Review of Literature

Eating Disorder

Karoline Daland

The University of Texas at El Paso

Esther Solis Al-Tabaa

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Abstract

Eating Disorders are very common diseases that is not something media talks about that often.
Every disease has a catalyst, symptoms, consequences, and treatments. In this paper I am going
to discuss each one of them from the very beginning to the end. With academic journals, articles,
and books I will provide evidence and evidence statistics. They are very concise and unbiased
because they come from well-known articles.

Introduction

Eating disorder is a common term of having conflictual thoughts and emotions about body, food,
and weight. For a person with an eating disorder, the word “food” is associated with chaos, pain,
depressive emotions, and anxiety. This topic covers many different arenas such as stress, mental
illnesses, pressure, and other disabilities. Especially within sports, eating disorders has become a
big discussion lately. I think this topic is very interesting because it is very current today and it is
very important to talk about. Because our world is about to develop even more into this
technology-world, body image, pressure, low self-esteem, and stress are just some factors that is
going to be more common than ever. In this assignment, I will discuss how social media has an
impact on developing eating disorders among teenagers today by using different genres. As a
society we are very dependent on social media, almost every teenager has access to a device that
allows them to connect to the internet. I think this topic is very important to talk about because
there is more awareness about mental health than ever. I will be using several different sources
that makes my research very credible.

My research will be analyzing the following areas mentioned in the questions below:

1. What are the different kinds of eating disorders?

2. What are some of the reasons teenagers get eating disorders?
3. Is social media a catalyst of eating disorders?
4. What are some of the consequences of getting an eating disorder?
5. How are Eating Disorder treated?

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Eating disorder

Eating Disorder is a common term for having conflictual thoughts and feelings about body, food,
and weight. For a person suffering by eating disorder, the word “food” creates associations such
as chaos, pain, depressive emotions, and anxiety. This makes eating disorders like anorexia,
bulimia, and binge eating disorder into very personal diseases, and people suffering from these
diseases will therefore have conflicting emotions regarding to get help and guidance (Levåg,
2002, s.19).

Eating disorders are serious medical illnesses marked by severe disturbances to a person’s eating
behaviors. Obsessions with food, body weight, and shape may be signs of an eating disorder.
These disorders can affect a person’s physical and mental health; in some cases, they can be life-
threatening. But eating disorders can be treated.

What are the different kinds of eating disorders?

National Institutes of Health. (2020, April 3). Eating Disorders: About More Than Food. What
are common types of Eating Disorder? https://www.nimh.nih.gov/health/publications/eating-
disorders/index.shtml

Levåg. S. (2002), Bare litt til, veien ut av spiseforstyrrelse, Oslo, Lunde

(sekundærlitteratur)

There are many different eating disorders, and even more are being discovered every day. The
most common ones are; anorexia nervosa, bulimia nervosa, and binge-eating disorder.

Anorexia Nervosa

Anorexia nervosa develops by limiting the intake of what that “is allowed” to eat and is
characterized by a person being seriously underweight. This will lead to that anorexia nervosa,

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 compared with other psychiatric disorders, this disease has very high mortality rates. According
to the Levaag, anorexia nervosa has the highest mortality rate of any mental disorder (Levaag,
2002, p 26). This illness is all about “having control”, when it builds up on cutting out food that
is no longer “allowed to eat”. They may also just eat severely restrict food or eat very small
quantities of only certain foods. The reason they stop eating the food is often because it includes
nutritious and products that can seem like poison for the body. Even when they are dangerously
underweight, they may see themselves as overweight’. They may also weigh themselves
frequently. This is how it develops towards the most extreme, and you can experience that you
have full control until it’s the sickness that has control over you.

According to the National Institute of Mental health there are two subtypes of anorexia nervosa:
a restrictive subtype and binge-purge subtype.

Restrictive: People with the restrictive subtype of anorexia nervosa place severe restrictions on
the amount and type of food they consume.

