Health and Nutrition

improve the nutrition & health of poor and vulnerable populations.
 


What Causes Eating Disorders?


There really is no single cause for an eating disorder. Most girls who develop anorexia do so between the ages of 11 and 14 (although it can start as early as age 7), and there are many reasons why. Some kids just don’t feel good about themselves on the inside and this makes them try to change the outside. They might be depressed or stressed about things and feel as though they have no control over their lives. They see what they eat (or don’t eat) as something that they can control.

Sometimes girls involved in certain sports, like ballet, gymnastics, and ice-skating, might feel they need to be thin to compete. Girls who model also might be more likely to develop an eating disorder. All of these girls know their bodies are being watched closely, and they may develop an eating disorder in an attempt to make their bodies more “perfect.”

When boys develop eating disorders, it’s usually because they’re in a sport that emphasizes weight, such as wrestling. Wrestlers compete based on weight classes. For instance, there’s one class for 75-pound boys and another for 80-pound boys. Wrestlers feel pressure to stay in their weight class, which is called “making weight.”

Eating disorders also may run in families, which means if someone in your family has one, you might be at risk for developing one, too. A kid may be more likely to develop an eating disorder if a parent is overly concerned with the kid’s appearance or if the parent isn’t comfortable with his or her own body.

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