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Magdalena Garcia
WRI 10
Professor Moberly
8 May 2015
Factors of Anorexia in High School Student
Abstract
In this research-based paper, Factors of Anorexia in High School Students, I suggest
that high schools must take initiative to educate staff and faculty in order to support high school
students regarding an extreme eating disorderanorexia. This research supports proposed
solutions by integrating background information, statistics, anecdotes, and proposing possible
solutions based on a variety of existing treatments and programs around the United States. The
purpose of this problem/solution paper is to recognize the lack of seriousness of anorexia and
persuade the audience to try different ways to prevent, prepare, and treat this eating disorder.
With a serious and concerned tone, this research paper guides the audience such as staff, faculty,
and families in order to persuade them to take action before further extremes such as suicide.
Background
Anorexia is an eating disorder that not only psychologists know that it causes other
medical conditions, but it has become one of the nations deadliest psychological conditions
(American Psychological Association). Similar to a domino effect, a person showing medical
conditions due to anorexia: heart disease, potassium and magnesium imbalances that can lead to
heart failure, may result leading to other psychological disorders such as anxiety and depression
(Mirror-Mirror).

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It is interesting to note that anorexia existed long before the current cultural idea of
thinness therefore sociocultural explanations are only one piece of the puzzle. The number of
eating disorders has doubled since the 1960s, according to the American Psychological
Association, therefore it has led me to the task of analyzing what factors has helped increase the
number.
The first descriptions of anorexia involved spiritual and wealthy reasons, which
intertwined with depression and obsessive compulsive behavior over time. For example,
according to an article regarding anorexia as far as the 12th century (Psychology Today), Saint
Catherine would deny herself food due to spiritual denial in the 12th and 13th centuries. In the
middle ages, bulimia was describes in terms of wealthvomiting meals in order to consume
more. Although this research paper does not focus on bulimia, these facts emphasize the fact that
media was out of the picture. With media playing a role in some teenagers lives and with the
advance of technology today, it is reasonable to say that media may be one of the main factors of
the doubled number (to cause anorexia), but it must be taken into consideration that media is
only a part. Anorexia in high school students is more gradual due to a myriad of factors
intertwined with depression, environmental influences such as peer pressure, societal
expectations, media, and genetic/biological factors.
Problem
Without treatments approximately 20% of people with anorexia in the United States die
and with treatment about 2-3% of the victims die (Mirror-Mirror). Particular statistics regarding
anorexia in the United States demonstrate the high mortality rate of anorexiathe highest of any
psychological disorder. Although this statistic gives a sense of how critical the eating disorder

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may be, it must be understood that it is difficult to get accurate statistics on anorexia because so
many people try to hide [it] (Mirror-Mirror).
Students suffering from anorexia may try to hide their disorder in order to avoid going
under medical care. Some actions that result teenagers trying to hide their disorder is by
pretending to eat and/or wearing bulky clothing to disguise their thinness. Personally, I have
witnessed these actions from a best friend who suffered from anorexia throughout high school
since the ending of her freshman year.
My best friends situation started with her wanting to gain weight since she hated being
skinny. Her family started commenting on her body and it started hurting her Along with the fact
that high school was getting more rigorous for her, due to the fact that our high school
emphasized college so much, she wanted to continue her stellar grades. As she was taking
difficult courses, she thought the harder classes would pull her back therefore she pushed harder.
Along with academic concerns, she strived to be perfect because it was easy at first and she had
so much pressure that she gave in. By giving in, it is meant that she started starving herself, she
started avoiding potlucks between my friends and I, and she would be picky what she would eat
for lunch. Trying to lead to perfection she started feeling depressed and felt like she was dying.
She started having a lack of communication with her family and stopped doing things [she]
loved because [she] didnt have the energy or strength, (Nandini).
Along with the lack of communication and lack of motivation to do what she most
enjoyed, she hated giving others control. When she felt like she had full control over everything,
but had to give it up, it was something I personally witnessed between her and her family. Every
time I would have dinner with her family, her mother would monitor what she would eat and
encourage her to finish eating what she had left on her plate. Encouragement led to fights and my

