December 11, 16
Abnormal Psychology
Media Promotions Affecting Anorexia Nervosa and Obesity
Parenting Magazine Article
Lay Audience
Media Promotions Affecting Anorexia Nervosa and Obesity
Eating habits are greatly influenced by what people see online or on TV. Media covers a variety of things, from products helpful in losing weight to junk food and enticing eatables. Therefore, it is necessary to explore the effect of media on people in terms of their dietary habits. This paper addresses the cause-effect relationship between media and weight-related issues.
Eating disorders and obesity are the most discussed topics nowadays, especially among children and adolescents. Our society has undergone serious changes, which have significantly affected our eating habits. Variety in food has also increased and it resulted in problems related to food consumption. Children and adolescents are exposed to media to the fullest extent. Media influences their lifestyle, whereas they want to keep pace with the changing world. Media also affects people’s eating habits. Some people ignore the importance of proper nutrition and fall victims to such serious problems as anorexia. Others start consuming too much unhealthy food and become obese. The percentage of this group of people with nutrition issues is continuously increasing. That is why there is an urgent need to address this group of individuals.
Many things can influence food habits, yet media is one of the most important factors among them. While people rely on media much, it has a significant impact on food behavior. Dependence on media can influence the incidence of obesity and eating disorders. People want to conform to the societal norms. In modern society, trends frequently change and scenarios of behavior are subject to change as well. Thus, people may undermine what they need subject to what they see in media. It is similar to how media establishes what is right and what is wrong, for example, when a thin body is deemed ideal for women and, consequently, physical appearance of women is proclaimed important in society. This social obsession about body weight is so ubiquitous that it has its significant influence on eating behavior of many people. A few decades ago, people had a limited access to abundance of food. Evolution of society was followed by increase in the availability of food and eating habits have changed as well. There was a resulting increase in obesity. It further changed our views, and we started supporting a thin body as a model of beauty. Young generation is more impulsive and can be easily influenced by media. Thus, youngsters are the first victims. While young people spend most of their time online or watch TV too frequently, their opinions and habits are greatly influenced by what they are exposed to because their thinking abilities are in the process of development. For instance, a sociocultural pressure makes women long for a thin ideal body weight and increases the importance of physical appearance. Media acts as one of the most vital carriers of this sociocultural factor.
A thin body, which is reflected in many media style icons, has its impact on eating disorders. The obsession with a thin body can become extreme and lead to problems like anorexia. At the same time, spending more time with media and getting exposed to more food-related advertisements and being less involved with any physical activity may result in becoming obese. On the other hand, media can play a different role as well. It can play a positive role in promoting health education and establishing awareness of how to eat healthy food and maintain a healthy lifestyle.
Abnormal eating behaviors may include inadequate or excessive food intake, which ultimately affects individual’s wellbeing. Eating disorders and obesity are a part of such harmful behavior. Eating disorders are composed of a range of abnormal and disturbed eating habits, which mainly include anorexia nervosa, bulimia nervosa, binge eating disorder and others. Obesity and overweight are determined by BMI (Body Mass Index or a ratio between weight and height). An ideal BMI for a healthy individual is between 25-18.5. BMI above 25 is overweight, and BMI above 30 is considered as obesity (Ogden et al., 2010). Many people think that only eating junk food causes obesity. However, things are not always like that, and several other factors may contribute to becoming obese. For instance, obesity can be genetically predisposed. Passive lifestyle and the lack of physical activity can cause obesity as well. Obesity can result in other complications, such as diabetes, hypertension, metabolic disorders, breathing difficulties, heart disease, and kidney related problems.
Eating disorders, such as not eating enough food, can lead to life-threatening consequences, for example, malnourishment. There are many types of eating disorders associated with an inadequate food intake. The most common of them is anorexia nervosa. According to DSM-5 Diagnostic Criteria, a person must display the following signs to be diagnosed with anorexia nervosa:
- Persistent restriction of energy intake leading to significantly low body weight (in context of what is minimally expected in terms of age, sex, developmental trajectory, and physical health).
- An intense fear of gaining weight, becoming fat, or a persistent behavior that interferes with weight gain (even in the case of significantly low weight).
