Blog Post #4: Causes of Eating disorders

What are the causes of eating disorders is the question that most of the people think after getting an idea about this health problem. It is not only the doctors, therapists, and health care professionals have the knowledge on eating disorders. There are other people who are also curious about it, such as the parents of a teenager who is suffering from an eating disorder or a concerned friend to his/her other friend who is at risk of it. Those people want to know more about eating disorders so that they can help them, deeply understand them, and to effectively cure this kind of illness. The first questions these people have in their minds are, “what are the causes of eating disorders?”, “what are the reasons behind this particular problem?”, and “why does he/she has eating disorders?” The true reasons, root causes, and factors that contribute to eating disorders are the first thing people want to know before they proceed to the treatment of this serious health problem.

Eating disorders are complex conditions that arise from a combination of long-standing behavioral, biological, emotional, psychological, interpersonal, and social factors. Scientists and researchers are still trying to learn more about the underlying causes of these emotionally and physically damaging conditions. However, the National Eating Disorders Association (NEDA) knows some of the general issues that can contribute to the development of eating disorders. In their article Factors that May Contribute to Eating Disorders from their site nationaleatingdisorders.org, they said “While eating disorders may first appear to be solely about food and weight preoccupations, those suffering from them often try to use food and the control of food to cope with feelings and emotions that may otherwise seem overwhelming. For some, dieting, bingeing, and purging may begin as a way to cope with painful emotions and to feel in control of one’s life.”

NEDA said that eating disorders are not just about food and weights, but those who suffer from these disorders often try to use food and control of food as a solution to their emotional problems. The factors that can contribute to eating disorders are categorized in psychological, interpersonal, social, and biological. The psychological factors are: low self-esteem, feeling of inadequacy or lack of control in life, depression, anxiety, anger, stress, or loneliness. Interpersonal factors have something to do with troubled personal relationship, difficulty in expressing emotions and feelings, have history of being teased or ridiculed based on size or weight, or history of physical or sexual abuse. The social factors included the cultural pressures that glorify “thinness” or muscularity and place value on obtaining “perfect body”, and the cultural norms that value people on the basis of physical appearance and not inner qualities and strengths. And lastly, scientists are still researching possible biochemical or biological causes of eating disorders.

“Ultimately, though, these behaviors will damage a person’s physical or emotional health, self-esteem and sense of competence and control.” NEDA said.

Truly, eating disorders are conditions that have many factors and can arise from a variety of potential causes. If a person has low self-esteem, depressions, anxiety, stress, difficulty in expressing emotions and feelings, has history of being teased by size or weight, and is born in a culture or place where they value people on the basis of physical appearance, it won’t be unexpected if he/she has developed an eating disorder. These factors have a big effect on a person’s physical, psychological, and emotional health and it can be really damaging to him/her.

According to experts and recent studies, causes of eating disorders include the genetic factors. The genetic factors may account for over 50% of the danger of raising anorexia nervosa. Still, researchers are continuing to find the links of genetic factors of bulimia nervosa and binge-eating disorder. In the article Causesof Eating Disorder by the Eating Disorders channel from their site eatingdisorderschannel.com, “Research has shown that causes of eating disorders are the people that have a family history of someone suffering from eating disorders is more likely to get an eating disorder when compared to people with no family history of eating disorders.” People with a family history of eating disorders are 12 times more likely to develop anorexia nervosa and 4 times more likely to develop bulimia nervosa. Aside from family history, the family itself is one of the main causes of eating disorders. Parents who have extreme concern over the body shape and appearance will automatically cause an eating disorder to their children. If children are exposed to negative family influences, it causes a lot of pressure in their mind which can serve as the primary cause of eating disorder. Also, parents criticizing their children for being overweight or parents pressurizing their children to reduce weight are one of the reasons why teens develop eating disorder.

In an article What causes Eating disorders? by the Anorexia nervosa and related eating disorder (ANRED) from their site anred.org, they also have a list of factors for eating disorders. In the biological factors, they wrote, “New research suggests that there is a biological link between stress and the drive to eat. Comfort foods- high in sugar, fat, and calories—seem to calm the body’s response to chronic stress.” When a person is stressed, a hormone is produced which encourage the formation of fat cells. If a person lives in a stressful country, he might be always eating comfort foods to suppress himself from stress, and if he eats a lot of foods high in sugar, fats, and calories, he can develop eating disorder like binge-eating disorder.  

“Studies reported in the New England Journal of Medicine indicate that for some, but not all, people heredity is an important factor in the development of obesity and binge-eating.” ANRED said.

From all the factors that can contribute to eating disorders, biological factors and family factors are two of the most important factors which have a big effect on people. Since children live with their families in many years, there are chances that they might adopt what they see from their parents. If his parents are both overweight and obese and eat a lot, he will also be eating like his father and mother. But there is a case where parents nag about junk foods and limit their children’s access to treats; those who are being restricted by their parents to eat prohibited foods have a stronger desire for it, they are more likely to eat when they are not hungry and these behaviors may put them to have eating disorders in the future.

Eating disorders in children and teens cause serious changes in eating habits that can lead to major, even life-threatening health problems. Typically, it develops during adolescence or early adulthood. However, they can start in childhood, too. Eating disorders don’t have proven causes but the psychological, interpersonal, social, family, and biological factors could answer the question “why does he/she has eating disorder?”. These factors already suffice the needed reasons people want to know about eating disorders. Aside from the said factors, researchers are still studying about the other factors that can also contribute to this health problem.