The intention in this paper is to explore eating disorders in terms of their relationship to a negative body image and a negative relationship to the body in which the individual disowns the body, struggles with it, and generally exists in a split state in which self and body are seen to be in opposition.
There is considerable research available about both the causes of eating disorders and the way in which society views individuals who are overweight. In addition, there have been many discussions of the way in which the society's premium on thinness and a childlike body contributes to anorexia nervosa in different populations, particularly adolescent girls.
What has not been explored in such detail is the way in which eating disorders represent the struggle for control between body and psychological self, or the way in which eating disorders represent a type of image control, rather than a caring relationship between self and body. The fear of being out of control and the perfectionism that characterizes those with eating disorders seems to be the foundation of the disordered relationships with food.
The paper will provide a description of the basic types of eating disorders, brief review of different theories about causes of eating disorders, and evaluation of the available theories and data. The conclusion focuses on attempting to synthesize what is currently understood into a coherent discussion of eating disorders as a problem of self-body relationship expressed through manipulation of body image, or attempted manipulation of body image.
For the most part, the discussion of eating disorders is a recent one. Any earlier discussion of weight focused on obesity, but the contemporary discussion has included a recognition of the troubled relationship that can exist between individuals and food.
Eating disorders are considered to be diagnosable, pathological conditions, "disorders" in the intake and egress of food. T...