causes of them are personal as well, which I believe is not the case. A social problem is something that goes against society's goals and values; it would seem

Eating disorders are diseases in which people have an unhealthy relationship with their food, and negative image reflecting how their body looks, such as, the fear of gaining weight. This type of body dysmorphia can lead to damaging eating habits, such as; starvation, purging, and even binging. Furthermore, there are numerous eating disorders recognized today, the most common being binge disorder, causing the affected person to eat far too much and experience pain, discomfort, and irritable bowel symptoms, bulimia which causes the affected person to purge their food through vomiting, and one of the most common eating disorders -- anorexia nervosa. (Eating Disorders, 2008) Many of these disorders can be treated in multiple ways, the most common way is through counselling with a social worker, the social worker helps develop a treatment plan for the client and aids them in their recovery.

Society has made it a normality to judge people based off of their looks. Culture has been identified as one of the etiological factors leading to the development of eating disorders. Several studies have identified sociocultural factors within American society that are associated with the development of eating disorders (Healthcare). Eating disorders have always been present, historical accounts suggest that eating disorders may have existed for centuries, with wide variations in rates. According to National Association of Anorexia Nervosa and Associated Disorders, "Genetics, environmental factors, and personality traits all combine to create risk for an eating disorder" (1). However, epidemiological studies have suggested that the incidence of eating disorders among adolescent has increased over the last 50 years. Media has shown to have more of an impact with eating disorders in today's culture compared to past societies (Geary). An experiment was preformed showing how changes in the body weight and shape of Playboy centerfolds over the past two decades. According to Katzmarzyk, "Given the perception of Playboy centerfolds as culturally 'ideal' women, the notion that 70% of them are underweight highlights the social pressures on women to be thin and helps to explain the high levels of body dissatisfaction and

Eating disorders are potentially life threatening illnesses, which are simultaneously psychological and physical in nature. Currently, there are about 20 million women and 10 million men in America suffering from a clinically significant eating disorder, including Anorexia nervosa, Bulimia nervosa, and Binge-Eating disorder (Prevalence and Correlates of Eating Disorders).

An eating disorder is an obsessive collection of interrelated behaviors directed towards persistent eating behaviors that negatively impact one’s health, emotions, and ability to function in important areas of life. These compulsive practices and attitudes about food, weight and body shape, manifest into deep psychological fears and an incessant need for control. Some common features of eating disorders include an irrational fear of fat, dissatisfaction with one 's body often coupled with a distorted perception of body shape, unhealthy weight management and extreme food intake. This disordered eating behavior is usually an effort to solve a variety of emotional difficulties about which the individual feels out of control. Males and females of all social and economic classes, races and intelligence levels can develop an eating disorder (Perfect). There are currently three main types of eating disorder, anorexia nervosa, bulimia nervosa, and binge eating disorder. Each one as dangerous as the next, but yet heavily overlooked and/or misunderstood in society today (Perfect); A review of nearly fifty years of research confirms that anorexia nervosa has the highest mortality rate of any psychiatric disorder (Arcelus, Mitchell, Wales, & Nielsen, 2011).

Since the 1950s the cases of eating disorders have been increasing, especially in westernized countries (Wade, Keski-Rahkonen, & Hudson, 2011). 1950 was the year where having curves was accepted, but this view changed when societal culture started to become more important to the average person. Culture is comprised of how people think, behave, and work in a particular society (Merriam-webster’s collegiate dictionary, 2015). Societal culture is comprised of athletic influence, media, and the fashion industry. All of the societal culture factors are responsible for the rise of eating disorders in young adults. In 2011, it was found that 20 million women and 10 million men suffer from eating disorders at some point in their lives (Wade et. al, 2011). Eating disorders are not always considered an important mental illness, but due to the high number of cases they should be because they can lead to health problems including slow heart rate, low blood pressure, and severe dehydration. These side effects can lead to death if not treated properly which is why eating disorders should be looked at as a clinical disease.

The media’s false portrayal of body image has a great influence on the development of eating disorders. There are three types of eating disorders; anorexia nervosa, bulimia, and binge eating. Eating disorders are major issues in today’s society. Instead of people using the media to influence good eating habits, they use it to influence bad eating habits. The numbers of people who have an eating disorder are rising at an alarming rate. It affects not only women, but also men, teens, and young children of all ages. It is not surprising that the number of young children who have an eating disorder is increasing each year. This is an issue that people do not take seriously. The media gets the attention to continue to

Eating disorders are a disease that can impact an individual’s health adversely by causing their emotions and capability to function in the significant areas of their life. There are two most common eating disorders and they are: anorexia nervosa, and bulimia nervosa. These disorders often begin to formulate during the teenage years of an individual’s life and can carry on through their adult years. Research states that “According to the DSM-5 (APA, 2013), eating disorders are characterized by a persistent disturbance in eating behavior” (Butcher et al., 2013, p.294). All of these disorders influences a person’s nutrition and can serious affect their internal organs.

Eating disorders are not only developed by people in the United States, but in many countries around the globe. Some examples that Boeree talks about in his articles are “Bulimia Nervosa, Anorexia, and Obesity.” Many people probably have heard of these disorders. Bulimia Nervosa is a period of consuming a large amount of food in just a short period of time. Bulimia Nervosa also can cause you to vomit because of the amount of food that you ate in the short amount of time. Many people also use the disorder to reduce their weight. Studies have shown in the United States that 4% of females will live with this disorder and 3.9% will die from bulimia nervosa. People with this disorder as “Boeree says tend to suffer from depression, anxiety, and poor

In modern culture, women and men are becoming less satisfied with their body shape. According to a report that was done by the Federal Trade Commission, seventy percent of Americans are either trying not to maintain their weight or are trying to lose weight (Kittleson 75). To compensate for being over weight, an individual will develop an eating disorder. According to Mark Kittleson, eating disorders are when an individual eats way too much or way too little (1). There are three different types of eating disorders, anorexia, bulimia, and binge eating. According to Jessica Bennett, twenty-five million people in the United States suffer from binge eating disorder and ten million women and one million men suffer from either anorexia or