In Western society there is a plague of body dissatisfaction that affects up to four percent of all women, sometime in their life. Based on standards set by advertising, television, and social media, I can imagine the pressure placed upon these women to conform or face social reticule, despite the consequences their health may suffer. These body dissatisfactions develop into eating disorders. I would like to discuss eating disorders more in depth, their causes, risk factors, and treatments.
Eating disorders have been broken down into three major types; anorexia nervosa, bulimia nervosa, and binge-eating disorder. Anorexia nervosa is a disorder in which the individual strives to lose weight by reducing their food intake. Bulimia nervosa is a disorder in which people engage in repeated episodes of uncontrollable overeating followed by an inappropriate compensatory behavior to purge the eaten materials before calorie absorption takes place. These behaviors include: induced vomiting; misusing laxatives, diuretics, or enemas; fasting; and exercising excessively (Comer 282). Binge-eating disorder affects people similar to bulimia nervosa, where the individual feels uncontrollable desire to eat, but does not engage in the inappropriate compensatory behavior. Generally binge-eaters consume so much food that they gain weight becoming overweight or obese even though they want to limit their eating.
People with eating disorders tend to experience many of the same things. Their day is consumed by the preoccupation of food. They think, read, plan, and even dream about it. They typically have misperceptions of their weight, shape, and body size leading to body dissatisfaction and maladaptive attitudes. These unhealthy viewpoints and poor evaluations of themselves lead to feelings of depression, anxiety, perfectionism. To obtain their goals, some individuals develop obsessive compulsive like habits, excessively exercise, or even resort to substance abuse. When insignificant calorie absorption takes place, medical problems usually ensue. The body begins to deteriorate when the body is starved, leading to metabolic and electrolyte imbalances which can cause heart failure, circulatory collapse, or even death. Death is as rare as 6%; usually this is caused by the severe malnutrition leading to illness or the individual’s suicide from insalubrious thoughts. In females, anorexia and bulimia typically stops the menstrual cycle entirely or reduces the regularity of their periods.
Biological theorists have attributed eating disorders to three distinct factors. They believe genetic inheritance contributes to decedents being affected by eating disorders. Relatives of people with eating disorders are up to six times more likely to develop the disorders themselves (Comer 291). They believe genetic inheritance can also contribute to low serotonin levels, creating a desire to binge on food. Low serotonin levels have also been identified in patients who suffer from depression disorders, building the opportunity of establishing multiple disorders. Other biological researchers focus on the hypothalamus as a provider of intake commands. The lateral hypothalamus produces hunger signals when activated and the ventromedial hypothalamus decreases hunger signals when activated. They have identified a brain chemical, glucagon-like peptide-1(GLP-1), which reduces food intake signals when received by the hypothalamus despite the body’s hunger level. Imbalances in GLP-1 could drastically affect an individual’s desire to binge or restrict their food intake, heading to possible eating disorders.
Cognitive theorists focus on the individual’s thought process and associated behaviors. They believe that eating disorder sufferers have maladaptive attitudes towards themselves and their own analysis of their body shape and weight. Psychodynamic theorists emphasize on the relationship between the mother and child. They believe that if the child had ineffective parents, then they failed to identify their child’s actual condition, leading to comforting the child with food or love when it’s not considered necessary. These actions direct the child to confusion about their own internal needs and own emotions or feelings. When the child is changing into an adolescent or young adult is when we see the most uncertainty prevail as the child do not possess the applicable traits for desired independence.
Social factors drastically contribute to an individual’s appeal of eating disorders. As stated through the psychodynamic causation, the child lacks the skills for independency and greatly relies on the family subsequently. This over involvement by the family can create an opportunity for the child to regress into a simplistic role, including illness to be taken care of in this enmeshed family dynamic. Society has created an objectively unattainable appearance that women are constantly evaluated against, especially in the fashion and entertainment industries. Attitudes towards thinness are publicly acknowledged and accepted while intolerance of overweight people continues to flourish. The internet has created an avenue of ambiguity allowing people to maliciously objectify people without regard for their emotional state or mental health.
For several decades, eating disorders, mainly affected white American females 14-20 years of age in the higher economic class. Eating disorders are 90-95% female while men only contribute the other 5-10%. In the most recent decades there has been a shift in the collective of people affected by eating disorders; the other ethnicities and economic classes, African Americans, Asian Americans, and Hispanics, have increased reports of eating disorder affiliation.
Eating disorders are treated in two main ways. The first is to correct the dangerous eating pattern and restore healthy weight. The second is to address the psychological and situational influences that have contributed to the eating disorder (Comer 298). The therapist is able to achieve proper weight restoration through several weeks of hospital stays including nursing care, nutritional counseling, and a high calorie diet. The most effective treatment for eating disorders is acquired from cognitive and behavioral therapy. The therapist will try to focus the individual’s attention on the internal dialog taking place during times of tension and anxiety created by their eating disorder. With detailed journal entries, the therapist can identify maladaptive assumptions and create a coping strategy to deal with stressful situations. Sometimes family sessions are conducted to pinpoint possible detrimental family interactions, and correct the unfavorable conditions. With bulimia nervosa they have had additional success with the exposure and response prevention method. Psychopharmacology benefits many eating disorder patients; as the individuals who have low serotonin levels, generally increase their mood and disposition with antidepressants. Antidepressants are a last resort as therapists will use interpersonal and psychodynamic therapies as an alternative, when traditional cognitive/behavior methods do not reach desired objectives.
Eating disorders have affected my life on the personal level. My wife suffered from anorexia nervosa, and had to seek out patient treatment. She was referred by a doctor because her weight was so far below normal. During her outpatient care, I helped steadily increase her food intake until it stabilized, and we restored a healthy weight. She was also referred into family therapy because both her and her mother had eating disorders. She was an outcome of the genetic inheritance, placing her as a risk to develop the disorder. I feel her mother’s preoccupation with weight and appearance had also played a role. She was placed on an antidepressant to increase her serotonin levels and mood. Within a year she had recovered, and has not had a relapse within our twelve year relationship. Although I believe she is bombarded with messages of inadequacy from the media, she has held strong.
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