Factors Contributing to the Development of Eating Disorders Among Adolescents

A number of factors contribute to the development of eating disorders during adolescence. As people enter puberty, physiological changes to their bodies make them more aware and conscious of their appearance. Their point of reference becomes the opinion of their peers, which in turn, unfortunately, is almost universally driven by the image of attractiveness propagated by the popular media. Ideals of beauty, however, are often unconnected to the reality of the natural appearance of a healthy human body. The case of a Barbie doll is one of the most glaring ones in this regard. It glamorizes the female body that is grossly underweight while at the same time having well-pronounced breasts. Thin female bodies are also used to model designer clothes, and thin actresses abound in both cinema and television (Cole, Cole & Lightfoot, 2005).

In the meantime, weight gain is a natural occurrence during puberty, at an average rate of ten pounds a year (Cole, Cole & Lightfoot, 2005). So, while their bodies are getting chubbier in appearance, adolescent girls are being bombarded with messages that chubbiness is unattractive. In order to lose weight, they tend to go on fad diets that often eliminate whole food groups, with carbohydrates and fats being the most common ones, necessary for the growth and healthy development of a young organism. Another method used is taking diet drugs that suppress appetite and increase metabolism. Not only do these drugs not always work, because their specific influence may be wrong for an individual's biochemical processes, but they could also be potentially dangerous because of their influence of kidneys, liver, heart, and circulation system. Inducing vomiting and taking laxatives are another fairly common methods of weight loss or weight control among adolescents, both of which are extremely dangerous in the long run because they interfere with the normal functioning of the digestive system.

Ultimately, obsession with losing weight leads to eating disorders, which are actually psychiatric conditions. Two of the most common ones are anorexia nervosa and bulimia nervosa. Anorexia nervosa is the more dangerous one because individuals afflicted with it think they are overweight even when they are actually dangerously underweight. People afflicted with anorexia starve themselves and exercise feverishly on a daily basis. The disease leads to such drastic levels of malnutrition as to actually be fatal if not treated. People afflicted with bulimia nervosa are also obsessed with their weight, but in them, periods of dieting and exercise are interspersed with periods of extreme overeating. These 'binges' are followed by 'purging' either by self-inducing vomiting or by taking large doses of laxatives. While fewer fatal outcomes have been recorded, bulimia still causes long-term complications such as diseases of the digestive system and heart disease due to electrolyte imbalance.

While environmental factors are the most important contributing factor to the development of eating disorders, some individuals have higher propensity toward them than others. For example, girls with a history of clinical depression were found to be more likely to develop eating disorders than girls unaffected by it (Cole, Cole & Lightfoot, 2005).

To date, no single treatment has been found to be effective against eating disorders. Generally, since the disease affects both psychological and physiological functioning, it is treated with a combination of hospitalization to bring the body weight back to normal, antidepressant drugs, and cognitive-behavioral therapy.

Causes of increased drug use among adolescents are just as numerous as the ones contributing to the development of eating disorders. On the one hand, drug use is part of the overall pattern of increased risk taking that adolescents exhibit (Cole, Cole & Lightfoot, 2005). They tend to be pushing the boundaries of appropriate behavior to see what they can away with. There is also an issue of sensation seeking, where individuals seek new and intense sensory stimuli for the sake of nothing else but stimulation itself. Here, again, drug use is just one of the modes of behavior that include, among others, sexual promiscuity and delinquent behavior.

Most adolescents, however, understand that drug use carries consequences serious enough to be avoided, which means that risk taking by itself is mostly not sufficient to induce them to do drugs. Peer pressure is a factor of high significance in this case. Sometimes, using drugs is a condition to be accepted and to remain within a certain social group, and if the desire to remain within such a group is strong enough, adolescents may consider using drugs as an acceptable option to do so.

Drug use can be the prerequisite for social acceptance, but it also can be an escape route for adolescents who are social outcasts. Adolescents who are experiencing strong family conflict also are at risk to escape into drug use. These individuals are more likely to experience pervasive depressive emotions and to seek relief from them in mood-altering substances. These individuals have the higher risk of strong addiction because their drug use is less recreational and more habitual.

Eating disorders or the desire to be thin also may be the determining factor in drug use. Many drugs lead to weight loss, mainly because they result in increased metabolism as the body uses up more of its resources to detoxify itself. Adolescents who are dieting may also use drugs to reduce physical discomfort and irritability associated with the feeling of hunger. Studies in the field found that an average of three-quarters of adolescent girls suffering from bulimia nervosa regularly used one or more types of illegal substances (Cole, Cole & Lightfoot, 2005).

The first thing that needs to be done to treat drug use is medical treatment. Practically all illicit drugs are addictive, and a period of detoxification and physical rehabilitation is essential for the overall success of treatment. Since drug use is usually a consequence of some other underlying problem, whether psychological or environmental, the participation of a mental health care professional or a social worker is also necessary to complete treatment. Group therapy and self-help organizations like Narcotics Anonymous also may be effective.

The therapeutic efforts should not stop there, however. Just as much as medical and psychological treatment, drug users need social support. Various avenues can be explored to facilitate such support. Social workers can ensure that a recovering drug user has strong family support, if such is available, or connects them with a self-help organization. Activities to increase the adolescents' self-esteem and self-reliance can also be organized through schools they are attending. Ensuring that a recovering addict has available housing and steady employment is also important. Infusing stability and security into the life of a recovering addict reduces the number of stressors that might push them back into drugs.

REFERENCE
Cole, M., Cole, S. R., & Lightfoot, C. (2005). The development of children. In J. Bayne, J. Ahren, & T. Kuehn (Eds.), (pp. 230, 251-255). New York: Worth Publishers.