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The Impact of Eating Disorders and Poor Body Image

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Content Warning: Please note the following article will include in-depth discussion of eating disorders and related health issues, and body image issues.


The mental illness with the highest mortality rate is anorexia nervosa (Quinn, 2020), an eating disorder that involves restriction in one’s diet (Mayo Clinic, 2023). Despite this, many people lack knowledge about eating disorders and body image issues, problems that are prevalent among university students and young people as a whole. Approximately 8% to 17% of college students suffer from eating disorders (Eisenberg et al., 2011). The negative impacts of eating disorders and poor body image are exceptionally important issues to understand now, given that there has been a dramatic increase in the number of people suffering from eating disorders following the COVID-19 pandemic (Tavolacci et al., 2021).  It is important to note that eating disorders affect a large group of people, and “no young person is immune” as they affect people regardless of their gender and ethnicity, according to Lauren Muhlheim, a clinical psychologist and the director of Eating Disorder Therapy LA (Hanson, 2023). 


To begin to understand this issue, it is crucial to define relevant terminology. According to the Mayo Clinic (2023), eating disorders are conditions that affect one’s eating habits and behaviours, as well as how an individual thinks about food, eating, and weight. There are various types of eating disorders, each with different symptoms and impacts. Examples of commonly discussed eating disorders include bulimia nervosa, wherein individuals binge large amounts of food, followed by purging food, and binge eating disorder, which involves eating large amounts of food in a small amount of time, and feeling guilt and shame about binging (Mayo Clinic, 2023). 


Body image can often be related to eating disorders. Body image is defined as one’s subjective idea of their body, and it is not necessarily related to what their body actually looks like (Hosseini & Padhy, 2023). Dissatisfaction with body image, and body image misperception is related to body dysmorphic disorder, anorexia, and bulimia (Hosseini & Padhy, 2023). 


There are various factors that contribute to the development of eating disorders. To begin , it is important to note that eating disorders are not equally prevalent across all cultures, and a focus on a slim figure is a part of many cultures wherein food is not scarce (Polivy & Herman, 2002). As such, an individual’s cultural background plays a role in their relationship with body image and food, in that eating disorders relevant to restriction and lower body mass are more common in areas with food abundance. Nonetheless, it is important to note that eating disorders can affect people regardless of the area they are from, and that eating disorders that are not related to slimness exist as well. Moreover, with the promotion of slimness through media, eating disorders are increasingly more prevalent across cultural boundaries (Polivy & Herman, 2002). The idealization of a thin body in peer groups also plays a role, but it is not the sole one. Patients with eating disorders are also more likely to have come from a family environment that involves “coercive parental control” (Polivy & Herman, 2002). There are also individual risk factors that contribute to such issues, such as low self-esteem and greater premorbid stressful events, that increase one’s likelihood to be affected (Polivy & Herman, 2002). Younger people are also at a greater risk because of increased exposure to social media, and it has been shown that social media use is linked to dissatisfaction with body image (Fardouly & Vartanian, 2015).


Eating disorders and body image issues can cause both mental and physical suffering. Regarding physical effects, it is crucial to note that 80% of patients with an eating disorder have cardiac issues (Rosling et al., 2011), such as hypotension and arrhythmias (Huas et al., 2010). It can also lead to other issues such as decreasing bone mass and osteoporosis. Other consequences include diabetes, and many gastrointestinal problems like hypokalemia and hypomagnesemia (Meczekalski et al., 2013). As previously mentioned, eating disorders are deadly. Anorexia has a high mortality rate, with 5% of patients diagnosed with this disorder passing away within four years of being diagnosed (Auger et al., 2021). Death from eating disorders can result from suicide, pulmonary issues such as pneumonia, endocrine-related diseases such as diabetes, liver and digestive diseases, and organ failure, caused by malnutrition and weight loss. (Auger et al., 2021). 


Physical issues often exist alongside other mental health struggles. For example, anorexia nervosa can often occur alongside depression, which is the psychiatric disorder most prevalent among sufferers of eating disorders (Meczekalski et al., 2013). These mental health struggles can often bring about other injurious behaviours as well, such as self-harm and binge-drin



king (Eisenberg et al., 2011). Those struggling with eating disorders may also have difficulty concentrating and may feel more irritable, leading to reduced academic performance (Livingston & Sammons, 2006) for many. Poor body image can also be destructive to one’s self-esteem and mood (Hosseini & Padhy, 2023). 


People who suffer from eating disorders and poor body image often do not seek help when they should. In a survey conducted with students from a large public university in the midwest of the US, only 15% of students who had symptoms of an eating disorder sought help in the form of psychotropic medication or counseling and therapy. Approximately half did not feel as if they needed help at all (Eisenberg et al., 2011). It is important to remember to seek help if you are struggling with eating habits or body image. The National Eating Disorder Information Centre (NEDIC) can be contacted through their helpline number (416) 340-4156, and toll-free through 1-866-NEDIC-20.  If you know someone struggling with related issues, or would generally like to educate yourself further, the websites for NEDIC (nedic.ca) and National Eating Disorders Association (nationaleatingdisorders.org) are informative resources to refer to.



References

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Hosseini, S. A., & Padhy, R. K. (2023). Body image distortion. In StatPearls. StatPearls Publishing.

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Quinn, T. (2020, January 3). Anorexia is the deadliest mental illness. why is the NHS still not

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Tavolacci, M.-P., Ladner, J., & Déchelotte, P. (2021). Sharp increase in eating disorders among

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