I'm So Chubby

It's never enough

Eating disorders and the perception of weight

When I first saw the picture on the left on 9gag months ago which was used as a meme, the first thing that came on my mind was "I want to look like her". Demented right? Here we see a girl depicted as having an eating disorder yet most girls probably die to be like her. Unfortunately sometimes, it is applicable literally.

Weight and appearance are things highly regarded as important in our current society. They put emphasis on thinness through promoting diet pills like Xenical, exposing thin celebrities and fashion models, introducing fad diet plans, exercise regimen and whatnot. Often, heroines introduced in movies, considered to be desirable are the ones who are thin while heavier celebrities are often used as comedic characters, even if they are the stars of the show. It isn't a shock to hear actresses like say, Beyonce Knowles for Dream Girls lose 20 lbs to play a role.

Aishwarya Rai has received so much hate and pressure
from Bollywood to lose her post-baby figure.
But isn't she so stunning!

Under such pressures from the society that is worshiping thinness and make it look like those are the norm or at least, those are what makes a person beautiful, people go through lengths just to shed those extra pounds, sometimes, even if they are already almost underweight. However, eating disorders are not caused simply by vanity or social factors. They are psychological problems as well, different from just wanting to "lose weight" or to "diet".

Sometimes, it doesn't start from the pressure from the outside, it starts from the inside, and only then do you notice how thin some people are, and start comparing yourself to every other person. It is different from person to person.

There are several types of eating disorders, the most well-known are anorexia nervosa, bulimia nervosa and binge-eating disorder.

    Anorexia nervosa    

Severe caloric restriction, 100 up to 400 calories a day sometimes accompanying purging methods (vomiting, excessive exercising, or abusing of laxatives), or simply fasting entirely. People with anorexia weigh 85% less than their expected weights.

     Bulimia nervosa     

Binge and purge cycle wherein they stuff themselves with foods high in fats and carbohydrates such as ice cream, chips, cookies, Coca Cola and whatnot until their stomachs can no longer accommodate anymore, and then compensate for the binge by purging methods

Binge-eating disorder
Much like Bulimia nervosa except the compensatory behaviors of purging. BED most commonly occurs in males and in older adults as compared to other eating disorders which are highly prevalent among the female population than the male (Barlow & Durand, 2012).

Binge-eating disorder is not the same as overeating

Others include purging disorder, obesity, pica, thorexia, orthorexia, and reverse anorexia (A. Rosel, Eating Disorders, July 31, 2012). These are the EDNOS (Eating Disorder Not Otherwise Specified) I was talking about earlier in this post.

Purging disorder
Is when you purge anything that you eat, even if it was just a normal meal or two pieces of Oreo cookies

     Obesity      
Is a condition wherein the person is 20% above his or her expected weight

       Pica        
Is when a person eats non-nutritive substances such as crayons and hair

   Thorexia    
Is the repeated regurgitation and rechewing of food

  Orthorexia   
Is when a person is obsessed with the food quality and refuse to eat "dirty" foods

Reverse anorexia 
Is often found in body builders wherein they see their current stature as being too small and therefore need to gain more muscles

If you know someone who is suffering from any of these disorders or have a hunch that they are, please help them, or encourage them to get help. But be patient. People with these disorders won't just "snap out" of it or walk it off. Left alone, they'll "walk if off" for two, three, four hours to burn off the calories they didn't get to while talking to you. I'm not exaggerating.

From the Intervention story of A&E (2007): Emily used to exercise in the shower even though 
she was at a dangerous weight of 94 lbs (42.7 kg) at a height of 5 foot 8

Eating disorders are serious psychological problems which affect millions of women worldwide. According to the National Association of Anorexia Nervosa And Associated Disorders, there are over 24 million Americans of any age and gender who suffer from eating disorders (anorexia nervosa, bulimia nervosa, and other EDNOS by the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders - DSM) in the United States. Considerable rise in the prevalence of eating disorders could also be seen in Asian countries, including in those countries like the Philippines where poverty is wide-spread. It is most often those of the middle to upper class who suffer from these disorders.

