18 RELATIONSHIP AMONG BODY IMAGE, EATING DISORDER AND SELF-ESTEEM
Dr. Anju Sonkar
Assistant Professor – Home Science,
Lalta Singh Rajkiya Post Graduate College, Adalhat, Mirzapur, UP, India The concept of body image as a
psychological phenomenon was initially established in 1935, by Austrian psychiatrist Paul Ferdinand Schilder (1886-1940). According to the psychiatrist, one’s body image is established by senses, ideas and feelings which are most of the time unconscious.
This representation of body image is built and rebuilt throughout life. There are so many aspects of body image; main aspects of body image are following -
How you see your body is your perceptual body image. This is not always a correct representation of how you actually look. For example, anyone may perceive he/she as overweight when he/she is actually underweight.
The way you feel about your body is your affective body image. This relates to the amount of satisfaction or dissatisfaction you feel about your shape, weight and individual body parts.
The way you think about your body is your cognitive body image. This can lead to preoccupation with body shape and weight. For example, some people believe they will feel better about themselves if they are thinner or more muscular.
Behaviors which you show for your body represents your behavioral body image. When anyone is dissatisfied with the way he/she looks, he/she may isolate themselves because they feel bad about their appearance or employ destructive behaviors (e.g. excessive exercising, disordered eating) as a means to change appearance.
Body image can be positive, negative or neutral. Positive body image refers to a positive attitude towards the body and body appearance. Everybody have some sense of positivity about their body like their weight, height, color, and body shape etc. Some study also suggests that males have a more positive attitude toward their bodies than do females
(Mintz & Kashubeck, 1999; Mintz & Betz, 1986). Development of this sense depends upon some factors which are either internal or external in forms of perception and attitude. We can point out some of these as following-
A clear, true perception of your shape -you see the various parts of your body as they really are.
You celebrate and appreciate your natural body shape and you understand that a person’s physical appearance says very little about their character and value as a person.
You feel proud and accepting of your unique body and refuse to spend an unreasonable amount of time worrying about food, weight, and calories.
You feel comfortable and confident in your body.
While negative body image means a perception about the body which is distorted shape like they have. It is the failure of their body shape and feels not only ashamed about their image but also uncomfortable about it.
Positive body image or healthy body image is marked by realistic perception and acceptance toward the individual’s size and shape. In contrast, negative body image or unhealthy body image comprised of shame, embarrassment, disappointment or anxiety about how the individual looks, and people who are categorized into this group may not have a realistic understanding of their body size and shape. Social acceptance or approval from parents and peers would affect one’s body image perception. Individuals may perceive pressures pertaining to their body image from family and friends, media etc., and therefore tend to have over valuation of appearance.
Throughout times, body image standards underwent several changes.
During the historical development of the female figure, obesity was seen as a
19 standard of beauty, valued and
represented in the arts but currently, thinness is synonymous with beauty which is valued by society while it’s opposite, obesity is strongly rejected.
Studies show that women have tried to change their bodies to follow these standards. This negative phenomenon of body image can be seen as body dissatisfaction. Women skip their diet for being thin and this dissatisfaction level of their body creates a feeling of lower self- esteem among them. Thus, body dissatisfaction has been identified by the early diagnosis of eating disorders and low self-esteem level among women.
Disordered eating includes a wide range of abnormal eating. This includes the behaviors seen in eating disorders such as anorexia and bulimia, chronic restrained eating, compulsive eating and habitual dieting. It includes irregular, chaotic eating patterns also. Women with eating disorders are often ignored their physical hunger and satiety (fullness).
Disordered eating has negative effects on overall health, i.e.; emotional, social and physical. It may cause the individual to feel tired and depressed, decrease mental functioning and concentration, and can lead to malnutrition with risk to bone health, physical growth and brain development.
Eating disorders are complex conditions that arise from a combination of long-standing behavioral, biological, emotional, psychological, interpersonal, and social factors. Scientists and researchers are still learning about the underlying causes of these emotionally and physically damaging conditions.
However, we know about some of the general issues which can contribute to the development of eating disorders.
While eating disorders may first appear to be solely about food and weight preoccupations. People, suffering from them often try to use food and the control of food to cope with feelings and emotions that may otherwise seem overwhelming.
For some, dieting, bingeing and purging may begin as a way to cope with painful emotions and to feel in control of one’s life. Ultimately, though, these behaviors will damage a person’s physical and emotional health, self-esteem and sense of competence and control. It may say that
eating disorders run in families because we learn our values and behaviors from our families. Although part of this may be genetics also. The causes are when anyone combines the pressure to be like celebrity role models in media and other fact that bodies grow and change during puberty, some teens develop a negative view of themselves because girls want to remain their petite and skinny appearance because, presently these body types are popular in our society. There are mainly three types of eating disorders;
anorexia nervosa, bulimia nervosa and binge eating disorder which are as follows:
Someone whose body weight is at least 15% less than the average weight in relation to his/her height and may not have enough body fat to keep organs and other body parts healthy is called anorexia nervosa. These severe cases of eating disorders can lead to severe malnutrition and even death. Many people with anorexia nervosa see themselves as overweight, even when they are clearly underweight. Eating food and weight control become obsessions. People with anorexia nervosa weight them repeatedly, portion food carefully, and eat very small quantities of only certain foods.