Binge-Purge: People with the binge-purge subtype of anorexia nervosa also place severe
restrictions on the amount and type of food they consume. In addition, they may have binge
eating and purging behaviors such as vomiting, use of laxatives and diuretics, etc. (National
Institutes of Mental Health, 2018)

Symptoms include:

 Extremely restricted eating and/or intensive and excessive exercise

 Extreme thinness (emaciation)

 A relentless pursuit of thinness and unwillingness to maintain a normal or healthy weight

 Intense fear of gaining weight

 Distorted body image, a self-esteem that is heavily influenced by perceptions of body

weight and shape, or a denial of the seriousness of low body weight

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 People with anorexia may die from medical conditions and complications associated with
starvation; by comparison, people with others eating disorders die of suicide. (The National
Institute of Mental Health, 2018).

Bulimia Nervosa

This sort of eating disorder is characterized with people having recurrent episodes of eating
unusually large amounts of food and feeling a lack of control over these episodes (the National
Institute of Mental Health, 2018). This behavior that we call binge-eating is further followed by
other behaviors again. These can be behaviors such as forced vomiting, use of laxatives or
diuretics, fasting, excessive exercise, or a combination of these behaviors. What they all have in
common are is that they compensate for the overeating. People suffering by this eating disorder
may actually maintain a normal weight or be overweight.

Symptoms include:

 Chronically inflamed and sore throat

 Swollen salivary glands in the neck and jaw area

 Worn tooth enamel and increasingly sensitive and decaying teeth (a result of exposure to
stomach acid)

 Acid reflux disorder and other gastrointestinal problems

 Intestinal distress and irritation from laxative abuse

 Severe dehydration from purging

 Electrolyte imbalance (too low or too high levels of sodium, calcium, potassium and
other minerals), which can lead to stroke or heart attack. (The National Institute of Mental
Health, 2018).

Binge-eating disorder

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 Compared to anorexia nervosa, in this eating disorder people do not have control over their
eating. This may sound very similar to bulimia nervosa, but this eating disorder does not include
purging, excessive exercise, or fasting as periods after binge-eating. Because of this, people that
suffer by this eating disorder are often overweight.

Symptoms include:

 Eating unusually large amounts of food in a specific amount of time, such as a 2-hour
period

 Eating fast during binge episodes

 Eating even when full or not hungry

 Eating until uncomfortably full

 Eating alone or in secret to avoid embarrassment

 Feeling distressed, ashamed, or guilty about eating

 Frequently dieting, possibly without weight loss. (The National Institute of Mental
Health, 2018).

What are some of the reasons teenagers get Eating Disorders?

Janet Polivy1and C. Peter Herman. (April 3, 2020). Causes Of Eating Disorders.

https://cutt.ly/otZxAtg

Getz. K. (2012), Hvis jeg forsvinner, ser du meg da?, Olso, Aschehoug
(Primærlitteratur)

There is a similar amount of reasons why people get eating disorders and anorexia nervosa, as
there are humans suffering from it. Diets, traumatic experiences, or a desire of control are often

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mentioned as repeated main reasons, but a disease as personal as this one may develop from
emotional traumas.

“Eating disorders do not occur uniformly in all cultures at all times. An obsession with slimness
—a core feature of EDs—is concentrated in cultures in which food is abundant. In cultures of
scarcity, the ideal body shape is much more likely to be rotund, suggesting that ideals tend
toward what is difficult to achieve. In this sense, then, a culture of caloric abundance may be
considered a cause of EDs" (Herman, 2002, p.5).
Eating Disorders very depending on culture. There are cultures that have more cases and more
problems with eating disorders than others. According to this study, it depends of how abundant
food is. Adding to that it also depends on the ideal body image each culture has.

Furthermore, as Tiggemann & Pickering (1996, p. 202) noted upon discovering that among girls,
body dissatisfaction and drive for thinness were associated with increased exposure to certain
types of TV shows.” According to Tiggemann and Pickering body dissatisfaction and drive for
thinness are sometimes associated with increased exposure to sudden types of TV shows. This
explains how social media affects teenager’s self-esteem and could be one of the main causes of
eating disorder today.

Is social media a catalyst of eating disorders?

