What Causes An Eating Disorder

The reasons behind why someone develops an eating disorder are complex and are often a combination of various interwoven issues caused by social, psychological, and biological factors.

It is a myth that eating disorders are a result of vanity, attention seeking, or a desire to be skinny. No one purposely chooses to have an eating disorder. Although its common for a lot of eating disorders to stem from diets, low self esteem, or feelings of insecurity around ones weight and body image, to say that eating disorders are simply a 'diet gone wrong' is far from the truth.

Anyone can develop an eating disorder. It doesn't have to always stem from traumatic events such as bereavement, sexual or physical abuse, bullying etc - although there is no doubt that these things can develop into eating disorders, there is a large percentage of eating disorder sufferers who have no obvious traumas that have triggered their illness.

Social Influence

We can't deny that the emphasis on diets and being thin in the media has led to a possible increase in eating disorders, especially to the rise in childhood eating disorders. It is too easy to blame the 'size zero' mentality as the sole reason behind eating disorders. However I cannot believe that anyone could develop an eating disorder simply because they wanted to lose weight. It is far more likely that the media's emphasis on being slim, beautiful and perfect contributes to pre-existing psychological problems, encouraging low self esteem and a sense of 'not being good enough'.

Often there is an emphasis on weight and appearance being the primary concerns in eating disorders. Although you can't deny that it plays a part, it is wrong to assume that it goes no deeper. Often the preoccupation with food, size and weight is a coping mechanism for difficult emotions such as anxiety, depression, low self esteem, anger, stress, and various others. Therefore, it would be incorrect to state that eating disorders are caused by supermodels and crash diets.

Often difficulties within families and friendship circles can contribute to the cause of eating disorders. That is not to say that anyone is to blame for their loved one getting an eating disorder - it is often common to point fingers at the parents, claiming they are overbearing, or put too much pressure on their children - however from my experience, the majority of people I know who suffer from eating disorders come from loving and caring parents. That is not to say they are perfect, every family has its ups and downs, but it may be that the person with the eating disorder is particularly sensitive towards family frictions, or perhaps they feel a sense of responsibility or blame.

For an interesting article exploring the connections between the media and eating disorders visit something-fishy.org

Psychological Influence
Low self esteem is a common attricute to most eating disorders. Often people with eating disorders are self critical, perfectionists, feel under pressure to appear 'ok' or are unable to discuss any problems that they may be having. They may feel scrutinized for their appearance or feel that they are not good enough or don't fit in well enough. They often feel like they would be a burden if they discuss their insecurities, or even feel like they shouldn't even have insecurities, that what they are feeling is not normal or not allowed.  They often feel like they don't really deserve help, that their problems are not serious and that other people deserve more help then they do.

When faced with all these complicated emotions, they often turn to food as a way of coping, whether thats restricting their diet or binge eating. By having some control over their diet, it can make everthing feel less stressful and reduce anxieties - or by overeating food can be used as a comfort or as a distraction from what they are really feeling. Overtime, these behaviours are reinforced and it becomes learnt that the only way they can cope is by drawing their attention to food and weight. It can be distressing to give up these behaviours as often the emotions behind the eating disorder can feel extremely intense and overwhelming.

The psychological influences on why people develop eating disorders is so vast that I could probably fill up several blogs discussing it. Althought there are common traits within eating disorders it is important to recognise that every individual is different and will have developed an eating disorder for different reasons.

Physiological Influence

There has been some evidence that some people might be genetically predisposed to develop eating disorders, or that they stem from a chemical imbalance in the brain. It is very likely that there are physiological reasons behind the causes of eating disorders. In addition, once an eating disorder has started to develop, there are many physiological factors that can encourage the behaviours of eating disorders, leading a person further and further into it to a point where it becomes almost impossible to escape without professional help.

When you restrict your diet to a low caloric intake for a long period of time often your body will respond by becoming preoccupied with food, becoming obsessed and constantly thinking about food, and even leading to unwanted binges as a way to break the fast. There is a risk that prolonged low calorie diets could lead to episodes of binge eating and the loss of control and guilt felt after a binge could develop into Bulimia or Binge Eating Disorder. It is very difficult to manage a regular eating pattern once caught in the restrict - binge cycle.

In addition once your body weight drops below its set-point (that's the weight that your body is most comfortable with, usually predisposed by genetics) the body will increase thoughts of food, start to brea down fat and muscle, often resulting in decreased brain function. This is often referred to as starvation mode. Once in this state, it is very difficult to challenge any psychological issues related to the eating disorder as the brain is less likely to think clearly or rationally. Although this is not the cause of eating disorders, I feel its important to acknowledge that once in the grips of an eating disorder, it is incredibly difficult to break free.

Conclusion

It is the complexity of eating disorders that often makes it difficult for outsiders to understand. Eating disorders are multi-layered and often it is impossible to seperate one cause from another. It takes years to be able to recover from an eating disorder - it is not just a fad or phase that someone goes through - it is a serious mental illness that need intensive support and treatment.

Taking time to understand the real reasons behind eating disorders can help prevent prejudice towards those suffering from an eating disorder. Often suffers can feel judged or ashamed of their eating disorder due to the stereotypes surrounding the illness. It can prevent someone from asking for help as they worry that they will be seen as shallow or vain for having an eating disorder. This is not true. Without help, eating disorders can destroy lives and can even lead to death.

To find out more about the causes of eating disorders visit these websites:
Somethingfishy.org
Eating Disorders Help Guide - Low Self Esteem
NHS - eating disorders explained