The misconception that eating disorders are a lifestyle choice or a fad is not unusual in society. In truth, they are actual, complex, and even life-threatening conditions that can strike one’s health, productivity, relationships and socioeconomic status. They can affect anyone but are most prevalent among adolescents and young women. Despite the term “eating” in the name and often beginning as eating too little or too much, eating disorders are not just about food but also frequently coexist with depression, intoxication, substance abuse, anxiety disorders, suicidal ideation, or the like. Studies have found that eating disorders are in the wake of complex interactions between genetic, biological, behavioural, psychological, environmental factors and so on, namely that more than one possibility can bring about such conditions.
Biological factors in eating disorders, including uneven hormone functions, nutritional deficiencies, and genetics, can be easily ignored. Although there has not yet been irrefutable evidence of the tie between one’s genes and eating disorders, researchers have identified specific genes, such as leptin and ghrelin, that can influence hormones linked to heritable eating disorders. For instance, when a person has a first-degree relative with a history of eating disorders, they are more liable to grow such conditions. Equally, other mental issues like anxiety, depression, addiction, etc., that happen in families often accompany eating disorders.
On the other hand, various childhood personality traits can develop eating disorders. During adolescence, those traits may intensify under physiological and cultural influences like the hormonal changes associated with puberty, stress related to the approaching demands of maturity, and perceived expectations that primarily concern body image. It is noteworthy that anything in one’s childhood that makes someone belittle oneself can cause low self-worth and further mental issues. Likewise, eating disorders appear in connection with weak mentalisation, the ability to understand one’s or others’ mental state, that underlies overt behaviour.
Eating disorders also derive from psychological well-being, correlated with one’s personality and character traits. People with eating disorders tend to share the following personality types that are most at risk. Borderline personality disorder (BPD), a.k.a. emotionally unstable personality disorder (EUPD), happens with self-destructive and impulsive behaviours. This type of person has difficulty managing and tolerating emotions. Further, perfectionism can be one of the riskiest factors in eating disorders. People with avoidant personality disorder (AvPD) are typically perfectionists, who tend to set unrealistic expectations for themselves, fear being criticised or humiliated, and paradoxically mistrust others. Last, people with narcissistic personality disorder (NPD) or megalomania often daydream about achieving power and success; they are usually incapable of comforting themselves or empathising with others. Their need to be in the spotlight comes from a lack of self-esteem.
As the modern aesthetic appeal has consistently spread via the mass media, people believe that it is masculine for men to be tall, vigorous, with a bronze tan and bulging muscles, and that feminine charm is slim, white, with big eyes and a pointed nose. With such “good looks” universally adopted, eating disorders strike those “below standard.” When people cannot value themselves nor believe they deserve good care and respect, they start to feel down, concentrate on the negative messages around them, and make unhealthy comparisons between their bodies and what they see as “ideal” ones. Distorted body image and low self-esteem usually happen with one another, and both can lead to eating disorders.
Eating disorders can affect every organ system in one’s body. Although the exact cause of eating disorders is still unknown, all the possibilities of eating disorders can interact individually. As a result, two people with the same eating disorder may have very diverse perspectives, experiences, and symptoms. Not only should people struggling with eating disorders seek professional help, but there is also a desperate need for public awareness of this issue. The earlier a person with eating disorders receives proper treatment, the greater the likelihood of recovery.
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