Wilksch, S. M., O'Shea, A., Ho, P., Byrne, S., & Wade, T. D. (2019). The relationship between
social media use and disordered eating in young adolescents. International Journal of Eating
Disorders.

Wang, T., Brede, M., Ianni, A., & Mentzakis, E. (2017, February). Detecting and characterizing
eating-disorder communities on social media. In Proceedings of the Tenth ACM International
Conference on Web Search and Data Mining (pp. 91-100).

Janet Polivy1and C. Peter Herman. (2002). Causes Of Eating Disorders.

https://cutt.ly/wtZxSUE

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According to the journal article The relationship between social media use and disordered eating
in young adolescents by Wilksch, S. M., O'Shea, A., Ho, P., Byrne, S., & Wade, T. D social
media has an impact on teenagers developing eating disorder. Before social media was invented
there were other forms of media such as television and magazines. These ones were also highly
investigated and researched because it was believed it caused eating disorders amongst
teenagers. Thoughts about the desire to be perfect has been something common between
teenagers. Thirteen years is the age required to create a social media account for instance
Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Snapchat, etc. According to an Australian study mentioned in the
article, adolescents between 12 and 13 years old are showing less eating disorders compared to
adolescents from 14 years old and older (Wilksch, S. M., O'Shea, A., Ho, P., Byrne, S., & Wade,
T. D. 2019, p 1). These numbers show an idea on how social media may have an impact on this
generation. According to another journal article Detecting and characterizing eating-disorder
communities on social media by Wang, T., Brede, M., Ianni, A., & Mentzakis, E “A rich body of
psychological literature shows that people’s concerns and behaviors can be influenced by peer
pressure. Evidence suggests that the social dimension captured by social networks plays an
important role in the studies of life-style re-lated conditions, such as ED and other mental
disorders”. This explains how a lot of people are trying to find acceptance through social media,
and this may lead develop into an eating disorder.

Not surprisingly, the media are often blamed for the (increasing) incidence of EDs, on the
grounds that media images of idealized (slim) physiques motivate or even force people to
attempt to achieve slimness themselves. The media are accused of distorting reality, in that the
models and celebrities portrayed in the media are either naturally thin (i.e., at the tail of the
normal distribution of body weight) and thus unrepresentative of normality, or unnaturally thin
(i.e., the products of exceptional exertions to achieve and maintain a slim physique). As with the
culture of abundance, idealized media images are at best a background cause of EDs. Exposure
to the media is so widespread that if such exposure were the cause of EDs, then it would be
difficult to explain why anyone would not be eating- disordered. Furthermore, as Tiggemann &
Pickering (1996, p. 202) noted upon discovering that among girls, body dissatisfaction and drive
for thinness were associated with increased exposure to certain types of TV shows, “although it

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is tempting to conclude that watching a large dose of thin idealized images on television leads to
dissatisfaction with one’s body, a correlation cannot determine causality. An alternative scenario,
for example, might be that those most dissatisfied with their bodies or wishing to be thinner, seek
out or are more interested in particular types of television.”

“Another possible cause of eating disorders could be if the teenager suffers from traumatic
interpersonal experiences such as abuse, trauma, bullying, and seclusion” (Herman, 2002, p 6).
These negative interpersonal experiences can happen everywhere. Kids can suffer from abuse at
home and live in a very harsh environment. Some others can suffer from bullying and seclusion
at school and also where they practice extracurricular activities. Those experiences can have very
dangerous consequences because it can cause an eating disorder and this illness can kill people.

What are some of the consequences of getting an eating disorder?

Kate A Worsfold and Jeanie K Sheffield (2018). "Eating disorder mental health literacy: What
do psychologists, naturopaths, and fitness instructors know?". https://0-eds-a-ebscohost-
com.lib.utep.edu/eds/pdfviewer/pdfviewer?vid=5&sid=b2b323c3-5e84-4cb6-a299-
8fe0384b9388%40pdc-v-sessmgr04

There are many consequences of getting an eating disorder if a person does not seek help or
treatment. Mental health issues, becoming sterile, relationship problems, mood changes, increase
of body hair, and even death are just some of the consequences that may appear.

