User:Mollieevans23/sandbox

Sociological

Cultural Effects

There is no clear answer as to how much society and culture influence people with eating disorders. There is evidence that eating disorders and dietary restricting have always been a part of life, no matter what time period you live in or where you are from. Accounts of women using dieting and eating restrictions in order to lose weight date all the way back to the Middle Ages.  This evidence is important because it demonstrates that Anorexia has biologic roots and can be present in anyone, regardless of race, gender, etc. Regardless of this evidence however, Anorexia nervosa has been increasingly diagnosed since 1950; the increase has been linked to vulnerability and internalization of body ideals. While anorexia nervosa can affect any person from any culture, it is definitely observed more in certain demographics, especially Western societies.  Most Western cultures have an abundance of food. Because of this, they worry more about overeating than under-eating. With the possibility of obesity being very real, people value thinness more in Western cultures. For this same reason, anorexia was historically observed more in people of a higher socio-economic class that could afford more food.  In addition, eating disorders appear to be more prevalent in caucasian women, potentially because white men value thinness more than men from other cultures.  Different occupations or hobbies could also put certain people at risk for developing an eating disorder. There is a higher incidence and prevalence of anorexia nervosa in sports with an emphasis on aesthetics, where low body fat is advantageous, and sports in which one has to make weight for competition. This trend can also be observed for people who partake in certain sports, such as jockeys and wrestlers. People in professions where there is a particular social pressure to be thin (such as models and dancers) were more likely to develop anorexia.

Media effects

Constant exposure to media, who are accused of manipulating images and only portraying people that are skinny, present a risk to people who may develop an eating disorder.  Girls tend to be more susceptible than boys, due to the fact that women in the media are often manipulated in order to look more thin.  This can influence women from to value the same appearance, and adopt unhealthy eating habits in order to do so. . A 2002 review found that the magazines most popular among people aged 18 to 24 years, those read by men, unlike those read by women, were more likely to feature ads and articles on shape than on diet. Websites that stress the importance of attainment of body ideals extol and promote anorexia nervosa through the use of religious metaphors, lifestyle descriptions, "thinspiration" or "fitspiration" (inspirational photo galleries and quotes that aim to serve as motivators for attainment of body ideals). Pro-anorexia websites reinforce internalization of body ideals and the importance of their attainment. Some studies suggest that peer influence may play a bigger role than the media in influencing people with anorexia tendencies. This phenomenon is observed mostly in girls, who seem to share the same expressed desire to be thin.