In recent years many studies have confirmed that eating disorders are growing in numbers, especially within the population of teenage girls. Teenage girls, especially older teenage girls, are susceptible to many societal pressures that can trigger an eating disorder.
Although researchers are not yet completely sure what causes eating disorders, anorexia seems to have a “trigger moment.” This moment could be a friend commenting on your weight, or in Jeanette McCurdy’s case, her mother introducing her to dieting at the young age of eleven. This triggering event can lead to anorexic tendencies and a hyperfixation of body image, which can lead to disordered eating and a very dangerous and unhealthy lifestyle.
While Anorexia is triggered by a moment or event, some researchers claim that anorexia needs a genetic component to be triggered. Like some mental disorders, anorexia is claimed to be a genetic disorder that needs a triggering event to trigger a person actively exhibiting symptoms and behaviors of anorexia.
Anorexia and Bulimia have steadily increased among teenage girls aged 17-19 in recent years. Rates among females in this age group have risen from 1.6 percent to 20.8 percent, in the past 6 years, and the trend doesn’t seem to be dying. The Director of mental health at NHS England, Claire Murdoch states, “We have supported over 700,000 children and young people with their mental health this year and also seen a 47 percent increase in young people being treated for eating disorders compared to pre-pandemic.” Researchers are not sure what has caused such a drastic increase, as many factors in people’s lives were severely impacted by the pandemic.
Although this subject has a lot of unknowns, we do know that as a society we need to be taking measures to prevent and help treat these eating disorders.