Why do some people develop eating disorders and others do not?

BY SIMONE J. SMITH

“I am not enough!”

“There is no way that I will be able to wear this dress.”

“Do you see how flat her stomach is, and how thin her waist is; that can’t be real!”

Research shows that media exposure continues to contribute to body dissatisfaction and disordered eating. Social media is unfortunately shaping our young girls’ concept of beauty. With constant exposure to images posted online, it is evident that there is a link to how individuals compare themselves and perceive their own body.

A negative body image can cause unrealistic expectations of how your body should look and can lead to unhealthy eating behaviours and disordered eating. One such eating disorder is anorexia, which is a severe eating disorder and mental health condition that affects over a quarter of a million people aged 16 and over in the UK.

Studies have found a correlation between the time spent on social media and a negative body image. Social media can hurt your body image by constantly exposing yourself to the ideal body type, leading to constant comparison of yourself to unrealistic standards.

Understanding why some people develop anorexia whilst others do not is still largely unknown, although biological factors are widely recognised. These new findings, which draw on extensive analyses of brain scans taken from patients around the world and are published in the journal Biological Psychiatry, go some way to answering the question.

There was a major study, coordinated by neuroscientists at the University of Bath (UK) with international partners that revealed key differences in brain structure between people with and without anorexia nervosa.

They reveal that people with anorexia demonstrate ‘sizeable reductions’ in three critical measures of the brain: cortical thickness, subcortical volumes and cortical surface area. Reductions in brain size are significant because they are thought to imply the loss of brain cells or the connections between them.

This means that people with anorexia showed reductions in brain size and shape between two and four times larger than people with conditions such as depression, ADHD, or OCD. The changes observed in brain size for anorexia might be attributed to reductions in people’s body mass index (BMI).

Based on the results, the team stressed the importance of early treatment to help people with anorexia avoid long-term, structural brain changes. Existing treatment typically involves forms of cognitive behavioural therapy and crucially weight gain. Many people with anorexia are successfully treated and these results show the positive impact such treatment has on brain structure.

They found that the large reductions in brain structure, which were observed in patients, were less noticeable in patients already on the path to recovery. This is a good sign, because it indicates that these changes might not be permanent. With the right treatment, the brain might be able to bounce back.”

“The international scale of this work is extraordinary,” said Paul Thompson, a professor of neurology and lead scientist for the ENIGMA Consortium. “Scientists from 22 centres worldwide pooled their brain scans to create the most detailed picture to date of how anorexia affects the brain. The brain changes in anorexia were more severe than in any other psychiatric condition we have studied. Effects of treatments and interventions can now be evaluated, using these new brain maps as a reference.”

He added: “This study is novel in terms of the thousands of brain scans analyzed, revealing that anorexia affects the brain more profoundly than any other psychiatric condition. This really is a wake-up call, showing the need for early interventions for people with eating disorders.”

Outside of therapeutic treatment, there are ways that we can take control of our thinking and promote healthy body image. One thing we can do is examine ways to use social media in a positive way to avoid a negative body image. Encourage our young women to take a break from social media if they feel worse after using it. Additionally, have them pay attention to whom they are following on social media and unfollow accounts if they do not make them feel good.

Pay attention to accounts, people, and images that lift you up. Follow accounts that promote body positivity that does not agree with the beauty standards set by society.