Mental Health problems are probably one of the most common diseases that appear as an
outcome of not getting treatment in time. If not properly treated, eating disorders may cause
brain damage in certain part of the brain. A retrieved from “Eating disorder mental health
literacy: What do psychologists, naturopaths, and fitness instructors know?" by Kate A Worsfold
and Jeanie K Sheffield states that "Eating disorders have high economic morbidity and one of the

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highest mortality rates of all psychiatric conditions” (Worsfold& Sheffield, 2018). Mental Health
illnesses may lead to depression and suicide thoughts, which again may even go as far as death.
A very common characteristic is the drastic mood changes. This makes it hard for them to
maintain healthy relationships and they become less social.

It’s not only the mental part that can be affected, but the physical as well. When the body does
not have the sufficient nutrients and vitamins it can suffer from severe consequences. It can be as
simple as the person experiencing increase of body hair, and it can go all the way to have more
severe consequences such as becoming sterile and having health problems that might cause
death.

Over time, the symptoms for anorexia nervosa may also develop issues such as; thinning of the
bones, muscle wasting and weakness, dry and yellowish skin, low blood pressure, slowed
breathing and pulse, damage to the structure and function of the heart, brain damage, and
multiorgan failure. People with anorexia may die from medical conditions and complications
associated with starvation; by comparison, people with others eating disorders die of suicide (the
National Institute of Mental Health, 2018).

How are Eating Disorder treated?

National Institutes of Health. (2020, April 3). Eating Disorders: About More Than Food. How
are Eating Disorders treated? https://www.nimh.nih.gov/health/publications/eating-
disorders/index.shtml

Levåg. S. (2002), Bare litt til, veien ut av spiseforstyrrelse, Oslo, Lunde

(sekundærlitteratur)

Noxon, Martin. (22.01.2017). To the bone  [Videoklipp]. Hentet fra URL:

www.netflix.com/watch/80171659?trackId=13752289&tctx=0%2C0%2C

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W. Stewart Agras MD. (2001, June 1). THE CONSEQUENCES AND COSTS OF THE EATING
DISORDERS". Page 371-379. https://0-www-sciencedirect-
com.lib.utep.edu/science/article/pii/S0193953X0570232X?via%3Dihub

Your Health In Mind, 2015. Eating Disorders. Treatment of eating disorders.

https://www.yourhealthinmind.org/mental-illnesses-disorders/eating-disorders/treatment

National Eating Disorder Association. 1972. About us. Our Work.

https://www.nationaleatingdisorders.org/help-support

Because eating disorders may cause very serious consequences it is important to seek help
treatment early. Mental health issues, becoming sterile, relationship problems, mood changes,
increase of body hair, and even death are some of the consequences that may appear. The risk for
suicide and medical complications are also higher for people with eating disorders.

A retrieve claims that “The average length of stay for the female anorexics who received
inpatient treatment was 26 days, with a mean cost of $17,384 compared with a cost of $9088 for
bulimic patients, with an average of 14.7 days.” (2001, p 371). Receiving treatment can be
something very expensive depending on each patient. This may be a reason many people
suffering by an eating disorder does not seek help, but it’s very important that these people
receive professional treatment if they really want to recover.

There are several organizations that work against eating disorders. One of them is the National
Eating Disorder Association. According to their website “The National Eating Disorders
Association (NEDA) is the largest nonprofit organization dedicated to supporting individuals and
families affected by eating disorders. NEDA supports individuals and families affected by eating
disorders, and serves as a catalyst for prevention, cures and access to quality care (National
Eating Disorder Association, April 8, 2020). Another organization that treats these illnesses is
the National Institute of Mental Health. This is the lead federal agency for research on mental
disorders (National Institute of Mental Health, April 8, 2020).

