Eating Disorders - Causes

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Depression. Depression is common in anorexia and bulimia. Major depression is unlikely to be a cause of eating disorders, however, because treating and relieving depression rarely cures an eating disorder. In addition, depression often improves after anorexic patients begin to gain weight.

Being Overweight

Extreme eating disorder behaviors, including use of diet pills, laxatives, diuretics, and vomiting, are reported more often in overweight than normal weight teenagers.

Body Image Disorders

Body Dysmorphic Disorder. Body dysmorphic disorder (BDD) involves a distorted view of one's body that is caused by social, psychologic, or possibly biologic factors. It is often associated with anorexia or bulimia, but it can also occur without any eating disorder. People with this disorder commonly suffer from emotional disorders, including obsessive-compulsive disorder and depression. As part of obsessive thinking, some people with BDD may obsess about a perceived deformity in one area of their body, and may repeatedly seek cosmetic surgery to "correct" it. People with BDD are also at higher risk for suicidal thinking and attempts.

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Muscle Dysmorphia. Muscle dysmorphia is a form of body dysmorphic disorder in which the obsession involves musculature and muscle mass. It tends to occur in men who perceive themselves as being underdeveloped or "puny," which results in excessive body building, preoccupation with diet, and social problems. Such individuals are prone to eating disorders and other unhealthy behaviors, including the use of anabolic steroids.

Excessive Physical Activity

Highly competitive athletes are often perfectionists, a trait common among people with eating disorders.

Female Athletes. Excessive exercise is associated with many cases of anorexia (and, to a lesser degree, bulimia). In young female athletes, exercise and low body weight postpone puberty, allowing them to retain a muscular boyish shape without the normal accumulation of fatty tissues in breasts and hips that may blunt their competitive edge. Coaches and teachers may compound the problem by overemphasizing calorie counting and loss of body fat.