What Causes Eating Disorders in Teens?

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Introduction This research plan is about the causes of eating disorders among teenagers. Environmental and personal factors play important roles in determining eating patterns and these need to be examined in order to understand how they are related or not to eating disorders. In so doing, it will also be possible to determine the significance of this research and apply it to the modern-day context. Literature review Introduction Recent studies have shown that eating disorders, termed EDs, are gradually taking on a great significance in the modern world. It would perhaps be best to determine the causes of EDs in general and then find out the type of ED they lead to consequently. Several reasons have been forward as causes of EDs, and these can be broadly classified into biological, social, environmental and psychological. On the biological level, there is perhaps heredity and as far as the environmental issues are concerned, family inadequacy and peer pressure to conform to a certain image. This may in turn be related to the social aspect, mainly with popular figures who are viewed as the ‘role models’ by adolescents, leading to dissatisfaction with the physical appearance. Environmental issues would include aspects such as depression due to family problems, and pressure from peers as far as appearance is concerned. What are eating disorders? Before considering eating disorders, it is perhaps necessary to understand what is meant by a relatively normal eating pattern in adolescents and using that as background, mark the links, or the discrepancies, which develop into what is known as eating disorders. In so doing it is essential to understand that there is a marked difference between individuals with unusual eating ... ... middle of paper ... ...mage intervention based on risk factors for body dissatisfaction: A controlled study with adolescent girls. International Journal of Eating Disorders, 43(2), 112-122. Shannon, L. R. (2004). Eating Disorders in Adolescent Males. Professional School Counseling, 8(1), 98. Thompson-Brenner, H., Boisseau, C. L. & Satir, D. A. (2010). Adolescent eating disorders: Treatment and response in a naturalistic study. Journal of Clinical Psychology,66(3), 277-301. Treasure, J., Claudino, A., & Zucker, N. (2010). Eating disorders. The Lancet, 375(9714), 583. Victor, F., & Ida, F. D. (2003). Psychosexual development and eating disorders. Adolescent Medicine, 14(1), 61. Websites http://www.eatingdisorders.org.au/eating-disorders/what-is-an-eating-disorder.html http://www.healthinsite.gov.au/topics/Eating_Disorders http://www.psychology.org.au/community/eating_disorders/

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