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These organizations offer treatments and therapy related to their problems. They state that
complete recovery is possible. They offer treatments such as Individual, group, and/or family
saikologikal psychotherapy, medical care and monitoring, nutritional counseling, and
medications. “To reduce or eliminate binge-eating and purging behaviors, people may undergo
cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT)” (National Eating Disorder Association, April 8, 2020). This
is a different kind of treatment that patients could receive related to psychotherapy. Evidence
shows that medications are another factor that work as an effective way of treatment. This can be
medications such as antidepressants, antipsychotics, or mood stabilizers (National Eating
Disorder Association, April 8, 2020). Something both of these organizations have in common, is
that they are not only focusing on treatments, but also on prevention.

Conclusion

There are as many reasons why people get eating disorders and anorexia nervosa as there are
people suffering from it. Dieting, traumatic experiences, or a desire of control are often
mentioned as frequently repeated main reasons that causes them. However, a disease as personal
as this one, always comes from something personal in each individual. As people get sick by
different reasons, each person that gets healthy have to fight their own battle with their own
motivation. In addition of getting professional help and treatment, you must have something to
live for that exceeds all living standards you have slavishly followed in the time period as sick.
This is something both books presented as my sources, presents pretty good (Getz. K. (2012)
(Levåg. S. (2002). With the use of different methods of conveying, an important and taboo topic

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has been highlighted and shown from different perspectives. I have got a great experience
working on this topic for my Review of Literature research.

Bibliography

National Institutes of Health. (2020, April 3). Eating Disorders: About More Than Food. What
are common types of Eating Disorder? https://www.nimh.nih.gov/health/publications/eating-
disorders/index.shtml

Levåg. S. (2002), Bare litt til, veien ut av spiseforstyrrelse, Oslo, Lunde

(sekundærlitteratur)

Janet Polivy1and C. Peter Herman. (April 3, 2020). Causes Of Eating Disorders.

https://cutt.ly/otZxAtg

13
Getz. K. (2012), Hvis jeg forsvinner, ser du meg da?, Olso, Aschehoug
(Primærlitteratur)

Wilksch, S. M., O'Shea, A., Ho, P., Byrne, S., & Wade, T. D. (2019). The relationship between
social media use and disordered eating in young adolescents. International Journal of Eating
Disorders.

Wang, T., Brede, M., Ianni, A., & Mentzakis, E. (2017, February). Detecting and characterizing
eating-disorder communities on social media. In Proceedings of the Tenth ACM International
Conference on Web Search and Data Mining (pp. 91-100).

Janet Polivy1and C. Peter Herman. (2002). Causes Of Eating Disorders.

https://cutt.ly/wtZxSUE

National Institutes of Health. (2020, April 3). Eating Disorders: About More Than Food. How
are Eating Disorders treated? https://www.nimh.nih.gov/health/publications/eating-
disorders/index.shtml

Levåg. S. (2002), Bare litt til, veien ut av spiseforstyrrelse, Oslo, Lunde

(sekundærlitteratur)

Noxon, Martin. (22.01.2017). To the bone  [Videoklipp]. Hentet fra URL:

www.netflix.com/watch/80171659?trackId=13752289&tctx=0%2C0%2C

W. Stewart Agras MD. (2001, June 1). THE CONSEQUENCES AND COSTS OF THE EATING
DISORDERS". Page 371-379. https://0-www-sciencedirect-
com.lib.utep.edu/science/article/pii/S0193953X0570232X?via%3Dihub

Your Health In Mind, 2015. Eating Disorders. Treatment of eating disorders.

https://www.yourhealthinmind.org/mental-illnesses-disorders/eating-disorders/treatment

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National Eating Disorder Association. 1972. About us. Our Work.
https://www.nationaleatingdisorders.org/help-support

Kate A Worsfold and Jeanie K Sheffield (2018). "Eating disorder mental health literacy: What
do psychologists, naturopaths, and fitness instructors know?". https://0-eds-a-ebscohost-
com.lib.utep.edu/eds/pdfviewer/pdfviewer?vid=5&sid=b2b323c3-5e84-4cb6-a299-
8fe0384b9388%40pdc-v-sessmgr04

Comer, D. K. (2017). Writing in Transit with Readings. Southlake, TX: Fountainhead Press

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