What is the Cause of Eating Disorders?

In our society, there is a push to be thin, but what causes people to actually develop an eating disorder? There are many underlying causes to an eating disorder including stress, family, relationships, media, and mental or medical problems. Though media plays a part, it is very minor in the development than the other causes.
Stress plays a big factor in the contraction of an eating disorder. Whether it be school, relationships, or family, stress is in everyone’s lives. Stress can cause chemical imbalances in people and have affected most people’s eating habits at one time of another. A person at risk for anorexia may stop eating for a day or two; the person may then decide to continue not eating. (Graves, 29) Many young girls believe if they can look “perfect”, they will perform perfectly in relationships and their studies. However, doing that does the opposite by focusing their attention on weight, creating more stress. Girls like teenager, Stacy, a cheerleader, gymnast, and track star (Mascali, The Times Leader 2006) are at high risk because they are not only expected to be thin, but are over stressed about balancing school and extracurricular activities.
Family life plays along with stress because of the pressure set on the victim. If they come from an abusive home life, they are prone to anorexia. Marya was introduced to verbal abuse at a very young age. Her parents fought, and she believed they were only together because of her, so she tried to be perfect. Her mother also didn’t eat, so Marya wanted to impress her parents by being thin. Her grandparents wouldn't allow her to eat much and called her fat and a pig. (Hornbacher, Ch 1) Many girls like Marya are pushed to be skinny by the people they love. They feel that if th...

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...; they tell us to lose weight but still to eat fattening foods. Marya sat on her couch eating Fritos and reading a fashion magazine. She then got up and walked to the bathroom and threw up her lunch and snack. That was at the age of nine. (Hornbacher, 9) Girls look to celebrities as role models, so if the “diet” their favorite actress is on is to not eat, the girl will also be tempted to not eat. If their role model, on the other hand, eats a healthy diet and doesn’t obsess about weight, the girl would probably stay healthy.
In conclusion, there are many roots that stem into the disorder, but there is no clear cause. Stress is relevant in most cases, but so are media and personality disorders. It all depends on the person and their specific life. Eating disorders are unique to each person, kind of like a fingerprint. No two disorders are caused by the same reasons.