Sociocultural Aspects of Eating Disorders
... People with negative body image have a greater likelihood of developing an eating disorder and are more likely to suffer from feelings of depression, isolation, low self-esteem, and obsessions with weight loss. ... Girls developed eating disorders when our culture developed a standard of beauty that they couldn’t obtain by being healthy. Encouraging the media to present more diverse and real images of people with positive messages about health and self-esteem may not eliminate eating disorders entirely, but it will help reduce the pressures many people feel to make their bodies conform to one ideal, and in the process, reduce feelings of body dissatisfaction and ultimately decrease the potential for eating disorders. Advertising supports eating-disordered attitudes. ... Anorexia Nervosa is a serious, life-threatening eating disorder depicted by self-starvation and excessive weight loss. ... Bulimia Nervosa is also a serious, potentially life-threatening eating disorder characterized by a cycle of bingeing and compensatory behaviors such as self-induced vomiting.