What Causes Anorexia?

It is unlikely that any one factor causes anorexia. What is more likely is that multiple factors come together to create the starvation disease we call anorexia. We will look at a few of these factors.

Social Cultural Influences:

Western culture bombards people to be thin. If you look at a magazine cover, turn on your favorite TV show, or watch a beauty pageant, thinness is associated with success, beauty, and acceptance. If you want to be accepted and liked you must be thin. In many cases being thin is more important then being physically and mentally healthy.

Research has found that the more women view fashion magazines, the worse they feel about their own bodies.

Most people don’t realize that the thin ideal is nearly impossible to attain. The models in the magazines are airbrushed and cropped, and digitally enhanced. Women in real life are not airbrushed, cropped, and digitally enhanced. They do not come close to looking like the ideal woman presented by the media. To make things worse if heavier people do appear in the media, they are often depicted as lazy, ugly, and unsuccessful.

The pressure to be thin is magnified in women’s athletics, especially sports such as gymnastics, ballet, and skating.

In general, we know that Western culture values thinness and anorexia is more common in Western cultures.

Lack of Control:

Life is unpredictable and many events happen that make us feel we have no control. Someone you love may die. Your car breaks down. You could be robbed. Your parent or spouse may be extremely controlling of you. When the uncontrollable events of life begin to outweigh the controllable, the scale is tipped out of balance. That is when an eating disorder can develop. Many people with anorexia report that restrictive eating allows them to regain control in their life. They may say things like:

  • Eating less gives me a sense of being in control
  • I am so proud of my self-control
  • It’s all about control for me, and it always has been
  • I am using my looks to make myself feel in control of my life

Family Interactions:

There is some evidence that people with anorexia live in families that tend to be less supportive, over involved, and have difficulty resolving conflicts. They maintain harmony by denying or ignoring problems. Studies have also shown that the families of women with anorexia are hard-driven and very concerned about success and appearances.

Genetics:

Eating disorders run in families. If you have anorexia, you are more likely than someone without anorexia to have a close relative with an eating disorder. Studies of twins have shown that there is a genetic component. Identical twins with one twin having an eating disorder had a 50 percent chance of both twins having an eating disorder.

We know that genetics play a role in our body shape. Your genes heavily influence the shape and size of your body.

So what causes anorexia?

  1. Nobody really knows or will ever know for sure why someone develops anorexia.
  2. It is not necessary for a person to know what caused the eating disorder. A person can start rebuilding their life and moving in the right direction without knowing exactly why they developed anorexia.

Instead of understanding why, it is more important to start getting the help you need to win the fight over anorexia.

If you are concerned about your weight or body image, contact New Life Counseling, (515) 964-5003, for an appointment.

Next Page: Physical Effects Caused By Anorexia