Issues for Adolescents

There are a number of issues which surface for the first time during adolescence which can play a factor in the development of an eating disorder:

Dieting

Dieting is the highest risk factor for triggering an eating disorder, with severe dieters 18 times more likely to develop an eating disorder than those who don’t diet at all. It is often during adolescence that young females and males become aware of the concept of dieting, often through parents, peers and the images set by the media which correlate thinness with beauty and popularity. Dieting is often viewed as a way of controlling changes that are occurring in the body, in order to attain a certain idealised body shape or weight as set out by peers and/or the media. Competitive dieting is a particularly dangerous phenomenon which is most often seen in adolescents and high school environments. For more information on the dangers of dieting and competitive dieting, please click here.

 

Body Image

Adolescence is most often the time when a person becomes aware of their body - particularly in light of the changes that are taking place. Research suggests that the last couple of years before adolescence is a crucial period in establishing a person’s body image, when many young people are particularly vulnerable to developing idealised views of body image.  Body dissatisfaction  (also called negative body image)  often results when an individual compares their own body to that of their peers or to an idealised image of a ‘perfect’ body type, and can result in an inherent sense of low self esteem.

 

Self Esteem

Although no one eating disorder is the same as the next, there appears to be one underlying factor across many eating disorders: low self esteem. We do not fully understand all the factors underlying low self-esteem.  Some studies have indicated that some children are born with low self-esteem; other studies point to psychological and external causes.  What we do know is that self-esteem problems occur in many normal young adolescents.  Adolescence is a period of great change, with associated insecurities and uncertainties and self-esteem can be vulnerable as a result.

 

External Pressure

During adolescence, it is quite common for individuals to feel a great deal of pressure from external sources to act according to an idealised set of criteria. Common across most teenagers is the pressure to ‘succeed’ in the way of high grades, sporting achievement and popularity, and these pressures are often applied from parents, teachers, coaches and peers. There is also the added pressure to look a certain way, all of which can leave an adolescent feeling inadequate and ‘out of control’ of their life. One of the primary risk factors in the development of an eating disorder is the desire to ‘gain control’ of certain aspects of a person’s life, therefore it is quite understandable that adolescents are highly susceptible to developing an eating disorder in light of the unrealistic expectations they are striving towards.