Causes and Prevention of Anorexia Nervosa

Name
Institutional Affiliation
Course Code/Title
Instructor
Date
Causes and Prevention of Anorexia Nervosa
According to a study of the mortality of eating disorders, Fichter and Quadflieg found that individuals with anorexia nervosa experienced the highest standardized mortality rate 5.35 (391). In addition to dying from natural causes, such as organ failure, suicide is another common cause of death. Two-thirds of anorexia nervosa patients died because of suicide (Fichter and Quadflieg 395). Anorexia patients try to lose weight through extreme diets or even fasting, which not only fails to keep the balance of normal weight and essential nutrients for the human body’s consumption but also has huge negative impacts on mental health. Many young girls and women, as well as boys, suffer from severe problems with eating, body image, and various forms of unhealthy weight management. They may have low self-esteem or anxiety because they experience body shame and dissatisfaction. Thus, anorexia tortures a person in both physical and psychological ways at the same time, which is the most possible reason that leads people to suicide. Considering this, and the fact that the number of deaths is increasing over time, the potential causes and prevention of anorexia nervosa must be analyzed. Although many reasons may cause anorexia, most individuals suffer from anorexia nervosa due to the big effects of societal emphasis on thinness and negative family attachment. There is no proven method to prevent anorexia nervosa, but building self-confidence during childhood and adolescence is a possible prevention strategy.
Causes of Anorexia Nervosa
The Societal Ideal For Thinness
The societal ideal for thinness promotes body dissatisfaction and attempted dieting. Many cultures emphasize a slim body image on advertisements, the internet, and social media. Research has shown that sociocultural pressure to appear thin is a potential mediator of anorexia nervosa and eating disorder symptomatology. In a study examining the role of sociocultural pressure as a link between internalization and symptoms related to eating disorders, researchers have found that sociocultural pressure plays a significant role in the participants’ internalization of the thin ideal and eating disorders. Besides, results from the same study show that there is a correlation between media information influence and different symptoms of eating disorders (Pedersen, Hicks, and Rosenrauch 1). According to the study, the sociocultural environment significantly increases the risks of symptoms associated with eating disorders that occur before patients are diagnosed with the conditions, particularly for those susceptible to societal pressures. Diedrich defines a “sociocultural environment” to comprise of the media, family, and peers in the context of eating disorders although such an environment may broadly include social, cultural, and gender norms as they relate to body appearance, beauty ideals, and eating behaviors. Since sociocultural influences are possible risk factors for eating pathology and body satisfaction, including perceived family, media, and peer pressure to cut off weight, there has been increased research attention in this area (Diedrichs 19). Such pressures have forced young girls, women, and boys to seek ways of losing weight to an extent of affecting their physical and emotional health.
Rukavina and Pokrajac-Bulian have also associated unhealthy eating behaviors and acceptance or perception of societal ideals regarding body dissatisfaction, thinness, and peer or family pressures to reduce weight (1). While such ideals have potential impacts on the physical and psychological health of individuals, young girls, women, and boys have constantly been subjected to social pressures from their peers and family and weight-related criticism and teasing, which eventually results in disturbed eating behaviors. According to Rukavina and Pokrajac-Bulian, weight dissatisfaction largely influences the development of some symptoms related to eating disorders and is also a major mediator of internalization of societal ideals of appearance and the development of higher body mass index (BMI) (1). Izydorczyk and Sitnik-Warchulska have also proved the existence of a link between the risk factors for eating pathologies such as bulimic tendencies, the pursuit of thinness, and body satisfaction, and sociocultural ideals largely promoted in mass media among young girls and women (2). Scientific research indicates that women more strongly and often feel dissatisfied with their body images and will intensely pursue the perceived sociocultural idea of a perfect female body as portrayed in mass media by celebrities seen in magazines and other media (Swiatkowski 1). In general, the four risk factors for eating pathologies comprise body dissatisfaction, bulimic tendencies, the pursuit of thinness, and perfectionism, which result in anorexia nervosa and other physical and mental disorders.
Negative Family Attachment
The negative family attachment has a role to play in mediating eating disorders among susceptible individuals such as teenage girls. Manaj (112) defines attachment as a stable and strong emotional connection between a child and the mother or a primary caregiver during the first years of a child’s life. John Bowlby first considered such a relationship between a child and the mother as an important element that needs to be monitored during development. For this reason, psychologists have gained increasing interest in understanding the relationship between attachment styles of teenage girls and other susceptible individuals and the potential of developing eating disorders. In a study involving girls aged between 15 and 18 years, Manaj (112) made a hypothesis that there was a strong correlation between unhealthy attachment styles such as avoidant, insecure, and disorganized forms of attachment and the likelihood of developing eating pathologies. Results from this study indicated that there was a statistically ...