- Disturbance in the way one’s body weight or shape is experienced, undue influence of body shape and weight on self-evaluation, or persistent lack of recognition of the seriousness of the current low body weight (p. 339).
Anorexia nervosa is characterized by extreme food rationing, as well as an obsessive desire to lose weight whatever the cost, a constant fear of gaining weight, and behaviors that interfere with weight gain, even if an individual has significantly low body weight. People with anorexia nervosa usually suffer from dehydration, fatigue, and electrolyte abnormality. In extreme cases, this can lead to malnutrition, vitamin and minerals deficiency, osteoporosis (brittle and fragile bones), and growth delay. It can even cause impotence in females. Due to loss of body fat, hormonal imbalance in females leads to anovulation. It can also cause significant behavioral changes, such as hyperactivity, impulsivity, social isolation, lack of energy, lack of motivation, and depression.
Bulimia nervosa is a type of eating disorders, which is characteristic of people eating much food and then, disposing of food by self-induced vomiting or other similar means in order to prevent weight gain. It can lead to dehydration and severe electrolyte imbalances. Binge Eating Disorder is another eating disorder, where people eat normally but may also occasionally eat a lot. Unlike bulimia nervosa, overeating is not followed by any self-induced vomiting or by other means of getting rid of food. Here, people suffer from an extreme guilt of excessive eating, which may lead to depression (Spettigue & Henderson, 2004).
Eating disorders are more common among females than males. A thin ideal body for women plays an important role in developing eating disorders. A thin ideal is advertised as making a female body more beautiful and desirable. A study conducted by the Arizona State University in 1994 experimentally examined the effect of the exposure to a thin ideal on women, and how this ideal affected the level of their satisfaction with their bodies. 157 randomly chosen females were exposed to pictures from magazines. They included ultra-thin models, average-sized models, or regular women. According to the results, the more women were exposed to a thin ideal, the more depression they showed and the less satisfied they were with their bodies. Women also showed more stress, guilt, insecurity and shame of their bodies the more they were exposed to a thin ideal (Stice & Shaw, 1994).
Both obesity and anorexia have their long-term adverse effects on human health. Eating disorders can cause malnourishment, electrolyte imbalance, and vitamin-mineral deficiency. Obesity is not classified as an eating disorder in DSM-5. However, it is mentioned in one of the chapters, namely “Other Conditions That May Be a Focus of Clinical Attention.” Obesity is one of the most alarming health issues, which can lead to diabetes, hypertension, lack of energy, fatigue, depression and breathing difficulties due to obstructive sleep apnea, which can ultimately decrease breathing rate and pattern. Both anorexia and obesity have certain serious psychological impact as well. People, who are obese and anorexic, show low confidence, self-esteem, and body dissatisfaction, which result in isolation from society and the feeling of being not accepted or approved. It can lead to anxiety and depression eventually.
Risk factors for obesity and anorexia differ. However, there are also common risk factors for these eating disorders, such as genetics, brain and neurochemical features. Studies have shown that weight-related disorders are highly related to genetics. Yet, there is no specific gene, which directly causes food-related disorders. Damages to specific areas of human brain, for example, lateral hypothalamus, which is a part of brain regulating our hunger, feeling of satiety, taste, etc., can lead to weight changes. Neurochemicals also play an important role in food-related disorders. These are chemical compounds, which regulate and control brain activities. They also affect a person’s ability to feel hunger. They can suppress appetite and reduce pain. Serotonin, dopamine, and endogenous opioids are neurochemicals, which are highly linked to anorexia nervosa. Brain releases endogenous opioids during starving, which may reinforce self-starvation. When the stomach is full, brain releases leptin that can cause a person to eat more, even though the person is no longer hungry. Leptin can contribute to obesity.
Family factors and lifestyle can also be risk factors for food-related disorders. Obese parents are more likely to raise an obese child. It is not only because of genetics. Families usually share the same eating habits, which would lead children to adopt the same dietary habits as their parents do. On the other hand, parents, who reinforce weight loss and follow a specific low-calorie diet, can make their children become anorexic. Parents act as role models for children whatever they do, especially when children are young and are inclined to follow their parents’ lifestyle.
