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Over 1.1 million people in the UK are known to suffer from an eating disorder.
Over 1.1 million people in the UK are known to suffer from an eating disorder. Such figures are shocking, but in 21st century society it is any wonder that there are so many? The media insists on delivering this concept of a perfect size zero body; runways of walking skeletons and magazine pages are littered with jutting bones and shrunken frames. Diet remedies clutter the store shelves and we are forever being presented with a new miracle method that promises to lead us to skinniness.
I can admit that after flicking through the pages of Vogue, even I will often make a vow that ‘the diet starts tomorrow!’ No doubt we have all posed in front of the mirror, assessing which stance elongates the thighs or flattens the stomach.
It is shameful, but unfortunately it seems we are programmed to believe that this flawless, compact figure exists, and some believe that it can be achieved through effective starvation. Not only is this influx of propaganda for the size zero body inescapable, but also insanely dangerous.
On the internet I stumbled across some material that certainly made the intensity of this topic apparent: pro-anorexia websites. Photo galleries acted not as a deterrent, but as a display of admiration and achievement, ‘Thinspiration’ as they have named it.
The forums were strewn with messages of depression and self-loathing that really brought to light the psychological conditions causing, or as a result of eating disorders. The shrine-like accumulations of celebrities clad in bikinis, their abnormally skinny bodies protruding, provided a prototype for what every member of the website believed they were supposed to emulate. It is this intense media pressure, this warped definition of beauty that no doubt encourages rising numbers of eating disorders amongst women, men, boys and girls.
Reading these blogs makes you feel more than just pity. It gives you an overwhelming sense of disbelief. I cannot even begin to comprehend the psychological process that led has led people to choosing a proven life-threatening lifestyle, knowingly risking death for this greater cause; literally dying to be thin.
To gain a more experienced insight into the minds of those suffering from eating disorders I spoke to Mavis Langham, a counsellor for the University of York. Though not a specialist on the specific subject of eating disorders, she provided an insight into some of the catalysts that can make a food issue spiral out of control.
“Many people have ‘issues’ in connection with food, for example, liked and disliked foods, presentation of food, or eating in the presence of others. Other factors influencing which foods are eaten may be based in ‘healthy eating’ advice.
"These issues, combined with individuals’ perception of their appearance can lead to eating habits which are a distortion of healthy eating. The result can be ‘unhealthy eating’. It is this arena in which I think a lot of people are vulnerable.”
One potent aspect Mavis discussed was the effect that university life can have on someone with eating issues: “Behaviour which results from food issues or from full blown eating disorders are both affected by experienced stress levels. University is a situation which is very often experienced as stressful academically, socially and personally, especially to begin with.”
Having all been through the experience of being thrown into this new world of independence, it is easy to comprehend how food issues can develop. We are suddenly in control of our eating regimes and shopping lists. Mavis pointed out that we all have the potential to develop such problems.
The main concept that we must grasp is that eating disorders are often exacerbated by extreme situations where people find themselves overly stressed or operating under expectations. Often people suffering from food issues can be uncomfortable in social situations and tend to retreat into themselves. In an environment far from home, free from prying parents and full of the stresses of work and pressure, university can become somewhat of a catalyst.
The majority of us are conscious of our physical appearance and I am yet to be acquainted with someone who is perfectly content with the way they look. This realisation is frightening, but certainly allows us to relate to people who have succumbed to this possibility, whatever the cause.
Before embarking upon my research, I had an entirely basic knowledge of eating disorders. Having only briefly touched upon the topic in earlier education, I have now become acutely aware that the issues are more intricately linked with psychological problems.
I think it is perhaps this lack of awareness, this simplistic explanation of a multifaceted disease, that ensues much of the negativity towards eating disorders. Sufferers are not self-absorbed, vanity obsessed delusionals, but merely the victims of deep psychological disturbance, combined with today’s merciless media-driven attempt to shrink the population.
Eating Disorders Awareness Week 2008 takes place between Monday 25th February until Sunday 2nd March. For more information click here.
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