An eating disorder is a disturbance in accepted norms for eating behaviours. These are usually due to an overvalued desire to be seen as being thin, although there are other possible causes. These include a biological vulnerability, and a range of both social and environmental factors. Then, once such a disorder develops, psychological changes strengthen the behaviours and help sustain irrational thought patterns. As an example of this: if an individual is starving themselves, this then increases their preoccupation with food and increases the risk of their binge eating.
What exactly is an eating disorder and what are the likely causes?
March 12, 2018