Causes of Eating Disorders and Society's Portrayal of Woman - Research Paper Example

? The Dilemmas of Thinness: Eating Disorders and Their Causes This paper determines the causes of eating disorders, predominantly the role of media and society in shaping body image issues. It reviews academic and valid sources, such as educational websites and scientific journals. This research showed that media is a risk, if not a strong causative, factor that can promote negative body images and body dissatisfaction, thereby promoting disordered eating practices. It uses very thin women who become negative role models to women and can result to women developing body image anxiety and low self-esteem. Social and genetic factors can produce eating disorder problems. Genetics can be blamed when there are hormonal imbalances and other biological problems. Family factors and culture can shape beliefs and attitudes that make some women and girls prone to eating disorders. Cover Letter Name Address 9 January 2013 Eating disorders are serious problems that have social and cultural implications. Because of the media and other factors, young girls and women are developing body image problems that make them vulnerable to self-esteem and confidence issues, thereby contributing to eating disorder problems. This paper determines the causes of eating disorders, predominantly the role of media and society in shaping body image issues. The main purpose is to educate the public about the causes of eating disorders, so that they can resist the impact of some of these factors on their body image and eating attitudes and practices. To attain this research goal, current studies and reports from valid academic sources are used. This research showed that media is a risk, if not a strong causative, factor that can promote negative body images and body dissatisfaction, thereby promoting disordered eating practices. It uses very thin women who become negative role models to women and can result to women developing body image anxiety and low self-esteem. Social and genetic factors can produce eating disorder problems too. Genetics can be blamed when there are hormonal imbalances and other biological problems. Furthermore, family factors and culture can shape beliefs and attitudes that make some women and girls prone to eating disorders. Hence, in order to stop eating disorders, these causes must be determined for those suffering from these disorders. Society, as a whole, must work together in developing the kind of media and civilization that respect and celebrate different body images and promote beauty that is not physical, but inside individuals. Introduction Anorexia and bulimia nervosa are two eating disorders that have serious physical and psychological effects, sometimes even leading to death. These disorders have also increased in prevalence for the past few decades, thereby generating protests from concerned families and organizations about the kind of society that they live in, when very young girls and adult women grow up having negative body images. The media and its portrayal of extremely thin women as the ultimate beauty standard have been blamed as one of the most influential causes of eating disorders (Derenne & Beresin, 2006; Spettigue & Henderson, 2004). By media, this includes fashion and beauty magazines, TV shows, and movies. The toy industry does not help too, when it sells toys with unrealistic body types, such as Barbie and other dolls. Moreover, society promotes definitions of and pressures to beauty that girls grow up to (Makino, Tsuboi, and Dennerstein, 2004). This paper determines the causes of eating disorders, particularly the role of media and society in shaping body image issues. This research showed that media is a risk factor that can promote negative body images and body dissatisfaction, thereby promoting disordered eating practices. Social and genetic factors can produce eating disorder problems. Causes of Eating Disorders The causes of eating disorders are varied and may depend on genetics and family factors. This paper divides the causes into genetic, family, the media, and society/culture. According to the University of Maryland Medical Center (UMMC), genetics may play a role in causing eating disorders. It reported: “Anorexia is eight times more common in people who have relatives with the disorder, and some doctors believe that genetic factors are the root cause of many cases of eating disorders” (Eating Disorders, 2009). UMMC reviewed research where twins are found to have a tendency to develop the same eating disorders, such as anorexia nervosa, bulimia nervosa, and obesity (Eating Disorders, 2009). It also noted research that determined that particular chromosomes may be correlated with bulimia and anorexia. Chromosome 10 regions may be connected to bulimia and obesity (Eating Disorders, 2009). Problems in serotonin levels can also cause eating