Nowadays, eating disorders among youth is an urgent problem, the causes of which lie in many factors. It includes a mental disorder due to which an individual consumes an excessive or insufficient amount of food for one reason or another. In the future, it promotes problems with weight, gastrointestinal tract, obesity, psychological disorders, and depression. Besides, eating disorders include anorexia nervosa, or bulimia, under which the individual constantly feels hungry for no apparent reason. My personal interest in this topic is argued by the fact that the problem seriously affects the health of the individual. In addition, I am interested in this issue as I am young, which means that I am potentially at risk.
Eating disorders include a whole group of syndromes that cause abnormal food intake by an individual. However, it may include both abnormally excessive amounts of food and anomalously insufficient. The consequences of these disorders are severe, including obesity if overused and exhaustion if underused. Additionally, obesity leads to a number of other diseases, such as problems with the cardiovascular system and other body systems in the future. The same thing happens in case of exhaustion, which can lead to anemia, heart problems, and others.
In this regard, it is essential to analyze existing data on considering this issue in the context of conducted studies. Moreover, one needs to examine it from the sociological point of view, which implies identifying possible reasons for eating disorders. Thereby, in the chosen article, the authors mentioned that preliminary research states that the reason for children being overweight is ED (eating disorders) in most cases (Eddy et al. 1). Moreover, the authors investigated 122 youth who were seeking treatment for being overweight to identify the psychological and sociological background of ED (Eddy et al. 3). Besides, possible causes promoting psychological and sociological basement for ED development were determined.
The results of the study helped to conclude that before turning to treatment for excess weight, young people faced a number of psychological trials. These included anxiety disorders, mood disorders, depression, anxiety, insomnia, and excessive complexes (Eddy et al. 4). In this regard, one might come to the conclusion that a number of sociological factors can be the root cause of ED. These include inequality, poverty, family problems, hunger, immigration, facing racial issues, and others. It is due to the fact that often the above sociological factors cause the development of psychological issues, especially among young people.
Further, the most common psychological factors that preceded the development of ED have been identified. Among these psychological disorders, anxiety disorder and depression were the most reported by the subjects (Eddy et al. 4). As it is well known, depression can be caused by a number of other psychological underlying causes, which have their own characteristics among young people. Given the young age, frequent disorders include complexes due to appearance and inseparable friendship or love among youths. In addition, young people are especially susceptible to racial or family issues, which can lead to bullying by peers. The most common cause for the development of such ED as anorexia nervosa is dissatisfaction with appearance, namely the obsession with being overweight.
Sociological factors also influence the development of depression or anxiety, which in the future may provoke ED. The social status of a child often determines an important role in whether a child is a potential victim of bullying. In addition, sociological studies such as immigration and cultural change also influence the development of depression or anxiety. Thus, one may notice a close relationship between ED, psychological factors, and sociological items. It is especially applicable to youth, as young people are known to have an enhanced psychological response to a sociological stimulus. It may be explained by age-related psychological changes, maximalism, and hypersensitivity.
Talking about how the analysis of this information surprised me and which new factors were added to my vision of this problem, I can highlight a few points. Firstly, I was surprised by the close relationship between ED, psychological factors, and sociological aspects. In other words, I believed that the development of ED occurred more independently of environmental factors such as sociological issues. However, I had previously suspected that there was a strong relationship between ED and the psychological aspect, especially in young people. It is due to the fact that many are well aware of the psychological characteristics of young people, namely susceptibility to external stimuli.
Apart from this, I was surprised by the number of sociological factors that are associated with the development of ED. These factors include immigration, social inequality, racial issues, financial hardship, and others. The mechanism of this connection between the above points and the development of ED is also surprising to me. Namely, these issues provoke psychological disorders that potentially lead to ED in the future. Considering that we are talking about young people, this connection is strengthened since one can observe an enhanced psychological response to irritants. Thus, these factors became the most surprising for me, which added new knowledge about the chosen issue to the already existing data.
Work Cited
Eddy, Kamryn T., et al. Eating disorder pathology among overweight treatment-seeking youth: Clinical correlates and cross-sectional risk modeling. Behaviour Research and Therapy 45, 2007.