Categories: Diseases & Conditions

Anorexia Nervosa: History, Causes and Symptoms

Disordered eating behaviors have been around since ancient times in different cultures. In ancient Greek and Egyptian cultures, people fasted for short periods of time. But records show that there was no prolonged fasting. There was however, self-starvation resembling anorexia in ancient Eastern religion. Another example of this is shown with early Christians. They engaged in severe fasting as a rebellion against hedonism and materialism. Our history is rampant with other cases of widespread self-starvation. In a period of the Dark Ages, self-starvation appears with few exceptions absent. Also during the Renaissance, spiritual women fasted getting the status of saints. In the Reformation period, however, instead of being holy, starving women were thought to be possessed by the devil. Sometimes self-starvation was seen as entertainment.

In 1870 anorexia nervosa emerged as a new disease. Anorexia was defined as “absence of appetite” in Dunglison’s 1865 dictionary. It also said that a loathing of food does not cause the disease. In this time period anorexia was thought to be a symptom of another disease. The first classification of eating disorders as it’s own disease happened in the mid-century by the American asylum superintendents and the British alienists. Trying to distinguish the physical and mental aspects of the disease was very challenging. Later, physicians saw the wide spectrum of situations where patients cited anorexia as a symptom. Students were told that when studying mental diseases you have to take special things into account. For example, love of life, sexual functions, social instincts, and appetite for food and drink. If the patient displays problems in all of these, then it is a mental disease.

In the 20th century many people believed that anorexia was a fad. They thought it would fade away in time. But now anorexia has become a regular feature. Each year millions of people in the United States acquire severe and life-threatening eating disorders. More than 90% of them are young women. One in ten of these will die from starvation, cardiac arrest, or suicide.

The disease is characterized by a distorted body image, an extreme fear of obesity, refusal to maintain a normal body weight, and the absence of menstrual periods. Environmental signs of anorexia include change in personality, withdrawal, depression, irritability, unusual eating habits, and compulsive exercising. Physical signs are extreme weight change, growth of fine body hair, constipation, insomnia, skin rash, loss of hair and nail quality, sensitivity to cold, inability to think clearly, and chronic fatigue.

There are different theories on the causes of anorexia. One of these is based on our society’s expectations of women. For the most part we are born
comfortable with our bodies. Then as children we learn and explore the world by using our bodies. Eventually, though, girls may begin to feel uncomfortable in their bodies. They find out that girls are valued for their bodies and to fit in we need to look and act in a specific way. The world around them is telling them that thin is in. If they do not live up to that standard, they may find themselves harassed or isolated. Beauty is the defining characteristic for American women, especially in this time period.

A parent’s job is to protect their children while they explore the world. Corporate America is less than protective of our young people. They try to make money from them by selling make-up or the latest CD. The media shows desirable women as thin. Even as Americans are becoming heavier and heavier each year, models are always getting thinner. Girls compare themselves to the media’s ideal and often find themselves lacking. They realize that they need to go to the extreme to be able to get to this unhealthy weight. Girls are very fearful of getting fat, but they can’t be blamed since being fat means discrimination, isolation, and ridicule. For example, the White Rock mineral water girl was 5 feet 7 inches and 140 pounds in 1950, but now she is 5 feet 10 inches and 110 pounds. Models weigh 23 % less than the average woman. 95% of American women report that they are disgusted or disappointed with their bodies.

When daughters begin to try out their independence and rely more on their friends, they often embrace the junk values of mass culture. They are preoccupied with peer approval. Girls worry about hair, make-up, skin, clothes, and, of course, weight. Advertisements do not help either. There is a glut of advertisements about diets and exercise on televisions, billboards, magazines, newspapers, and even bumper stickers.

There have been studies on the relationship between college women’s media use and disordered eating. It has been found that for women, thin-ideal media exposure predicted disordered eating, with magazine reading acting as a stronger and more consistent predictor than television viewing.