Eating is controlled by external and internal factors. External factors include the availability of food, the context, cultural practices, social pressure. Internal factors include brain chemistry, physiological function, and our own attempts to control our eating. Eating is required to sustain life but for some people their eating becomes problematic to the point where it threatens their physical and mental well-being. Research is being conducted to try and explain how these "eating disorders" develop and how they can better be treated.

Western culture promotes a look that is actually leaner than a healthy level. This is particularly true in media depictions of women who are depicted as "thin-ideal" in the media. Being exposed to this unrealistic ideal can induce psychological symptoms like stress, guilt, shame, insecurity, and body dissatisfaction. These ultimately can make somebody more vulnerable to developing an eating disorder.

Some professions have weight restrictions that force members to adhere to strict diets in order to keep their image. This can also lead to unhealthy eating habits which places the person at an increased risk for developing an eating disorder.

An eating disorder is a serious disturbance in eating behaviour. There are different forms of eating disorders that may appear and people will manifest symptoms differently. See my earlier post an introduction to some forms of eating disorders. eating disorders are not a moral failing or a mark of a weak character. They are serious illnesses that may require medical treatment to resolve the maladaptive patterns of eating.

Current research projects are trying to establish how a person can lose control of his/her eating and develop an eating disorder. Although we all have to eat there is some level of voluntary control we exercise over our food. We choose when to eat, what to eat, and how much to eat. Researchers want to understand how a person develops an eating disorder and starts losing this control. People suffering from an eating disorder may attempt to starve themselves (as with anorexia nervosa) or overeat compulsively leading to obesity (as with binge eating disorders). Simple biological studies have not been sufficient to completely explain eating disorders but the information gained from them suggests that effective treatments are on the horizon.

Psychosocial interventions are usually conducted within the confines of an eating disorder treatment clinic. This is chiefly because during the intial phases of treating an eating disorder there might need to be medical supervision. Although outcomes studies are relatively new innovations in the field of treatment they have been helping to improve treatment methodology and outcomes.

An eating disorder treatment clinic will offer a carefully structured pattern of regular meals that is designed to reestablish a healthy eating routine. This has been shown to help reduce the feelings of uncontrollable hunger and craving that patients may experience. By making the eating pattern an unquestioned routine it helps to reduce the negative associations the clients may have about food. Together this helps to interrupt binge-eating behaviour.

Research into genetic causes of eating disorders suggests that there are probably a number of genes responsible for susceptibility to developing an eating disorder. As with most other genetic causes there is assumed to be required some interplay with the environment that ultimately produces the eating disorder. Identifying the genes involved in eating disorders may help in early identification and treatment of this illness, but psychosocial interventions will still be needed for people who have developed an eating disorder and the psychological problems that accompany it.

There appears to be some element of neurobiological changes related to the emotional and social behaviour that accompanies eating disorders. Neuroscience is able to examine how our appetite for food is generated and how this translates into eating. They have discovered networks or neural pathways in the brain that are regulated by messenger molecules neuropeptides. These nascent areas of research are yet to provide insights leading to treatment of eating disorders but further studies may lead to a pharmcological treatment for eating disorders.

The fact that there are many more women than men who suffer from eating disorders has prompted researchers to investigate reasons for this. Apart from the social influences (such as media depictions of thin-ideal women) there does appear to be a link to gonadal steroids that emerge at puberty. Girls who are entering puberty are at a much higher risk to develop an eating disorder than any other identifiable grouping. Research is being conducted to unravel the connections between internal physiological changes and external social pressures that act on girls at this age.

For more information you can read up on the American National Mental Health Institute's website by clicking here.