The Cause of Eating Disorders?

No definite causes of eating disorders have yet been determined, certainly no single cause in any case. However ongoing psychological and medical research (with sufficient evidence) suggests that one of or a mixture of the following factors can induce an eating disorder of any kind.

Social impacts

The current society and it’s obsession with petite women has a great impact on aspiring young girls. Narrow definitions of beauty using only men and women of a specific size are thrust in the faces of practically everyone. The emphasis on personal image as a determinant of social value can trigger or fuel the variety of eating disorders seen in predominantly women but also men.

Family based/interpersonal impacts

Other researchers found that eating disorders can arise from dysfunctional family units. For example pressure from within the family to achieve or live up to high expectations. This constant pressure can be stressful especially at a developing age (adolescence). Failure to live up to standards can cause low self esteem to manifest. A resultant desire to lose weight can develop in order to gain some self satisfaction or to feel ‘perfect’ in some way.

Another type of family dysfunction is whereby family members become interdependent and as individuals cannot form their own identity, thus are dependent on each other for this. In such circumstances some children develop an intense fear of maturing (this is researched to be more prominent in girls). Dieting or purging prevents their bodies from developing in a normal manner. In their minds, this postpones the process of growing up and maintains the parent-child relationship that they have come to depend on.

Significant others (especially parents) often influence our values and priorities as we mature. Therefore, these people can play a large part in influencing importance of appearance and thus personal relationship with food. For child witnessing weight loss or a preoccupation with weight/self image can at a young age instil appearance as a general priority in their life as they grow older.

Psychological factors

Between the ages of 14 and 18, many physical and emotional changes take place in a young person’s body along with puberty. The most confident of people can feel loss of control. Some feel that restricting their food intake is a way to gain mastery over their body that appears to be changing without their conscious control.

For girls it is common and quite necessary for them to gain some body fat during puberty, more so than boys. This explains why eating disorders are more common in females than males, also added to by the fact that society is generally more concerned with women’s appearance than males. A young female’s response to this change can be fear of weight gain. An obsession with loosing the new weight by any means necessary is often developed even though it’s unhealthy and detrimental to their body/ health. This fear of weight gain even though it’s perfectly healthy is induced by the social factors explained above. Thin celebrities are published in all aspects of the media with the general consensus (particularly in the modelling industry) that the thinner you are the more successful and accepted you are.

Eating disorders are about a lot more than food or appearance; it’s about control over the one aspect of the individual’s life that they feel is achievable. It gives the person the ability to cope with stress and anxiety in their lives as the complex emotions are centred around the eating disorder. Situations that may be considered stressful or cause anxiety depend on the person’s perception of the situation and their ability to cope with it. Everybody is different, some are more sensitive than others and thus susceptibility of an eating disorder depends on the psychological traits of a person when these influences occur.

An acute trauma (not usually major trauma), or form of abuse can also bring about an eating disorder. Dieting, binging and/or purging are methods used to deal with painful feelings that otherwise seem overwhelming to the individual. Being abused or perhaps bullied especially during adolescence can severely damage one’s self esteem and self value. This feeling is channelled into an eating disorder or a cycle of self harming. The person therefore does not value themselves enough to look after their body and thus they behave negatively towards themselves.

Confusion about a person’s sexuality can also be a determinant in the onset of an eating disorder. Being confused about their sexual feelings and realising their sexuality in general can be stressful. This is added to by the social implications of one’s sexuality regarding acceptance and also stereotypes (not wanting to look a certain way, e.g. the stereotype ‘butch’ for lesbians).