You don’t have to be on a teen drama show to experience anxiety about your body image. But when those worries start interfering with everyday functioning, things start to get problematic. In Canada, three per cent of women experience some form of eating disorder over the course of their lifetime. While eating disorders are often considered less serious than other psychological disorders, they can be extremely dangerous and incapacitating for the people who experience them. Interestingly enough, while most psychological disorders can be traced throughout history and across cultures, the pathological effort to control body weight (the key characteristic of eating disorders) appears to be a relatively recent phenomenon, seen predominantly in prosperous Western cultures.
The two most common eating disorders are anorexia nervosa and bulimia nervosa. Both of these conditions involve disturbances in eating behaviour and harmful measures to control weight. These two types are very similar and can sometimes overlap. However, the popular media often misrepresents the differences between the two syndromes, so here’s some clarification.
The diagnostic criteria for anorexia nervosa include low body weight, intense fear of gaining weight, unhealthy body image, and dangerous methods of losing weight. These methods can include a massive reduction in food intake―sometimes to the point of starvation―or purging. Individuals can purge by forcing themselves to vomit after eating, by overusing laxatives and diuretics, or through excessive exercise. The obsession to lose weight becomes dangerous, while people suffering from anorexia nervosa usually fail to realize how unhealthy their behaviour and body have become. Typically, people entering treatment are 25 to 30 per cent below their normal body weight, and are forced to seek help by concerned friends and family.
Bulimia nervosa is slightly different—it involves binge eating followed by purging. But since purging methods are usually ineffective, individuals suffering from bulimia nervosa usually maintain a near-normal body weight. Purging is motivated by a sense of guilt and a morbid fear of gaining weight. However, vomiting only gets rid of half of recently consumed food, while the other half is absorbed by the body, meaning that weight loss in bulimic individuals is usually not as dangerous as in cases of anorexia. What’s more, people suffering from bulimia nervosa are more likely to recognize that they have a pathological problem, and will often seek treatment for themselves.
A number of physical and psychological complications can result from eating disorders. These can include everything from kidney and menstrual dysfunction, hypothermia and dental problems, to depression, mood swings, social isolation, and a lack of self-esteem.
Contrary to popular belief, women aren’t the only ones who experience eating disorders. However, women form the overwhelming majority as 90 to 95 per cent of people who experience eating disorders. This predominance is attributed to the ideals of attractiveness in Western culture, which emphasize slenderness in females more so than males. In addition, studies show that women face greater social pressures to be attractive than men do.
It just goes to show that the way we eat is more than a body matter —it’s also a matter of the mind.
