Causes Of Eating Disorders (Anorexia And Bulimia Nervosa)This print version free essay Causes Of Eating Disorders (Anorexia And Bulimia Nervosa).
Autor: reviewessays 21 December 2010
Words: 1196 | Pages: 5
Eating disorders are devastating psychological illnesses caused by a variety of factors including family pressure, biochemical factors, possible genetic susceptibility and cultural influences. In the following short essay I will be discussing the possible causes and treatments available according to different psychological models regarding eating disorders.
Anorexia is defined as an eating disorder characterized by an overwhelming, irrational fear of being fat, compulsive dieting to the point of self starvation and excessive weight loss. In which the sufferer is 80% below the expected average body weight. However bulimicâ€™s strive to satisfy a constant craving for food and nearly all patients are within 10% of their normal weight. This eating disorder involves bingeing and purging more than twice a week, which can have serious medical consequences. Most patients suffering from bulimia are in their twenties and are somewhat older than sufferers from anorexia. Bulimia nervosa resembles anorexia in that both disorders are far more common in western societies and occur more often in middle class than working class families.
The medical model considers the possibility of infection, biochemical imbalances and neuroanotmomy dysfunctions as the prime cause of the above eating disorders. They believe that somatic illnesses may act as a contributing factor in bulimia and anorexia nervosa. Park et al studied four women in 1995 all of whom had had glandular fever before the onset of the eating disorder. He argues that the glandular fever may have influenced the functioning of the hypothalamus, resulting in changes in the bodyâ€™s chemical balance.
Holland et al suggested that genetic factors play an important role in the development of eating disorders. In his twin study theory, he studied monozygotic and dizygotic twins suffering from anorexia nervosa. The monozygotic twins are genetically identical whereas the dizygotic twins have the same genes as any siblings. The twins under normal circumstances will share the same environment, for example the same womb, and will also share similar experiences. The only difference between the twins is their genetic similarity. Therefore, if an eating disorder is inherited according to Holland et al then we would expect to find more cases of monozygotic twins both having the disorder than dizygotic twins. He discovered that the concordance rate (certain traits identical in both twins) for monozygotic twins was 56% compared to 5% for dizygotic twins. This study and many other twin studies provide strong evidence that genes play a key role in the inheritance of eating disorders.
Serotonin a chemical neurotransmitter may be involved in some cases of eating disorders, because there has been reported links between anorexic behaviour and changes in the levels of serotonin. Low levelâ€™s of serotonin cause aggressiveness, lack of sleep and stress. Nevertheless this can be overcome by eating large amounts of food containing carbohydrates or antidepressants (selective serotonin reuptake). It has also been argued that amenorrhoea a classic symptom of anorexia nervosa is due to an underlying problem with the endocrine system. The endocrine system is responsible for the production of the hormones that control the menstrual cycle.
Individuals with eating disorders may have brain abnormalities according to some psychologists which causes an onset of the eating disorder. Part of the brain controlling eating, menstruation and sexual activity which is known as the hypothalamus may be operating inadequately.
There have been a variety of psychodynamic explanations concerning eating disorders. One possibility being, eating disorders act as a means of avoiding sexual maturity. Minuchinâ€™s family systems theory suggests that anorexia develops as a result of enmeshed family dynamics. This means that none of the family members have a clear identity and thus impose great pressures on children denying them of any independence. According to various psychodynamic theories adolescence is the fifth phase of psychosexual development and is crucial for self independence. This will result in family conflicts and therefore the child will rebel against its constraints by refusing to eat. However, Hilda Burch studies 64 anorexic patients and suggested anorexia is related to mother-daughter conflicts over identity and autonomy. Burch discovered that motherâ€™s did not attend to the child need ie the baby was feed when the mother felt hungry. Food was also used as a means of comfort, consequently if the child was unhappy food was offered as compensation.
The fact that anorexia specifically emerges in adolescence lead some psychodynamic theorists to believe anorexia is related to the onset of sexual fears .i.e. becoming pregnant. Eating food was somewhat psychologically linked to getting pregnant and thus semi starvation will prevent this from occurring. Semi starvation will later lead to amenorrhoea which again prevents pregnancy because ovulation stops.
Psychotherapy which is a treatment available to patients involves a significant time and financial commitment. It addresses not only your disordered eating, but also your overall emotional health and happiness. There are two other types of treatments available, which are interpersonal therapy and group therapy. Both the above allows people the opportunity of sharing information, feedback about one others experiences, coping strategies etc.
The behavioural model outlines eating disorders as a result of conditioning, both classic and operant. This model states that suffers may have learned to associate eating food with anxiety, as the sufferer believes eating food will result in considerable weight gain. Therefore they lose weight in order to reduce the anxiety levels and so weight loss is associated with relief. The above is an example of classical conditioning. Food avoidance can also be seen as a reinforcing factor as the individual is more likely to be admired by others. This will give the individual positive feedback and so they try and lose more weight. This is the same in terms of Bulimia nervosa. The sufferer binge eats which cause a tremendous amount of anxiety and the compensatory behaviour reduces it. This reduction in anxiety reinforces and maintains the cycle of bingeing followed by purging.
Cognitive explanations focus on the distorted body image held by both anorexics and bulimics. Garfinkel and Garner found that anorexic patients typically over estimate their body size. In his findings he suggests that sufferers have distorted views about their self body shape and weight which is known as cognitive biases. Bulimic patients also have cognitive biases however; they show little discrepancies between their estimation of their actual body size and their desired body size. Nonetheless distorted beliefs about body weight and size are found even among those not suffering from an eating disorder
A cognitive therapy identifies and alters dysfunctional thought patterns, attitudes and beliefs, which may trigger and continue binge behaviour in bulimics or restrictive eating in anorexics. The food intake of the patient will be monitored, which is an important component of this therapy, along with developing alternative counterattacks to dysfunctional thoughts.
The cause of eating disorders such as anorexia and bulimia can not entirely depend on one specific factor. I believe a lot of social, medical and psychological factors are closely intermingled and can be hard to determine. It is not clear whether any of the above factors are causes or consequently the disastrous effects of eating disorders, hence psychological models canâ€™t explain why only some women develop the illness or why there is rapid increase in the incidences of these disorders.