Eating Disorders Do Not Discriminate
By Juen Koech
When I think about eating disorders, I immediately think about the movie To the Bones. To the Bones (2017) is an American film that follows Ellen, a 20-year-old white college dropout that suffers from anorexia. Ellen, who later goes by Eli, fails her previous in-patient program and starts to work with Dr. Beckham, an eating disorder specialist—later joining his in-patient program. The movie held nothing back as it shows Eli struggling with her disease but eventually continuing to seek help from Dr. Beckham. I remembered as I watched the movie, I questioned how different it would be if Eli were a 20-year-old black college dropout suffering from anorexia. I was curious to see how eating disorders affected African Americans.
Cultural beliefs and attitudes are significant factors that contribute to the development of eating disorders. Eating disorders are typically referred to as a young, upper socioeconomic white women's illness. However, evidence now shows that eating disorders affect a variety of ethnic, cultural, and socioeconomic groups in the United States. As the ideal body image changes in our society, more women are showing an increased dissatisfaction with their bodies and feel more pressured to conform.
A study done by Rucker and Cash (1992), found that when comparing African American and White female college students, white college females had less favorable attitudes about body image, body size ideals that were thinner than their perceived size, and stricter criteria for perceived body fatness than African American female college students. Several studies show the same results; that African Americans and white people have different attitudes about weight, body size, and attractiveness. While African Americans find fuller body proportions—such as bigger breasts and bottom, to be more attractive; white people find thinner body proportions—smaller breasts and bottom, to be attractive. However, these results do not mean that African Americans are immune to eating disorders. A 2007 study done by Jacquelyn Taylor found that although anorexia was the rarest eating disorder among African American adults and adolescents, binge eating was the most prevalent eating disorder.
Anorexia nervosa, according to Mayo Clinic, is an eating disorder that is characterized by an intense fear of gaining weight, a distorted perception of weight, and an abnormally low body weight. People who suffer from anorexia severely restrict the amount of food they eat, often exercise excessively, and may force themselves to vomit or use laxatives to lose weight. Binge-eating disorder is the opposite of anorexia. Binge-eating disorder is characterized as having no control of over-eating habits. Unlike anorexia, binge-eating is not followed by purging, fasting, or excessive exercise. According to the Mayo Clinic, people who suffer from binge-eating disorder are often overweight or obese.
Now we must consider how obesity and eating disorders correlate when looking at African American women. The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Office of Minority Health (OMH), reported that about 4 out of 5 African American women are obese or over-weight, making up the highest rates of obesity or being overweight when compared to other groups in the United States. According to Taylor (2007), African American adults and adolescents are more likely to be classified as obese or overweight than having an eating disorder; or being diagnosed with binge-eating disorder. This misdiagnosis is an issue.
African American women are underrepresented when talking about eating disorders because healthcare professionals fail in identifying potential cases. In addition to the under misdiagnosis of eating disorders among African Americans, there is also a stigma when it comes to talking about mental illnesses. This stigma prevents African Americans from seeking treatment. Also, because of the lack of representation of African American healthcare providers, some people are often worried that their healthcare practitioners are not culturally able to understand them. When it comes to any mental illness, an increased understanding of how culture might play a role is important. As a society, we must acknowledge the lack of awareness when it comes to eating disorders in the African American community. Once we can do this, we can then work on rebuilding the conception of eating disorders and what it might look like for African Americans.
References
Anorexia nervosa. (2018, February 20). Retrieved November 04, 2020, from https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/anorexia-nervosa/symptoms-causes/syc-20353591
Binge-eating disorder. (2018, May 05). Retrieved November 04, 2020, from https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/binge-eating-disorder/symptoms-causes/syc-20353627
Miller, M. N., & Pumariega, A. J. (2001). Culture and eating disorders: A historical and cross-cultural review. Psychiatry, 64(2), 93-110. Retrieved from http://ezproxy.mnsu.edu/login?url=https://www-proquest-com.ezproxy.mnsu.edu/docview/220704075?accountid=12259
Taylor, J. Y., Caldwell, C. H., Baser, R. E., Matusko, N., Faison, N., & Jackson, J. S. (2013). Classification and correlates of eating disorders among Blacks: findings from the National Survey of American Life. Journal of health care for the poor and underserved, 24(1), 289–310. https://doi.org/10.1353/hpu.2013.0027
To the Bone (film). (2020, October 29). Retrieved November 04, 2020, from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/To_the_Bone_(film)