BODY IMAGE AND EATING DISORDERS: ANOREXIA, BULIMIA AND
OBESITY
Changes in weight, height, body shape, body composition, as well as
primary and secondary sex characteristics represent a pivotal stage in the
development of positive or negative body image.
Body image: A multidimensional construct encompassing how we
perceive, think, feel, and act towards our bodies.
o Influence on body image include:
The media.
Peers.
Romantic partners.
Cultural ideas and beliefs.
Adolescents who are obsessed with slenderness, which is often reinforced
by society and the mass media, may be at risk of developing certain
eating disorders such as anorexia nervosa and bulimia nervosa.
Anorexia Nervosa: The refusal or inability to maintain a normal body
weight.
o It is a serious mental health condition and is life-threatening.
Characteristics of Anorexia Nervosa:
o Body weight is significantly below the average body mass
index (BMI).
BMI: A measure of using a person’s height and weight to
calculate their body fat, while in children, age and gender are
considered.
A healthy BMI is between 18.5 and 24.9.
A BMI below 18.5 is considered underweight.
A BMI of 17 is mild anorexia.
16-17 is moderate anorexia.
A BMI less than 15 is considered extreme anorexia.
o Purging to remove food.
, This can occur through self-induced vomiting, diarrhoea,
excessive exercise, the use of appetite suppressants or the use
of stimulant drugs such as cocaine, ecstasy, or caffeine.
o A severely distorted body image.
Patients may genuinely view themselves as obese despite
having skeletal frames.
o Other mental health conditions.
Depression, anxiety, and/or bulimia nervosa are often present.
o Physical symptoms.
Excessive growth of fine hair on the body.
o Menstrual problems.
Amenorrhea (Loss of menstruation) is common.
Anorexia occurs between puberty and 25 years of age.
o Females from middle to higher socio-economic groups have the
desire to achieve in all spheres of life and receive recognition.
They often feel isolated, lonely, and imperfect, they often have
low self-esteem.
o Up to 50% of all sufferers never recover and about 10% to 20% eventually die.
Bulimia Nervosa: Characterised by repeated episodes of binge eating,
during which the individual consumes an excessive amount of food.
o This is then followed by an action that will prevent them from
gaining weight, like self-induced vomiting or the misuse of laxatives
and enemas, fasting, or excessive exercise.
o Bulimia sufferers do not necessarily have an abnormally low body
weight.
o They are overly concerned about body weight and have a fear of
becoming fat.
o This disorder tends to peak in late adolescence or in early childhood.
Has been diagnosed in children as young as 5 years old.
For a long time, eating disorders have been associated with Western
culture, although it is evident that eating disorders have been appearing
in non-western and developing countries.
, o Bulimia is still seen higher in Western cultures.
Multiple factors are involved in the cause of eating disorders.
o Environmental and genetic factors, and as in most cases of
development., an interaction among these factors.
From a psychological perspective:
o Many studies have found links between eating disorders and other
serious mental health problems, such as depression, anxiety
disorders or substance abuse. Sometimes these disorders, especially
depression, precede the development of an eating disorder, rather
than the reverse.
o The onset of eating disorders, like so many aspects of adolescent
development, is likely the product of a complex interaction between
individual and contextual factors.
o Cultural and environmental conditions may predispose females more
than males toward eating disorders.
Adolescent girls and young women who have certain genetic
vulnerabilities, psychological traits (such as proneness to
depression or low self-esteem), physical characteristics (such as
early pubertal maturation), familial characteristics (Such as
strained relations with parents), or social concerns (such as a
strong interest in dating) may be more likely to develop eating
disorders.
o The effects of anorexia may be more life-threatening for males than
for females.
Males often receive a later diagnosis due to the mistaken belief
that it does not affect males as much as it does females.
Obesity: Abnormal or excessive fat accumulation that presents a health
risk.
o A body mass index-for-age: A measure using children’s height-for-
age and weight-for-age as well as their gender.
A BMI of 25-30 is overweight.
30-35 is moderately obese.
35-40 is severely obese.
, Over 40 is morbidly obese.
Obesity is a worldwide epidemic with profound negative physical and
mental health consequences.
o Females are more at risk for obesity than males.