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friend would always feel uncomfortable arguing with her mother in front of me because I
witnessed she was not the loving person like the first time I met her.
During my interview with my friend, she concluded with something I truly agreeher
mind was the enemy. Sometimes these myriad of factors accumulate and leads to the inability to
love yourself because it is too difficult to reach a certain high expectation such as a perfect body.
Although she is in a much better place attending University of California, Merced, she did come
to the point of dying through anorexia. Being at the hospital with the heart rate of a normal
human and hardly any blood, the doctors could not test her and it did not hit her that [she] was
dying, (Nandini). At the very end, my friend gave me an answer to my question, What main
factors do you think led to anorexia while in high school? and she replied with All the mixed
things: the stress, the pressure, the mindset, media, and everything around me, (Nandini).
Solution
Some people may think students suffering from anorexia is similar to going through a
phase every teenager goes through. Again, it is the lack of seriousness that the school systems
may not acknowledge. Schools do have the power to change mindsets if they emphasize the
notion well enough. For example, due to my experience in high school, high school was rigorous
in my opinion due to how much they emphasized college. Anorexia may be a phase people go
through, but it is a phase, caused by other serious factors, that students struggle with. High
schools should implement programs that help students be aware, prevent, or prepare themselves
from anorexia.
According to, Addressing Eating Disorders in Middle and High Schools by Lauren
Muhlherm, a clinical psychologist, the major significance of early intervention is because
without it, the disorder may lead to fatal conclusions. In order to raise awareness and educate a

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high school campus regarding anorexia administrators should start by revealing statistics by
providing information regarding anorexia. Pamphlets may be provided not only in health and
physical education classes, but also by any staff/faculty member witnessing early symptoms of
anorexia. The National Association of Anorexia Nervosa and Associated Disorders (ANAD) and
the National Disorders Association (NEDA) have published guidelines for schools in dealing
with eating disorders. The following guidelines may be used to guide high schools:
Prevention
Schools could provide a curriculum that promotes healthy flexible eating and size
acceptance. There are programs such as the Healthy Body Image: Teaching Kids to Eat and
Love Their Bodies, Too, created by Kathy Kater, which promotes kids to love their body.
Another peer-led eating disorder prevention program created by professor Carolyn Black Becker,
PhD., from Trinity University, has been proven to improve body-image perceptions and decrease
disordered eating on college campuses. The program included cognitive dissonance-based
workshops and based on the study, which was published in a 2008 Journal of Consulting and
Clinical Psychology (Vol.76, No. 2), it illustrated that those who attended two 2-hour workshops
showed less desire to be thin and were also less dissatisfied with their bodies.
Also, preparation is key when it comes to dealing with anorexia. Since high school
students may spend majority of their time in school, teachers have the opportunity to observe and
interact with students in a variety of social, academic, and eating-related contexts. In order to
make this possible faculty should receive training in identifying eating disorders (early
interventions). The staff should also be trained to be capable of knowing how to sensitively
address the disorder to students and their family. After being able to do this, they should be able
to designate a resource person such as a counselor or team to continue guiding them through the

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disorder. The way schools should work with parents is by educating them then collaborating for a
decision/goal that way parents are able to acknowledge the problem and accept the school as a
partner in the treatment.
Due to the different factors anorexia derives from depending on the patient, one of the
best researched and most successful treatment for adolescents is the Maudsley Family Based
Therapy or FBT. About two-thirds of adolescent anorexia patients are recovered at the end of the
process. The Maudsley approach consists of giving the parents an active and positive role in
order to help the patient restore his or her weight to normal levels and the encouraging normal
adolescent development through in-depth discussions. A reason why this kind of treatment is
important is because some people may believe that anorexia may be caused by family problems,
which may be true for some students, but this kind of treatment opposes the notion that families
should be blamed for the development of anorexia. This treatment may help prevent
hospitalization and it assists teenagers through their recovery. A goal derived from this treatment
that other developing/proposed family-based programs should strive for is focusing on using the
strength of the entire family working together to beat the eating disorder.
One final model promoting intervention is the health promotion program at University of
Merced, CaliforniaH.E.R.O.E.S. The program stands for Health Education Representatives for
Opportunities to Empower Students and it consists of trained health educators focusing on
subjects such as sleep, nutrition, physical activity, sexual health, etc. In a way this may not
necessarily focus on eating disorders, but the program does focus on body imageallowing
students to appreciate their bodies. This kind of establishment is a great step toward eating
disorder awareness due to the fact that it promotes ideas in a positive way instead of
acknowledging that eating unhealthy is wrong.

