The Causes of Eating Disorders Essay -- Expository Cause Effect Essays

The Causes of Eating Disorders There is no single cause for eating disorders. A number of factors, including cultural and family pressures, chemical imbalances, and emotional and personality disorders collaborate to produce both anorexia and bulimia, although each disorder is determined by different combinations of these influences. Genetics may also play a small role. Between 40% to 96% of all eating-disordered patients experience depression and anxiety disorders; depression is also common in families of patients with eating disorders. Bulimic patients are more likely to report having emotional disorders and dysfunctional families than are anorexic-restrictor patients. It is not clear, however, whether emotional disorders are causes, results, or both, of eating disorders. Some experts claim that depression does not play a causal role, particularly in anorexia, because eating disorders are rarely cured when antidepressant medication alone is the treatment. The severity of the eating disorder is also not correlated with the severity of any existing depression. In addition, depression often improves after anorexic patients begin to gain weight. On the other hand, a number of studies have detected in some people with severe anorexia and bulimia abnormal levels of certain neurotransmitters (chemical messengers in the brain), particularly serotonin, that are associated with depression and obsessive-compulsive disorder. These neurotransmitters remain unstable even in recovering patients. Studies are finding that low blood levels of the amino acid tryptophan, a component in food that is essential to the production of serotonin, can produce depression and may also contribute to bulimia. During the dieting stage between binge... ... bingeing and purging by slowing down, thereby increasing the risk of weight gain from even normal calorie intake. The process of vomiting and use of laxatives may stimulate the production of natural opioids -- narcotics in the brain that cause an addiction to the bulimic cycle. Biologic Causes for the Perpetuation of Anorexia Nervosa. Hunger often intensifies depression, which can further reduce self-esteem and confidence, increasing the need for renewed vigilance over weight control, thus perpetuating the cycle. On the other hand, some experts believe that certain anorectic people inherit an unusual amount of natural narcotics that are released in the brain under conditions of starvation and may promote an addiction to the starved state. Starvation can also give a false sense of fullness due to reduced stomach activity, making it increasingly easy not to eat.