OBESITY
Changes in weight, height, body shape, body composition, as well as
primary and secondary sex characteristics represent a pivotal stage in the
development of positive or negative body image.
Body image: A multidimensional construct encompassing how we
perceive, think, feel, and act towards our bodies.
o Influence on body image include:
The media.
Peers.
Romantic partners.
Cultural ideas and beliefs.
Adolescents who are obsessed with slenderness, which is often reinforced
by society and the mass media, may be at risk of developing certain
eating disorders such as anorexia nervosa and bulimia nervosa.
Anorexia Nervosa: The refusal or inability to maintain a normal body
weight.
o It is a serious mental health condition and is life-threatening.
Characteristics of Anorexia Nervosa:
o Body weight is significantly below the average body mass
index (BMI).
BMI: A measure of using a person’s height and weight to
calculate their body fat, while in children, age and gender are
considered.
A healthy BMI is between 18.5 and 24.9.
A BMI below 18.5 is considered underweight.
A BMI of 17 is mild anorexia.
16-17 is moderate anorexia.
A BMI less than 15 is considered extreme anorexia.
o Purging to remove food.
, This can occur through self-induced vomiting, diarrhoea,
excessive exercise, the use of appetite suppressants or the use
of stimulant drugs such as cocaine, ecstasy, or caffeine.
o A severely distorted body image.
Patients may genuinely view themselves as obese despite
having skeletal frames.
o Other mental health conditions.
Depression, anxiety, and/or bulimia nervosa are often present.
o Physical symptoms.
Excessive growth of fine hair on the body.
o Menstrual problems.
Amenorrhea (Loss of menstruation) is common.
Anorexia occurs between puberty and 25 years of age.
o Females from middle to higher socio-economic groups have the
desire to achieve in all spheres of life and receive recognition.
They often feel isolated, lonely, and imperfect, they often have
low self-esteem.
o Up to 50% of all sufferers never recover and about 10% to 20% eventually die.
Bulimia Nervosa: Characterised by repeated episodes of binge eating,
during which the individual consumes an excessive amount of food.
o This is then followed by an action that will prevent them from
gaining weight, like self-induced vomiting or the misuse of laxatives
and enemas, fasting, or excessive exercise.
o Bulimia sufferers do not necessarily have an abnormally low body
weight.
o They are overly concerned about body weight and have a fear of
becoming fat.
o This disorder tends to peak in late adolescence or in early childhood.
Has been diagnosed in children as young as 5 years old.
For a long time, eating disorders have been associated with Western
culture, although it is evident that eating disorders have been appearing
in non-western and developing countries.
, o Bulimia is still seen higher in Western cultures.
Multiple factors are involved in the cause of eating disorders.
o Environmental and genetic factors, and as in most cases of
development., an interaction among these factors.
From a psychological perspective:
o Many studies have found links between eating disorders and other
serious mental health problems, such as depression, anxiety
disorders or substance abuse. Sometimes these disorders, especially
depression, precede the development of an eating disorder, rather
than the reverse.
o The onset of eating disorders, like so many aspects of adolescent
development, is likely the product of a complex interaction between
individual and contextual factors.
o Cultural and environmental conditions may predispose females more
than males toward eating disorders.
Adolescent girls and young women who have certain genetic
vulnerabilities, psychological traits (such as proneness to
depression or low self-esteem), physical characteristics (such as
early pubertal maturation), familial characteristics (Such as
strained relations with parents), or social concerns (such as a
strong interest in dating) may be more likely to develop eating
disorders.
o The effects of anorexia may be more life-threatening for males than
for females.
Males often receive a later diagnosis due to the mistaken belief
that it does not affect males as much as it does females.
Obesity: Abnormal or excessive fat accumulation that presents a health
risk.
o A body mass index-for-age: A measure using children’s height-for-
age and weight-for-age as well as their gender.
A BMI of 25-30 is overweight.
30-35 is moderately obese.
35-40 is severely obese.
, Over 40 is morbidly obese.
Obesity is a worldwide epidemic with profound negative physical and
mental health consequences.
o Females are more at risk for obesity than males.