Media is promoting the concept of getting thinner, which is reflected in many media style icons. The ideal body size of many celebrities is unrealistically thin, and their BMI is on the borderline of being anorexic. Several studies have documented an increasing trend of choosing thinner models for Playboy centerfolds, fashion magazines, Miss America contest, and other popular media. Due to proliferation of food in society, food consumption in population has increased, and people are getting overweight. The gap between the actual body size and the generally promoted ideal body weight is getting wider, which is giving rise to the anxiety of being fat among many females. This anxiety has its impact on eating disorders becoming more prevalent (Spettigue & Henderson, 2004). Many studies show that media can contribute to the development of eating disorders (Dietz & Gortmaker, 1985). YouTube is one of the best examples of how social media influences teenagers. Many YouTube videos encourage the idea of a thin body and popularize activities of how to maintain low weight. A study has showed that many YouTube videos contain wrong information and teenagers tend to follow such inadequate trends and sometimes, they do not even know, whether information posted is accurate (Kelly et al., 2010).
The impact of media on developing a sense of dissatisfaction with the lifestyle, adopting wrong eating habits or distorted images of beauty is an issue of immediate concern. In 2008, Grave et al. has explained that the increased incidence of eating disorders during early and mid-twentieth century may coincide with the emphasis on a thin ideal body image for females promoted by media. This thin ideal body image has given rise to an increased dissatisfaction with the body among adolescent girls, which is thought to be one of the main reasons for developing eating disorders. During early and mid-twenties, there was an increase in the incidence of bulimia, though the incidence of anorexia remained stationary at the time (Stice & Shaw, 1994). Anorexic women tend to show more hyper-internalization for the thin ideal. Different weight loss dietary regimen published in various magazines and different social media groups contribute to this phenomenon. One study has shown that female magazines have ten times more weight-losing diet plans than magazines addressed to male audience. A repeated exposure to the idea that beauty is slim and an ideal body is a slender body gives rise to low self-esteem and weight dissatisfaction among women, making them more vulnerable to developing unhealthy eating habits (Dietz & Gortmaker, 1985).
Media has an adverse impact on an increased incidence of eating disorders over decades. At the same time, it can become a useful tool in promoting health awareness. There are few websites named pro-anorexia aimed to increase awareness among anorexic patients. Their main aim is to promote, support and discuss different issues associated with anorexia and demonstrate how to work together to fight it. They give tips how to maintain an ideal body weight and lead a healthy lifestyle. These sites are an efficient means of promoting healthy behaviors. However, many websites contain wrong information about healthy lifestyles. Sometimes, pro-anorexia websites are promoting anorexia by giving false information rather than working towards rising awareness for anorexia (Spettigue & Henderson, 2004). They encourage people to maintain an anorexic body weight, and make them develop unhealthy eating habits. The lack of awareness among people is another factor that contributes to increase of eating disorders.
Therefore, there is an urgent need for proper education. People are exposed to media in every aspect of their life, and they have to be able to differentiate between correct and wrong information. It is important to know, what to believe and what to ignore, which website is safe to follow and which one should be disregarded. While children are vulnerable and impulsive, it is important for their parents to be properly educated in order to guide their kids.
Food advertising is critical in that it can affect a person’s food choices, especially when it comes to kids. Children cannot make proper choices of their own. They often follow colorful ads without thinking about the results. Media sells whatever marketing specialists deem fit, whether it is healthy or junk food. Many advertisements show ultra-lean and thin super models and people want to look like them. Thus, they buy what these models advertise. These advertisements have a very powerful effect on consumers’ eating behavior. One study has shown that children watching TV are exposed to around 70 advertisements weekly; almost 56 of them are food ads (Kelly et al., 2010). Thus, media is a significant risk factor that not only promotes eating disorders but also put people at risk of becoming obese.
