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Maria Barron

Ms. Cruz

ELA 10, Pd. 3

09 March 2018

Anorexia

Eating disorders like anorexia began normally in the daily life and later began as its own

diagnosis in 1870. Anorexia has not changed since 1870, people still have an extreme fear of

gaining weight which causes them to try to maintain a very low weight. For some people it

meant to have a thin body and for others it was more of a devastating condition. I believe that

health related issues and genetics are greater risk factors for developing an eating disorder than

society.

Adolescents and young adults are most likely to have anorexia. In the article titled

“Anorexia may be Caused by Bacterial Infections” Dr Quenton Wessels, of Lancaster

University, states, “The diseases begin when the body encounters a certain bacteria and switches

on an immune response which accidentally begins to attack healthy parts of the body. This could

induce extremes of emotions such as disgust and fear which then become linked in the minds of

adolescent girls and boys to culturally determined ideas of what is, and what is not, the ideal

body shape and size” (Knapton 3-4). An explanation of this quote reveals that anorexia starts

when a bacteria in our body makes the immune system attack healthy parts of the body which

then result in negative emotions such as disgust. This is significant because it explains that

anorexia is caused by a bacteria that lives in our body and reacts with negative emotions.

Bacterial infections play an important role for anorexia.

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Anorexia can be passed generation to generation because of the mutated DNA on a

chromosome. In the article “Anorexia is Partly Genetic and Eating Disorder Risk Could be

Passed” Professor Cynthia Bulik, of the University of North Carolina reports, “Anorexia nervosa

was significantly genetically correlated with neuroticism and schizophrenia, supporting the idea

that anorexia is an indeed a psychiatric illness. Unexpectedly, we also found strong genetic

correlations with various metabolic features including body composition (BMI) and

insulin-glucose metabolism. This finding encourages us to look more deeply at how metabolic

factors increase the risk of anorexia nervosa,” (Knapton 7-9). Studies found that anorexia is not

only an eating disorder but a psychiatric illness. Researchers also found that anorexia has both

psychiatric and metabolic roots. This is important because it help us understand that anorexia is

not only caused from society’s stereotypes but mental illness and genetics. It is not society's fault

that leads to anorexia.

Some readers may challenge the view that it is society’s promotion of a thin body that

causes women to develop a distorted body image which can lead to an eating disorder. In the

article “Advice for Parents on Body Image Amid 2016 Campaign Insults” by Lauran Neergaard,

argues that “Society bombards girls and women with an unrealistic idea of beauty- just think of

all the magazines covers with skinny yet buxom models in a nation of widening waistlines,”

(Neergaard 10). Of course this perspective supports the idea that society’s stereotypes of the

perfect body make girls and boys fall into an eating disorder. Studies now show that anorexia is

caused by a bacteria which confuse the immune system leading it to attack the brain and trigger

feelings of personal disgust.

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Last but not least, another cause of anorexia can be a mental illness. In the article

“Anorexia May be a Habit, Not Resolve, Study Finds” Erica Goode explains that activation in

the dorsal striatum had been associated with other aspects of anorexia, like anxiety. This means

that anorexia is linked to anxiety. People need to understand that anorexia is also caused by

mental illness and not only by stereotypes of the perfect body size. It is important to have in

mind that some illnesses lead to others.

It is apparent to me that anorexia is mainly caused by health related issues and genetics. I

base my belief on the three different articles that I read on the researcher database of NSHS.

Although others may argue that it is society’s stereotypes that lead to anorexia, studies show that

anorexia is caused by mental diseases and genetics. In the words of Demi Lovato, “eating

disorders are serious mental illness, not lifestyle choices.”

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Works Cited

Goode, Erica. "Anorexia may be Habit, Not Resolve, Study Finds."​ New York Times​, 13 Oct,

2015, pp. A.19​, SIRS Issues Researcher​,​https://sks.sirs.com​.

Knapton, Sarah. "Anorexia may be Caused by Bacterial Infections."​ Sunday Telegraph​, 24 Apr,

2016, pp. 11​, SIRS Issues Researcher​,​https://sks.sirs.com​.

Knapton, Sarah. "Anorexia is Partly Genetic and Eating Disorder Risk could be Passed.."

Telegraph.co.uk.​, 12 May, 2017​, SIRS Issues Researcher​, ​https://sks.sirs.com​.

Neergaard, Lauran. "Advice for Parents on Body Image Amid 2016 Campaign Insults."

Washington Times​, 06 Oct, 2016​, SIRS Issues Researcher​,​ ​https://sks.sirs.com​.