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Zach Nielson
English 2010
Does Dieting Have an Effect on Eating Disorders?
Introduction
While the definition of dieting includes weight-reduction efforts generally considered
to be healthy, such as eating more fruits and vegetables and decreasing fat and sugar intake,
many individuals also consider dieting to include unhealthy weight-control behaviors. For
example: fasting, skipping meals, and/or eliminating important food groups. Because of this,
concerns over the practice of dieting have increased.
Many individuals who diet are of normal weight, but seek diet to lose weight.
Furthermore, many individuals who diet use unhealthy weight-controlled behaviors, such as
fasting and use of appetite suppressants, rather than healthier weight-loss practices such as
decreasing the amounts of fats and sweets and increasing physical activity.
Controversy of Dieting
Dieting has been criticized on a variety of grounds. It has been viewed as: a major
contributor to the development of binge eating and other eating disorders; producing an
exaggerated reduction in metabolic rate when weight is lost, making weight regain more likely,
psychological function as weight is lost and regained repeatedly; being ineffective because most
people eventually regain their lost weight; and being psychologically unhealthy for women
because it promotes unrealistic expectations of body weight and shape according to Suan C.

Wooley and David M. Garner in their article Confronting the Failure of Behavioral and Dietary
Treatments for Obesity.
These criticisms of dieting have contributed to the development of widespread antidieting movement among general public and some professionals. As Brownell and Rodin
concluded in an article on the controversy over dieting, We are witnessing a rapid and forceful
swing of pendulum that is moving from an entirely pro-dieting mentality to an anti-dieting
fervor. (786)
Facts on Dieting
The Council on Size and Weight has determined that 95% of diets fail and most will
regain their lost weight in 1-5 years. Additionally, Science Daily has researched and learned that
a shocking 75% of American women who were surveyed endorse unhealthy thoughts, feelings or
behaviors related to food or their bodies. It is not solely older woman that are self-conscious of
their body image; almost half of American children between 1st and 3rd grade want to be
thinner and half of 9 to 10 year-old-girls are dieting, according to Health Finder.
The fact that children between 1st and 3rd grade are dieting is alarming seeing as 35% of
occasional dieters progress into pathological dieting, (disordered eating) and as many as 25%
advance to full-blown eating disorders (Pathological dieting, precursor to eating disorder).
Furthermore, Studies by Casa Palmera Staff indicates that those who diet are nearly 5
times more prone to developing a serious eating disorder. Moreover, anyone who practices
extreme dieting increases his/her chances of an eating disorder by up to 18 times.
Culture Effects Dieting

Rates of eating disorders appear to vary among different cultures and change across time
as cultures evolve. Furthermore, eating disorders appear to be more widespread among
contemporary cultural groups than was previously believed.
For example, among Hispanic Americans, having an overweight body does not
necessarily reflect negatively upon the individual (The impact of racial stereotypes on eating
disorder recognition). The determining factor to the Hispanic mindset is whether the state of
being overweight is the individuals fault or not. Consider an overweight individual continually
overeating and not exercising; they are more likely to be blamed for their weight and
stigmatized. However, if the individual is perceived as fat through no fault of his or her own, it is
likely to not be judged negatively. (The impact of racial stereotypes on eating disorder
recognition)
Media Influences Dieting
There is no single cause of
Figure1.showthestaticsofhow
magazinemodelsinfluencewomens
selfimage.

body dissatisfaction or
disordered eating. However,
research is increasingly clear

that media does indeed contribute. Exposure to the media and the pressures the media utilizes
increases body dissatisfaction and disordered eating, according to The National Eating Disorders
Association (NEDA). NEDA notes that through the media, young adolescents definitions of
beauty and attractiveness become defined and take on a cultural definition of what society wants
young girls to look like. The media is not the direct cause of eating disorders, but plays an
important role in young lives-an increasing amount of girls-and boys, struggle with desire to be
thin.