Many advertisements have their influence on developing and promoting certain food habits. Yet, it is necessary to remember that ultimately, food advertisements are made to attract people’s attention and make them buy particular products. Herewith, some of the food advertised is not healthy at all. Being exposed to such advertisements repeatedly on different media, people and especially children become attracted to it. They are more interested in eating this food rather than opting for a balanced, healthy diet. It can lead to abnormal eating behavior and obesity. In 2010, according to a study, in the USA, one out of three kids aged between 3 to 19 was obese. Another study has found that kids, who spend more time in front of the TV, are more prone to getting obese. The reason for that is the lack of interest to play in the playground or engaging in other physical activities, which leads to obesity eventually (Ogden et al., 2010). One more reason can be that kids addicted to different media are more exposed to different food and restaurant advertisements, which results in consuming unhealthy food and can bring to obesity. Obese people are less likely to be involved in physical activities, which make it harder to return to a healthy weight. Children, who watch more than three hours of TV per day, are 50 percent more likely to consume unhealthy food and become obese. Whereas kids spend more time watching TV or other media, they are getting more used to a sedentary lifestyle with the outcome of being overweight (Spettigue & Henderson, 2004).
Media and especially social networks have become the strongest communication space in our time. Various media promote a convenient platform for adolescents to communicate with each other using multiple platforms and venues. Social media is a routine activity for adolescents today, and their presence in social media has a significant impact on their life. Social media is also a representative of a thin ideal body weight. It contributes to an increase of eating disorders among adolescents. It is important to understand that adolescents develop their knowledge and preferences on what they see in advertisements or social media. They often cannot differentiate between what is healthy and what is not. Therefore, it is critical to educate children about advertisements and what actual goals are put behind them. At the same time, it is not possible to filter everything and to keep children away from any possible adverse influence. Thus, it is also crucial to educate parents and instruct them to have meaningful conversations with their kids about unsafe and unhealthy practices.
Moreover, media is frequently blamed for development of all eating disorders, while many of them are genetically predisposed and environmentally mediated. Media does affect eating disorders and unhealthy eating behavior, yet it cannot be the only evil to get rid of. Individuals, who are biologically susceptible to certain eating disorders, should be especially selective to social influence and presence of media in their life because they can trigger and perpetuate progression of eating disorders.
Some people are afraid of eating due to the fear of being overweight. Others are already obese due to their unhealthy eating habits and are not willing to be responsible for their own choices. Thus, they blame media for everything. While all of us are exposed to media to some extent, all of us are somewhat at risk of becoming overweight or anorexic, if choosing to follow unhealthy or unnatural choices promoted. However, it is necessary to remember that the last choice is made by the person himself or herself. It is crucial to reduce the influence of media and its propagated ideologies on our lives. In addition, it is necessary to be able to accept the responsibility for our lives as well. This is where the concept of media literacy comes in hand. It includes teaching people about the real content of media, making them aware of media use and increasing their insight into analysis of the producers’ intentions. With the help of media literacy, adolescent girls will get to know that whatever slim body weight concept they come across in media, it is not always real and many of such images are reconstructed and virtually edited. Media literacy will also teach people that what is shown in media are primarily profit-driven and while food may look healthy in advertisements, it does not mean that it is good for a healthy body.
On the other hand, media is also a reliable source of knowledge and an efficient means of educating people. Media can play an important role in people’s life by showing a healthy lifestyle and healthy eating behavior. Media can use advertisements to affect eating habits in a good way. If parents are taught properly, they can convey this knowledge to their kids and improve their healthy lifestyles. Some other ways can be effective in reducing unhealthy eating behavior, especially for kids. For example, media should use their popular characters to advertise healthy food and beverages. Media should also provide information enabling parents to distinguish between healthy and unhealthy food advertisements. For instance, when advertising food, calories and ingredients should be mentioned in these advertisements, so that everyone could get an idea about the actual content of this food. Also, there should be an option to limit the kids’ exposure to unhealthy food advertisements.
According to a study, teenagers spend 9 hours a day using different media, which plays a major role in building their identity, their values, and beliefs (Harrison & Cantor, 1997). Multiple studies have shown that media promotes eating disorders. In addition, media has its impact on the increased incidence of childhood obesity in the USA. As it is not possible to keep ourselves away from media, it is better to it as a source of education promoting healthy lifestyle and healthy eating habits by increasing media literacy and encouraging more advertisements of healthy lifestyles.
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