For Philippine media, I haven't seen quite a lot of underweight stars, in fact, most of the popular ones I see on TV or on advertisements are more curvy and normal weight than "thin".

However, in a country where people readily welcome foreign influences and entertainment, where Korean entertainment as well as Hollywood entertainment are very popular, I fear for the day dieters, health conscious people, or even just their regular fans feel that they are simply not doing enough and feel they should do more to abide by the "beauty standards" set by popular media (I'm not blaming Korea or America or any other country specifically, just indicating the possibility of media influences on people who love them and idolize them especially when they are so popular here in the Philippines - people are already looking more like Koreans in their fashion and product hauls).

These "thinspirations" could be dangerous things, especially when your own perception of your own weight becomes so distorted to the point you no longer recognize a bone thin you when you looked at yourself in the mirror.

To the point these ladies and some gentlemen look at themselves in the mirror and all they see is this:

I can still lose more pounds

Or flaws only they can see:

I should be more disciplined and eat less

A study in France showed in a particular experiment, how patients of anorexia have indeed, distorted self-images. In this experiment, 25 non-anorexic and 25 anorexic participants were asked to judge whether he or she or another person would fit through certain door frames of different sizes which were projected one by one on the wall using a projector. It was found that anorexic participants were able to correctly judge and to estimate whenever it was another person they were asked to judge would fit through the door frames. They weren't able to do the same when it was themselves who were the subject.

Weight perceptions of how one is underweight or overweight is related to low self esteem, depressive symptoms and imply some other underlying mental health problems (Al Mamun, Cramb, McDermott, O'Callaghan, Najman, & Williams, 2007; Perrin, Boone-Heinonen, Field, Coyne-Beasley, & Gordon-Larsen, 2010, as cited in Isomaa, 2011). Because of these perceptions on one's weight, that he or she is above or below an ideal weight, (even if sometimes they are not true and it's just one's own perception of his or her true weight that sometimes, goes to the extreme where an emaciated anorexic still thinks he or she is fat) a person may go through drastic measures just to lose those pounds.

Professional help is really needed in order to cure and to save people with eating disorders. You can't just force an anorexic to eat, or for a bulimic to stop purging out food. Even if sometimes they will themselves to stop, that this will be their last binge, this will be the last time they vomit food out, it's easier said than done. These people have a psychological need to control the food they eat, to stay thin, to purge out "junk", to not let the scale go up even by one pound.

Phew, long long post. Have a diet coke. Or a tiny cake.

Whatever your diet is, you're special and you're a beautiful creation. Love yourself.


References:

Barlow, D. & Durand, V. M. (2012) Disorders of Eating and Sleeping. Abnormal Psychology: An Integrative Approach 6th ed. Cengage Learning Asia Pte Ltd (Philippine Branch): Philippines.

ABC News Radio (2012). Anorexia Patients Overestimate Their Sizes in Study. Retrieved September 30, 2012 from http://www.kmbz.com/Anorexia-Patients-Overestimate-Their-Own-Sizes-in-/14053470

Isomaa, R. (2011). Eating Disorders, Weight Perception, and Dieting in Adolescence. Retrieved October 13, 2012 from http://www.doria.fi/bitstream/handle/10024/74491/isomaa_rasmus.pdf?sequence=1

National Association of Anorexia Nervosa and Associated Disorders (2012). Retrieved September 30, 2012 from http://www.anad.org/get-information/about-eating-disorders/eating-disorders-statistics/

Efron, S. (n.d.). Eating Disorders on Increase in Asia. Retrieved September 30, 2012 from  http://www.dimensionsmagazine.com/news/asia.html

Kannan, R. (2010). Eating Disorder No Longer Rare. Retrieved September 30, 2012 from http://www.hindu.com/2010/02/26/stories/2010022658850200.htm