Body image
Demographic Variations
An article by Fredrick et al (2021) examined sociocultural influences on the thin ideal. According to the study, white women engaged in more body checking behaviors than Black, Latina, and Asian women. Gay men engage in more body checking behaviors than straight men. Women engage in more body checking behaviors than men. In this study, older men and women reported less preoccupation with their appearance than college-aged participants. In a cross-cultural comparison on men’s body-type preference, the findings were that white men have a stronger preference for thin women than black men (Glasser et al., 2009). Thus, it is not surprising that the highest prevalence of Eating Disorders are young, white female demographic. This does not mean that minorities cannot or do not also struggle, and of course, does not account for reporting discrepancies. My professional work is in the field of Autism and I ask the same question of its prevalence: is it due to more diagnostic tools?
Body acceptance
One of the most challenging parts of recovering from an ED is the body almost always recovers more quickly than the mind. The malnourished brain is irrational. This is how the skeletal anorexic can look in the mirror and still see fat. The most miserable place to be stuck is when you’ve weight restored but your brain is still disordered. In the same way we expose ourselves to fear foods, it is necessary to push past the fear of weight gain to allow your brain to rewire. Becky Freestone puts it this way: “Your body is meant to be the size it is when your mind is free.”
In recovery, I obsessed about how scary it was to gain weight, my clothes fitting snugger, the idea of existing in a larger body being unfathomable. My therapist would remind me that the point of recovery is to fill other areas of your life so that your body size doesn’t hold as much value. A trending buzzword in the media is “body positivity.” While I think it’s great to embrace size diversity and set realistic standards for young girls, in recovery it felt like an intangible concept. If I couldn’t accept my body at its current size, how would I see it as positive to continue getting larger? One quote that stood out to me in treatment was “When the idea of loving your body feels impossible, plant the seed of possibility.” It’s important to hold onto hope that it will get better, even if it feels hopeless right now.
HAES
Another trending buzzword is “Health at Every Size.” Due to the health threats mentioned from obesity on the “nutrition” page, I don’t agree that you can be healthy at any size. However, I do think that everyone’s healthy body size looks different. It’s so important not to jump to conclusions on either extreme; just because someone has more fat doesn’t mean they aren’t in shape. Conversely, just because someone is more lean doesn’t mean they don’t eat.