The photo above is an extreme example of the current thin fad, but demonstrates the
types of figures that young women today are striving to achieve. While images may also show
thin women who look healthy and fit, the message is the same: you must look a certain way.
Whether skeletal or not, this thin trend, and the images related to it, demonstrates the
tremendous emphasis our society puts on physical appearance. For example, models used in
advertisements appear to have perfect figures that suggest to the average woman that in order to
be considered beautiful, she, too, must look like what she sees in ads (this is true with men, too).
Today, in addition to mass media in the form of billboards, magazines, and television
commercials, there is an increasing amount of digital content created by average people on social
networking sites. Additionally, there are a disturbingly large number of women with diagnosed
eating disorders as well as women with self-reported body dissatisfaction. The Internet and social
media provide a platform for women to seek out images of what they want to look like; a place
for women to search for diet and exercise advice, as well as a way in which women can compare
themselves with their peers and celebrities. Social networks may not create new problems for
women, but they do certainly increase existing ones. Social media has made constant the ability
to critique and analyze bodies in such a way that promotes body dissatisfaction, constant body
surveillance, and disordered thoughtsall of these factors that can potential leading to very
serious eating disorders.
Psychological Effects of Diets

There are many Psychological factors that contribute to eating disorders. Some include:
low self-esteem, depression, loneliness, and anxiety.
Figure 2. demonstrates the common
cycle with Bing Eating Disorders.

These factors will cause many to eat large quantity

of foods-not because they are hungry, but they are

trying to control their emotions by eating food. The eating Disorder foundation wrote, An
eating disorder is an external solution to inner turmoil. This quote reinforces the idea that
individuals who struggle with personal conflictions may cause them to overeat.
Many people with these emotional eating habits will develop other eating disorders such
as B.E.D., or Binge eating disorder. The book Eating Disorders: An Encyclopedia of Causes,
Treatment And Prevention (2013), describes binge eating disorder as, having recurrent
overeating episodes without engaging in method of purging. Because of this, those who binge
feel that their overeating habits get out of control; in order to not keep the weight they vomit. To
the contrary, many scientists have also seen the opposite in people feeling similar emotions;
some people lose their appetite or forget to eat.
Conclusion
In conclusion, dieting in general is not believed to lead to an eating disorder. However, it
is important to acknowledge that 1) there are unhealthy diets; 2) many people have negative
experiences with these unhealthy diets; 3) many people do dangerous things to lose weight, and;
4) some health professionals have been known to recommend bad diets.
Despite all the research that has been conducted to gain an understanding of eating
disorders, the cause of eating disorders-whether it be biological, behavioral, or social-is unclear.
Concerns about weight, body size, and shape play a role in all eating disorders. However, the

actual cause may include cultural/family pressures, societal stigmas, emotional disorders,
genetics, and biological factors.

Source Citation
Brownell KD, Rodin J. The dieting maelstrom: is it possible and adviseable to lose wight. Am
Psychol. 1994; 49:781-91
Casa Palmera Staff. "Why Extreme Dieting Sometimes Leads To Eating Disorder
Treatment." Casa Palmera. Casa Palmera Staff, 19 Sept. 2012. Web.
Eating Disorders An Encyclopedia OF Causes, Treatment, And Prevention
Justine J. Reel
Figure 1 "Women Are Dying to Be Thin." 1 Dec. 2013. Rader Programs. Web.
<http://rebloggy.com/post/suicide-fashion-health-thin-eating-disorder-women-model-bodytelevision-heart-we/65936290353>.
Figure 2 "The American Institute for Cognitive Therapy - Home." The American Institute
for Cognitive Therapy - Home. Web. <http://www.cognitivetherapynyc.com/eatingdisorders.aspx>.
Garner DM, Wooley SC. Confronting the failure of behavioral and dietary treatments for
obesity. Clin Psychol Erv. 1991; 11:729-80
Polivey J, Herman CP, Dieting and binging. A casual analysis. Am Psychol. 1985; 40:193-201
"The Eating Disorder Foundation." The Eating Disorder Foundation. The Eating Disorder
Foundation, 2013. Web.
The impact of racial stereotypes on eating disorder recognition. Gordon KH, Perez M,
Joiner TE Jr Int J Eat Disord. 2002 Sep; 32(2):219-24.