Eating disorders such as anorexia and bulimia have been attributed to a number of causes or sets of causes, and one of the elements that has been examined in the literature and that is often assumed by the layperson as a major reason for such eating disorders is the American preoccupation with thinness. Eating disorders are prevalent among teenage girls who can be much influenced by what they see in fashion, in the movies, and on television and who may then try to emulate the models they perceive as representing the ultimate in sophistication and success, and such images can be especially important for adolescents just learning about themselves and trying to fit into the world around them.
Eating disorders such as anorexia nervosa and bulimia have generally been associated with the adolescent years of growth, although they may occur in the early to mid-adult years as well. An eating disorder is defined as a disturbance in eating behavior that jeopardizes a person's physical or psychological health. the appetite. Many sufferers go no further than this and hover for years on the brink of a more serious disorder. In some young women, severe dieting changes into an implacable pursuit of thinness, an obsession with food and calories, and a sheer abhorrence of body fat. The anorectic typically denies her illness and does not perceive herself as emaciated. She will usually exaggerate her body proportions. She may jog and exercise relentlessly to expend calories. Physical changes accompany the weight loss. Menstruation stops and ovulation ceases. The skin dries out, cheeks and forearms become covered with downy hair, the heart rate and blood pressure drop, and the manufacture of blood in the bone marrow is depressed.
Several ideas about the etiology of anorexia have been offered since the disorder was identified and named. They can be categorized according to the prevalent views of each diagnostic era, beginning with the ...