Social media, body image, and eating disorders among adolescents
Max Hepworth
Rising rates
My interest in eating disorders stemmed from the news, headlines like ‘Hospital admissions for eating disorders rise to two every hour’ 1 and ‘Eating disorders in men rise by 70% in NHS figures’ . 2 I realized I knew nothing about this mental illness despite its apparent prevalence in the UK, they effect an estimated 1.6 million people. 3 It is very likely you will come in to contact with someone who has struggled with an eating disorder, but you may not be aware of it, as with many mental illnesses there is a lot of stigma and shame around them, and so the victims of eating disorders go to extensive lengths to hide their condition. I didn’t even know this at the beginning of the project, and I have found it a fascinating and depressing topic to study. The emotional and physical trauma it can cause cannot be overstated and the growth of admitted cases is a pressing issue within our society. Eating disorders have the highest mortality rate among psychiatric disorders, 4 and a shocking 20% of patients remain chronically ill. 5 It is vital to understand the causes and implications of these eating disorders to create effective treatment and mitigation. Unlike with physical illnesses, all the treatment revolves about talking therapy, normally CBT (Cognitive Behavioural Therapy). For this approach to be properly effective therapists must understand the possible causes and pressures that could lead to the development of an eating disorder. There are three main types of eating disorders; Bulimia Nervosa, Anorexia Nervosa and Binge eating. In order to constrict my area of research and keep the dissertation consistent, I am only going to discuss Bulimia and Anorexia, as they have similar causes and effects and so can be dealt with simultaneously. I also set an age range for my research, choosing adolescents, as that is the most common age for the development of Anorexia and Bulimia. 6 Bulimia nervosa is characterized by a distorted view of body image: an obsessive desire to lose weight and periods of overeating are usually followed by purging (self-induced vomiting or the use of laxatives). Anorexia Nervosa is similar in that people suffer from a 1 Gregory, Andrew . (2020) Hospital admissions for eating disorders rise to two every hou r. Available at: https://www.thetimes.co.uk/edition/news/hospital-admissions-for-eating-disorders-rise-to-two-every-hour- bvltj2fxq (04/02/20). 2 Sandra Brown (2017) ‘Eating disorders in men rise by 70% in NHS figures’, The Guardian, Jul 31. 3 Eating Disorder Statistics (2020) Available at: https://www.priorygroup.com/eating-disorders/eating-disorder- statistics (Accessed: 03/04/2020). 4 Arcelus J, Mitchell AJ, Wales J. et al, ‘Mortality Rates in Patients with Anorexia Nervosa and Other Eating Disorders: A Meta-Analysis of 36 Studies ’, Arch Gen Psychiatry 2011, 68: 724-31. 5 Steinhausen, H.C. (2002). ‘The Outcome of Anorexia Nervosa in the 20th Century’, American Journal of Psychiatry 159: 1284-1293. 6 Godson, S. (2018). The MeeTwo Teenage Mental Help Handbook . MeeTwo Education Ltd.
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