disorders because this hormone affects well-being and appetite (Eating Disorders, 2009). Other studies hypothesized that some proteins, such as brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) (Hashimoto et al., 2005), delta 1 opioid receptor (OPDR1), and agouti-related protein (AgRP) may influence an individual's vulnerability to developing an eating disorder (Helder & Collier, 2011). Hormonal abnormalities can lead to eating disorders too. Hormonal abnormalities are widespread in eating disorders and comprise of chemical abnormalities in the thyroid, the reproductive regions, and areas that are connected to stress, well-being, and appetite (Eating Disorders, 2009). The main setting of numerous of these abnormalities comes from the limbic system (Eating Disorders, 2009). A number of these chemical changes are products of malnutrition and eating disorders, but they can also promote or make people more vulnerable to eating disorders (Eating Disorders, 2009). Hence, genetics and biological problems can be causes of eating disorders. Aside from genetic factors, the family is seen as a risk or causative factor, when one or more family members promote attitudes and practices that directly or indirectly result to eating disorders. Parental styles, behaviors, and attitudes can influence their children to develop eating disorders. le Grange et al. (2010) reviewed several studies that examined the role of the family in eating disorder development. They noted studies which showed that overprotective mothers tend to have children with eating disorders (le Grange et al., 2010, p.2). Furthermore, some reviewed cross-sectional studies showed that “parental indifference, family discord, lack of parental care, and greater adversity” are present in samples with bulimia and mixed bulimia and anorexia (le Grange et al., 2010, p.2). One study indicated that 40% of nine and ten-year old girls were trying to lose weight because of their mothers’ pressure on them (Eating Disorders, 2009). When mothers have eating disorders, they tend to have daughters with the same problems too, while fathers who criticize their sons’ weight tend to have sons who binge and purge (Eating Disorders, 2009). Furthermore, having a family history of addictions or emotional problems may be a risk factor too, if not constantly a causative one. Some studies noted that people with anorexia or bulimia tend to have parents with substance abuse problems or psychiatric disorders (Eating Disorders, 2009). In addition, sexual abuse may cause eating disorders. Women with eating disorders, especially bulimia, have likelihood of experiencing sexual abuse: “Studies have reported sexual abuse rates as high as 35% in women with bulimia” (Eating Disorders, 2009). One more potential cause of eating disorders is having a family history of obesity. People with bulimia have higher chances of having an obese parent or have been overweight themselves when they were children (Eating Disorders, 2009). Family factors can produce or encourage eating disorders. While family factors can lead to disordered eating habits, the media is also commonly blamed as contributing to the latter. The media is criticized for promoting the importance of physical appearance in general (Spettigue & Henderson, 2004). Accumulation and display of wealth, for instance, have become the new cornerstones of the American Dream. Furthermore, the media increasingly projects a standard of beauty that many women cannot meet through showcasing extremely thin women in magazines and fashion shows (Spettigue & Henderson, 2004). Spettigue and Henderson (2004) reported that many young girls read fashion magazines regularly, while beauty and lifestyle magazines have millions of adolescent and adult women readers. When women see these thin models and actresses, some of them tend to think that thinness is equal to beauty and that physical appearance is critical to popularity, happiness, and success. Spettigue and Henderson (2004) emphasized that the media has a strong influence on “identity development in young women, especially with regards to gender-role learning, identity formation, and the development of values and beliefs” (17). The Fiji case suggests a causal relationship between Westernized TV viewing and eating disorders. Derenne and Beresin (2006) discussed Becker’s seminal study on Fiji in 1995. Ethnic Fijians tend to have healthy body types and prefer rounder body shapes because they signify wealth and the ability to provide for the family. Since TV arrived in Fiji, however, rates of dieting rose from 0 to 69%, and young people cited that the thin actors of “Beverly Hills 90210” and “Melrose Place” inspired their changes in eating habits. Since then, they have had eating disorder problems too. Thus, media can develop attitudes and values that produce disordered eating habits. The causal relationship between the media is not always clear, however. Levine