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An issue that staff may be concerned about when it comes to the proposals of preventing,
preparing for, and treating anorexia is how the school will pay for this or who will do the
training. Taking from the successful model, after hiring a few professionals to train the staff and
faculty, students may volunteer to be trained and take a position to educate, inform, and help
students regarding anorexia. In high school not only will the volunteers help during their free
time, but they can take a leadership position and credit can be offered as an incentive.
Considering Genetics
Although there may be a contradiction whether anorexia is caused by common factors
most teenagers face in their teen years making it seem like just a phase, genetics is also
something to consider because along with genetics being a factor, there must be a genetic
research-based solution as well.
According to the American Psychological Associations article regarding new solutions
toward the disorder, it has been emphasized that for many years it is thought that anorexia is
caused solely by such environmental influences. Recent work has suggested that genetic and
biological risk factors are at play as well. For example, like any psychiatric condition such as
schizophrenia and bipolar disorders, eating disorders have a strong genetic component. A reason
to believe that the effects of genes on an eating disorder is something to consider is because a
series of developmental studies with data is intertwined with the heritability of eating disorders,
symptoms increasing during puberty. It is a 0% risk before puberty to a 50% or greater after
puberty. Psychologist Cynthia Bulik, PhD., and other researchers around the world plan to
conduct the largest ever study for anorexia, pulling together resources and samples of more than
4,000 females with anorexia and 4,000 controls (Eating Disorders: New Solutions). This study

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indicates that in order to unlock the biology underlying anorexia, biologically based
interventions must be developed.
Conclusion
Acknowledging the facts of the factors of anorexia, it must be understood there are many
treatments for those who suffer from the eating disordersome being more effective than others,
which may depend on the patient. Based on the main factors that lead to anorexia in high school
students, distress, societal pressure, and a low self-esteem, anorexia may be preventable if high
schools took action and implemented resources for their students such as programs that help with
positive body image.
Throughout my research, it was difficult to find high schools with successful programs
regarding anorexia awareness, but models from universities along from studies done by
researches may be used due to their effective success rate. Because of the lack of current
programs in high schools focusing on anorexia, it is why high schools need to gain exposure on
this disorder in order to help keep the suicide rate down.
With effective programs in high schools that may provide faculty/staff training, peer-led
eating disorder prevention programs, workshops, and the consideration of genetics, anorexias
consequences may be avoided in the long run. Life-threatening health problems such as the
thinning of hair, bone loss, delayed growth and development, will not be as common for victims.
If high schools take action, high school will be a place where students know they have the
available resources demonstrating the concern of the students wellness.

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Works Cited
"Anorexia Nervosa." Anad.org. N.p., n.d. Web. 10 Mar. 2015. <http://www.anad.org/ge
information/about-eating-disorders/anorexia-nervosa/>.
"Anorexia Statistics." Mirror-Mirror. N.p., n.d. Web. 09 Mar. 2015. <http://www.mirrormirror.org/anorexia-statistics.htm>.
Deans, Emily. A History of Eating Disorders. Psychology Today. N.p., 11 Dec. 2011. Web. 01
May 2015.
Espie, Jonathan, and Ivan Eisler. Focus On Anorexia Nervosa: Modern Psychological
Treatment and Guidelines for the Adolescent Patient. Adolescent Health, Medicine
and Therapeutics 6. (2015) 9-16. Academic Search Complete. Web. 11
March, 2015.
"Maudsley Parents." Maudsley Parents. Daniel Le Grange, n.d. Web. 07 May 2015.
Muhlheim, Lauren. "Eating Disorders in Middle and High Schools, by Lauren Mulheim." N.p.,
Feb. 2012. Web. 10 Mar. 2015.
Nandini, Eshita. (2015, May 2). Personal interview.
Novotney, Amy. "Eating Disorders: New Solutions." 40 (2009): n. pag. Web. 11 Mar. 2015.
<http://www.apa.org/monitor/2009/04/treatments.aspx>.
"Special Programming for Preteens/Adolescents." McCallum Place. N.p., n.d. Web. 11 Mar.
2015. <https://www.mccallumplace.com/preteen-patients.html>.