Rapid Shifts in Dietary Patterns - Essay Example

? Eating Disorders Introduction Rapid shifts in dietary patterns are giving rise to obesity and malnutrition in many parts of the world. These dietary transitions are an outcome of economic development. Social cultures and communities have also contributed to them. Eating habits and transitions have a crucial relationship with the motivation behind eating. The basic drives behind eating are categorized into physical, emotional and situational factors. This paper highlights the major motivation theories and their influence on eating disorders. The major anomalies prevalent today are obesity and extreme thinness. These disorders are either a result of social pressures or self-created ideals. People tend to get the influence from media and foreign cultures. The trend towards dietary transitions is mainly due to the presence of social influence and awareness. Some of the motivational theories are discussed to overcome such disorders. Motivation should lead to a better well-being. It should raise the level of self-esteem rather than increasing depression. Eating Disorders The term “eating disorder” refers to abnormal eating habits that can either be in the form of restrictive or excessive intake of food. Some of the most eminent eating disorders prevalent in the society today are described below. Anorexia Nervosa Anorexia Nervosa is a term used for extreme weight losses. Under this condition, people tend to face distorted self-image. They consider themselves as overweight, but that is different to the reality and is based more on the perception of the individual. The subjects in such cases undergo restricted eating habits and starvation. Anorexia Nervosa is caused more because of social and cultural influence. People tend to relate themselves with social figures, media persons and celebrities and want to become their reflection in the real life. Feelings of deprivation and guilt may lead to overeating at other occasions. (Kumar, 2001) Bulimia Nervosa Bulimia Nervosa is an eating disorder characterized by over eating, usually junk food. These people purge the consumed food by forceful vomiting or using laxatives. Hunger and situational cues can stimulate overeating. People usually over consume unhealthy food due to emotional stress and depression. They may attempt to distract themselves from depression and other low emotion states. Another reason can be love for food. They may seek pleasure from the food they eat. Excessive intake of food makes the subjects feel satisfied. Such individuals consume food irrespective of the hour of the day. In other words, consuming food is their hobby. People that are indulged in excessive consumption of food, soon become over weight and lazy, and they get addicted to their habit of consuming food just as an everyday routine to be followed. Motivation It is the state of an individual which directs him to act towards his goal. People engage in different behaviors to fulfill their unsatisfied needs. Motivation can be driven internally or externally. Internal motivation lies within the individual, while external motivation is stimulated by external environment and task at hand. It is related to the eating disorders that an individual may acquire over time. One can clearly figure out the significance of motivation to the eating habits of individuals (Kumar, 2001). Suppose, a female idealizes the body shape and figure of Angeline Jolie, so much so that she would do anything in the world to look like Angelina Jolie. Somehow she learns that losing weight could help her come closer to her fascination of looking like Angelina. This female starts skipping meals and starves herself to acquire the desired shape of the body. The subject in this case is driven by an external motivation as she wants to acquire a desired state of body shape, and she believes that it can be attained by losing weight. So, she skips meals and starves for the desire to maintain a body shape that is similar to that of Angelina’s. This laborious exercise of skipping meals shall not produce an impact on the others around the subject, but this will definitely make the subject feel satisfied with her efforts and she may even perceive herself to look like Angeline after a couple of weeks. This is the psychological impact that motivation has over the subject as a repercussion of eating disorders. Motivation Theories and Influence Numerous theories have been proposed to achieve a comprehensive understanding of motivation. These theories attempt to develop a clear understanding of eating anomalies and a few of them are listed below. Instinct Instinct theories suggest that motivation arises from geneticindoctrination. The evolutionary programming motivates people to engage in certain behaviors. Instincts have few inborn patterns. (Treasure, 2007) Drive According to this theory, homeostasis is the major motivation behind human behavior. Homeostasis is a state of human internal system which maintains and controls the balance. Every human strives to achieve this state. If a misbalance occurs, people tend to pose reactions. Certain actions are driven by unmet needs. These biological needs and wants give rise to internal tension. People engage in actions to reduce those tensions and fulfill their unfulfilled needs. If the behavior results in positive outcome, it implies further repetition. This theory is more applicable to the reduction of basic needs, like hunger and security (Lutter, 2009). Incentive Incentive theories view behavioral motivation as a pull for external rewards. Unlike arousal theory, the behavior is directed by external goals. Arousal The central idea behind these theories is the motivation to achieve ideal arousal levels. Arousal is the state of physiological activation. It requires in depth understanding of the individual. Arousal levels lie on a continuum ranging from low to high. Lower states are stimulated by increase in arousal through various actions. Intense arousal levels should be balanced through relaxation techniques and methods. Sometimes, easy tasks require high arousal for intended performance. Cognitive Cognitive theories address the thinking patterns of