Eating disorders are complex conditions that can arise from a variety of potential causes. Once started, however, they can create a self-perpetuating cycle of physical and emotional destruction. All eating disorders require professional help.
Psychological Factors
Low self-esteem
Feelings of inadequacy or lack of control in life
Depression, anxiety, anger, or loneliness
Interpersonal Factors
Troubled family and personal relationships
Difficulty expressing emotions and feelings
History of being teased or ridiculed based on size or weight
History of physical or sexual abuse
Social Factors
Cultural pressures that glorify "thinness" and place value on obtaining the "perfect body"
Narrow definitions of beauty that include only women and men of specific body weights and shapes
Cultural norms that value people on the basis of physical appearance and not inner qualities and strengths