Chapter 35.3, Problem 1CT

The causes of eating disorders are complex and poorly understood. Genes apparently play a role; people with a close relative who has an eating disorder are about five times more likely to develop such a disorder themselves. Mental problems (such as anxiety and depression} and personality traits (such as perfectionism, low self-esteem, and a high need for acceptance and achievement) seem to predispose people to eating disorders. Cases often begin during adolescence, when bodies and brains are undergoing rapid changes. Magazines, TV, and Internet ads bombard susceptible young people with the message that being skinny is a route to acceptance, beauty, and riches.

  Isabelle Caro was among those who fell victim to an eating disorder (FIG. 35-21). Caro, a French model who died at age 28, had suffered from anorexia since the age of 13. She is best known for her efforts to help raise awareness and help other victims of this disorder by posing nude for billboards in Italy featuring the words: “No—Anorexia.” The year before Caro went public with her battle, the weight of her 5-foot, 4-inch body had dipped to 55 pounds. Determined to fight her disorder, she struggled to make herself eat. Sadly, her efforts came too late for her ravaged body, and she died two years later.

FIGURE 35-21 Anorexia Isabelle Caro two years before her death.

  Anorexia and bulimia are difficult to overcome. Victims are given nutritional therapy to help them recover from malnutrition. Psychotherapy is usually necessary, and antidepressant drugs may be helpful. Because many victims hide or deny their problems, and because treatment is expensive, the majority of sufferers are inadequately treated; fewer than half experience complete recovery.

CONSIDER THIS Media and fashion houses that glamorize slimness have been blamed for the prevalence of eating disorders. Why do you think extreme thinness is made so appealing? Are there appropriate measures that a free society can take to reverse or limit this message? Do you support the idea of a minimum BMI for models?