individuals. People face identity crisis. Under this state, abnormal emotions execute abnormal results in eating habits. People attribute their way of thinking to certain measures. Influence of the stated Theories Seeking approval or love from others should not be linked with eating transitions. Bulimics undergo restrictive eating to be like ideals. The internal motives should not be subjected to please other people. Motivators should improve the well-being and raise self-esteem. Motives should sustain and benefit in the long term. The above mentioned theories examine the disorders from various viewpoints. People facing bulimia nervosa can be recovered by behavioral motivation. They should recover from their guilt and face the reality. These people need to understand that every individual has his/her own bodily features and genetics. A particular body shape that looks good for one person, shall not be eligible for the other. Similarly one needs to accept the fact that there are certain professional requirements for media persons and celebrities, as far their body shape is concerned. These media persons spend good chunk of their income on medicines and regular healthy grooming. Therefore, it is not possible for a lay man to imitate his/her ideal without paying any hidden costs. Individuals suffering from Bulimia Nervosa distance themselves from their social circles. Their social circle may be huge, but they are close to few people only. They perceive themselves to be unappealing and de-shaped. They conduct purging and vomiting attempts in order to release pressures from their mind. They are under high state of depression and cause forceful pains to overcome guilt that is self acquired (Gowers, 2007). People with malnutrition issues require social assistance. Usually, families and relatives motivate them to overcome this disorder. The confusions about life are eliminated. They seriously require shift from childhood to maturity. This is very difficult for them to achieve without support. They may isolate themselves because of low self-esteem. Such people face the major problem of denial. They are mostly preoccupied with their own thinking patterns and frequently get angry. So, smooth and gentle support from social circles will motivate them to get rid of this state. The mental state and the surrounding environment also pose great influence upon the eating habits of individuals. In the paragraphs above restrictive eating disorders have been addressed. However, the same factors can contribute to over eating disorders too. Individuals, that are dejected in the society and are not welcomed by their friends and family members, develop a sense of rejection inside of them. These individuals constantly find themselves to be stuck in self talking and guilt. To overcome such depressive emotions these individuals try to keep themselves busy by indulging in activities that either give them pleasure or make them think of their circumstances less. One of such ways is to start eating. Eating, while in depression, is a common habit today. This contributes to nurturing obesity in the society and producing inefficient individuals (Kumar, 2001). The way out Eating disorders, as discussed in this paper, are engulfing an increasingly larger chunk of the world population today. The dark side of the issue is that the affected people do not even realize that they are victims of a dangerous disorder. In such cases the media and other sources of mass communication shall feel the responsibility and come up with awareness campaigns. The role of social circles cannot be avoided at any cost in this regard. The social environment around a person, today, defines his/her existence. The society shall play a role in identifying victims of eating disorders and help them come out of the illusion by motivating them to live a healthier life. Health workers and organizations shall activate campaigns against obesity and different types of nervosas. Hand bills and videos shall be distributed and shared to ensure that the issue has been discussed at all levels of our society. With consistent efforts and commitment, the world shall be able to win against the odds and negate eating disorders from the society completely (Donald, 2010). Conclusion Motivation is the stepping stone to overcome dietary anomalies. High levels of motivation within the individual can pave way for behavioral changes. Obesity and malnutrition are the major concerns in majority of the countries. People have associated these dietary transitions with social environment and cultures. These disorders are diminishing the self-concept among individuals. The feeling of pleasing others has overshadowed self-image in the eyes of individuals. These emotions are prominent through their eating habits. The paper has emphasized on the major disorders and the influence of theories of motivation on them. It is evident that motivation should lead to a better fortune. It should raise the level of self-image, rather than aggregating depression. References Janet Treasure, Emily Simonoff, Nadia Micali. (2007). Risk of major adverse perinatal outcomes in women with eating disorders. The British Journal of Psychology. Retrieved from http://bjp.rcpsych.org/content/190/3/255.short Leslie A. Sim, PhD, Donald E. (2010). Identification and Treatment of Eating Disorders in the Primary Care Setting. Mayo Clinic Proceedings. Retrieved from http://171.67.112.83/content/85/8/746.short Michael Lutter, Eric J. Nestler. (2009). Homeostatic and Hedonic Signals Interact in the Regulation of Food Intake. The American Institute of Nutrition. Retrieved from http://jn.nutrition.org/content/139/3/629.short Rano Bhadoria, Kate Webb, John F Morgan. (2010). Treating eating disorders: a review of the evidence. Evidence Based Mental Health. Retrieved from http://ebmh.bmj.com/content/13/1/1.short Rachel Simon-Kumar . (2001). Eating Disorders. Psychology for All, your intimate psychology portal. Retrieved from http://www.psychology4all.com/EatingDisorders.htm Simon G Gowers. (2007). Management of eating disorders in children and adolescents. Archives of Disease in Childhood. Retrieved from http://adc.bmj.com/content/93/4/331.short Read More