They don't maintain a normal weight because they refuse to eat enough, often exercise obsessively, and sometimes force themselves to vomit or use laxatives to lose weight. With anorexia, the body goes into starvation mode, and the lack of nutrition can affect the body in many ways, i.e.; a drop in blood pressure, pulse, breathing rate, hair loss, fingernail breakage, loss of periods, lightheadedness, inability to concentrate, anemia, swollen joints, and brittle bones etc.
On the other hand, people with bulimia nervosa have recurrent and frequent episodes of eating unusually large amounts of food and feel a lack of control over these episodes. They can eat very rapidly, sometimes gulping down food without even tasting it. This eating disorder is followed by overeating behavior and it compensates such as forced vomiting, excessive use of laxatives or diuretics. Usually, bulimic behavior is done secretly because it is often accompanied by feelings of disgust or
20 shame. This eating disorder and purging
cycle can happen anywhere from several times in a week to many times in a day.
Bulimic people can be slightly underweight, normal weight, overweight or even obese but, they are never as underweight as anorexia nervosa sufferers. Patients with bulimia nervosa disorder don’t have control on their diet and eat frequently. During these times they consume thousands of calories that are high in sugars, carbohydrates, and fat.
People with binge-eating disorder lose control over their eating. They eat alone because of feeling embarrassed by their very large amount of food and afterward they feel depressed, very guilty and disgusted with this type of their eating behavior. As a result, people with binge-eating disorder often are overweight or obese. They also experience guilt, shame, and distress about their binge eating, which can lead to more binge eating and they never compensates such as forced vomiting, excessive use of laxatives or diuretics.
Presently, the criteria for binge eating disorder are under investigation or are still being defined. However, people with binge eating disorder have episodes of binge eating in which they consume very large quantities of food in a brief period and feel out of control during the binge. Unlike people with bulimia nervosa, they do not try to get rid of the food by inducing vomiting. The binge eating is chronic and can lead to serious health complications, i.e.; higher risk of developing cardiovascular disease, high blood pressure, severe obesity and diabetes.
The binge-eating episodes are associated with three (or more) of the following:
1. Eating much more rapidly than normal.
2. Eating until feeling uncomfortably full.
3. Eating large amounts of food when not feeling physically hungry.
Eating disorders clearly illustrate the close links between emotional and physical health. The first step in treating anorexia nervosa is to assist patients with regaining weight to a healthy level; for patients with bulimia nervosa
interrupting the overeating and purge cycle. For patients with binge eating disorder it is important to help them interrupt and stop binges. In addition, some medications have also proven to be effective in the treatment process.
Because of the serious physical problems caused by these illnesses, it is important that any treatment plan for a person with anorexia nervosa, bulimia nervosa or binge eating disorder include general medical care, nutritional management and nutritional counseling. These measures begin to rebuild physical well- being and healthy eating practices. Eating disorders involve both the mind and body.
So, medical doctors, mental health professionals, and dietitians will often be involved in a person's treatment and recovery. In many cases, eating disorders occur together with other psychiatric disorders like anxiety, panic, obsessive compulsive disorder, and alcohol and drug abuse problems. New evidence suggests that heredity may play a part in why certain people develop eating disorders, but these disorders also afflict many people who have no prior family history. However, with proper medical care, those suffering from eating disorders can resume suitable eating habits, and return to better emotional and psychological health.
Body image dissatisfaction is also associated with negative or low self esteem. Self-esteem is defined as a
“positive or negative attitude toward a particular object, namely, the self” and makes the person feel that he is a person of worth (Rosenberg, 1965, p. 30-31).
Rosenberg (1965) describes a person of high self-esteem as an individual, who respects himself, considers himself worthy and not better than others, recognizes his limitations, and expects to grow and improve. The most important aspects of self esteem are a feeling of belonging or of being needed, a sense of being accepted, and a feeling of being a competent person. On the other hand, a person with a low self-esteem shows self rejection, self-dissatisfaction, and self- contempt, lacks self-respect, and paints a disagreeable self-picture. When youth reach adolescence with a negative self- image, they get a feeling of “being stuck”
(Morganett, 1990, Pg. 85). A meta-
21 analysis of self-esteem studies conducted
in Western nations has confirmed that women’s self-esteem is significantly lower than men’s. According to Erickson’s theory, issues of self worth become prominent in adolescence when the major developmental task is to establish identity and coherent sense of self.
Self-esteem may be another relevant variable with regards to eating disorders which leading to body image dissatisfaction. Women who reports higher level of body dissatisfaction and dieting also reported poorer self-esteem and they perceive themselves as being heavier, overweight, and are dissatisfied with their weight might be vulnerable to developing low self-esteem. Even though self esteem is something that cannot be touched or seen but it is always there following you like your shadow or the reflection in the mirror. Adolescents with lower self esteem have a lower worth about them and think about themselves as “nobody”. Once this feeling of worthlessness takes power over their body and self esteem they start falling in this dark hole with few chances of coming out unless intervened at the right time.
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