Eating Disorders

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(1) Comment on your perception of the major causes of eating disorders from any of the biopsychosocial perspectives.

Eating disorders such as anorexia and bulimia are generally attributed to factors associated with culture, society and genetics. These disorders are characterized in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Illness (DSM-IV-TR [APA], 2000), "as severe disturbances in eating behavior that are characterized by the individual being preoccupied with body size and weight, which leads to unhealthy choices in efforts to control weight (p. 583). For instance, from a sociological perspective, Anorexia Nervosa involves intense fear of gaining weight, disturbed body image, and dangerous measures to lose weight. Bulimia Nervosa is characterized as a disorder in which persons habitually engage in out of control overeating followed by unhealthy practices to control weight such as: "self-induced vomiting, fasting abusing laxatives and/or diuretics, and rigorous exercise" (p. 583).

Often these causes are attributed to social influences. Research shows that both Bulimia Nervosa and Anorexia Nervosa are products of modern western culture in which being "thin" has been endorsed as the norm (ideal body size and shape). For example, women are socialized to think they must be thin in efforts to be attractive (Godart, Flament, Lecrobier, & Jeammet, 2000). For example, Godarat et al (2000) found that persons who had phobic obsessions such as food preoccupations and washing rituals were prone to Anorexia Nervosa, while young women with Bulimia Nervosa feared social contacts or developed the inability to participate in social gatherings, or meet new friends (Godart et al., 2000).

The DSM describes a biological connection to anorexic and bulimic disorders in "familial patterns". For example, Anorexia Nervosa is found often "among first-degree biological relatives of individuals who had the disorder". Relatives of those who ...