Written by: Emily Singh
Edited by: Maggie Wang
With the rise of accessibility to and popularity of social media, societal standards of bodies have drastically changed over the years, leading to an increase in eating disorder cases. An eating disorder can be categorized as any type of abnormal eating habits that are ultimately detrimental to one’s health. Prolonged exposure to, or living with these disorders can damage one’s heart, digestive system, bones, teeth and mouth. The increase in eating disorders can be due to many factors, such as more social media influencers promoting harmful diets, harmful rhetoric such as fatphobia, and glamorization of specific body types.
There are multiple types of eating disorders, but the four most common are anorexia nervosa, bulimia nervosa, binge-eating disorder, and avoidant restrictive food intake disorder. The different types of eating disorders are categorized in accordance with the atypical eating behaviors exhibited, but all have detrimental physical and psychological effects on people, regardless of their specific features. Anorexia nervosa can be characterized by someone, who already has a low body weight, with an intense fear of gaining weight. This fear can cause them to restrict their caloric intake, obsessively exercise, or expel food from their body by vomiting or using laxatives (National Institute of Mental Health [NIMH], 2024). The aftermath done to the adolescent body can lead to weak bones, anemia, delayed puberty, heart failure, infertility, brain damage, organ failure and death. (National Institute of Mental Health [NIMH], 2024). Bulimia nervosa is when one eats an unhealthy amount of food in a short period of time, referred to as a binge, and then purges the food from their body. A purge can be described as exercise, vomiting or the use of laxatives. Purges can result from low self- esteem or a negative body image; effects of these can be chronic sore throat, worn tooth enamel, acid reflux disorder, intestinal distress, dehydration and electrolyte hydration (National Institute of Mental Health [NIMH], 2024). Binge eating disorder is when one cannot control their eating habits and experiences a loss of control where they feel as though they physically cannot stop eating. This can cause obesity, diabetes, cardiovascular, acid reflux and bloating. (Mayo Clinic, 2023). Avoidant restrictive food intake disorder refers to the avoidance of specific types of foods. This can be due to a distaste for the color or texture of said food. ARFI disorder is more common with children. Children have very specific nutritional needs to aid their physical and mental development, so this disorder can lead to issues with physical growth, weight loss, and negative academic performance (National Institute of Mental Health [NIMH], 2024),
While no factor alone can increase the cases of eating disorders, the use of social media has a definite influence. Adolescents spend up to seven hours daily consuming different forms of media (Mayo Clinic, 2023). Due to the rapid synaptic connections being made every second in the adolescent mind, this group is much more impressionable and therefore more vulnerable to external influences. Conducted research studies show that young girls desire to be thinner, and that after viewing thin models, their body image was significantly more negative than after seeing a regular sized person or an inanimate object (Norris et al., 2006). While models have always been thin, there has been a significant decrease in the models’ body weights and measurements over the past two decades, with 70% of the women being medically underweight. Between new harsh body expectations and over-exposure to media, it is increasingly more difficult for adolescents to feel secure in their own bodies. A study supports this by stating that 44% of adolescent girls surveyed believed they were overweight, and 60% were actively trying to lose weight even though the majority of them were at a healthy weight (Norris et al., 2006).
Social media has corrupted the image of bodies in young vulnerable minds, and the effects are devastating. Treatments for eating disorders are very diverse, but can include medication, talk therapy or group therapy. It is imperative to note that social media is not reality, especially in the age of filters and body altering surgeries. Healthy food habits, such as eating balanced meals and intuitive eating are much more important than competing with another’s looks.
References:
Keel, P. K., & Forney, K. J. (2009). Psychosocial risk factors for eating disorders. International Journal of Eating Disorders, 42(3), 292–300. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2792687/
Mayo Clinic. (n.d.). Eating disorders: Symptoms and causes. Mayo Clinic. https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/eating-disorders/symptoms-causes/syc-20353603
National Institute of Mental Health. (n.d.). Eating disorders. https://www.nimh.nih.gov/health/publications/eating-disorders
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