and Murnen (2009) critically reviewed existing studies that correlate the media and eating disorders. Their findings showed that media may be more of a risk, than a causative, factor of eating disorders. They cautioned scholars from providing a causal relationship, when this claim cannot be supported with small samples and when other factors are not considered. Finally, society and culture can be causes of eating disorders as well. Western society, especially American society, is believed to have higher body image issues than non-western societies. Makino et al. (2004) searched (Medline and Medscape, 1982-2003) to study the incidence rate of eating disorders. They compared attitudes toward eating between Western countries and non-Western countries. Findings showed that “prevalence rates in Western countries for anorexia nervosa ranged from 0.1% to 5.7% in female subjects,” while, “prevalence rates for bulimia nervosa ranged from 0% to 2.1% in males and from 0.3% to 7.3% in female subjects in Western countries” (Makino et al., 2004). Furthermore, “prevalence rates in non-Western countries for bulimia nervosa ranged from 0.46% to 3.2% in female subjects” (Makino et al., 2004). From these statistics, Western societies tend to have higher eating disorders than non-Western ones, although the same study showed increasing eating disorder rates in the latter. This social pattern suggests that non-Western societies may be following the eating and lifestyle attitudes of Western societies. The Westernization of cultures, in particular, can promote social and individual anxieties that promote eating disorders. Tsai (2000) suggested that elements of cultural change, “such as generation conflict or the disintegration of extended family networks,” can influence people to have eating disorders and that girls in Asian countries who grow in rapidly Westernizing urban communities may develop body dissatisfaction and develop eating disorders. Hence, the values placed on physical appearance and non-representational body images can be seen as cultural and social factors that encourage eating disorders. Conclusion Society and the media are some of the prominent factors that cause eating disorders. This happens when they equate thinness with beauty, happiness, and success. Genetics and family factors also affect the vulnerability to eating disorders. Furthermore, individual factors must also be considered, such as depression and self-esteem, although they are no longer discussed in this paper. Based on this research, nature and nurture factors can produce eating disorders. They can interplay and produce attitudes that can lead to disordered eating habits too. When society, the media, and genetics are combined, some girls and women become more at risk in developing eating disorders. Hence, when analyzing the causes of eating disorders, social and biological factors must be considered, as well as human personality. References Derenne, J.L., & Beresin, E.V. (2006). Body image, media, and eating disorders. Academic Psychiatry, 257-261. Retrieved from http://ap.psychiatryonline.org/article.aspx?articleid=50181 Eating Disorders: Causes. (2009). University of Maryland Medical Center (UMMC). Retrieved from http://www.umm.edu/patiented/articles/what_causes_eating_disorders_000049_3.htm Hashimoto, K., Koizumi, H., Nakazato, M., Shimizu, E., & Iyo, M. (2005). Role of brain-derived neurotrophic factor in eating disorders: recent findings and its pathophysiological implications. Progress in Neuro-Psychopharmacology & Biological Psychiatry, 29(4), 499-504. Retrieved from http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/15866349 Helder, S.G., & Collier, D.A. (2011). The genetics of eating disorders. Current Topics in Behavioral Neurosciences, 6, 157-75. Retrieved from http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/21243475 le Grange, D., Lock, J., Loeb, K., & Nicholls, D. (2010). Academy for eating disorders position paper: The role of the family in eating disorders. International Journal of Eating Disorders, 43(1), 1-5. Levine, M.P., & Murnen, S.K. (2009). “Everybody knows that mass media are/are not [pick one] a cause of eating disorders”: A critical review of evidence for a causal link between media, negative body image, and disordered eating in females. Journal of Social & Clinical Psychology, 28(1), 9-42. Makino, M., Tsuboi, K., & Dennerstein, L. (2004). Prevalence of eating disorders: A comparison of western and non-western countries. MedGenMed, 6(3), 49. Retrieved from http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1435625/ Spettigue, W., & Henderson, K.A. (2004). Eating disorders and the role of the media. Canadian Child and Adolescent Psychiatry Review, 13(1), 16–19. Retrieved from http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2533817/ Tsai, G. (2000). Eating disorders in the Far East. Eating and Weight Disorders, 5, 183-197. Read More