Impact of Eating Disorder on the Individual, Family, and the Community

This essay examines the multifaceted impact of eating disorders, focusing on the individual, their family, and the broader community. It begins by defining eating disorders, such as anorexia nervosa, and highlighting the role of media in promoting unrealistic body ideals. The essay then delves into the physical consequences of eating disorders, including malnutrition and chronic diseases, and the long-term effects on health and well-being. Furthermore, it explores the financial and social burdens placed on families and communities, including the costs of medical treatment, social isolation, and the impact on work productivity. The essay also discusses the psychological pressures experienced by individuals and their families, emphasizing the emotional toll and the impact on daily life. In conclusion, the essay underscores the devastating consequences of eating disorders on individuals and the wider society, encompassing physical, mental, and financial aspects.

Running head: IMPACT OF EATING DISORDER
Impact of Eating Disorder on the Individual, their Family and the Community
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1IMPACT OF EATING DISORDER
Eating disorder is a serious problem in the modern world. It is a psychological disorder
which is characterized by disturbed or abnormal eating habit. For example, anorexia nervosa is
an eating disorder, where people stop eating due to the fear of gaining weight and hence, suffer
from severe food restriction. The perceptions of a perfect figure and resulting eating disorder
have profound impact on the individual, their family and the community the individual is living
in (Rohde, Stice & Marti, 2014).
Today, the mass media advertises the concept of beauty in terms of youthful face and
slender figure of women, which leads to the idealization of a thin body by not gaining weight.
However, the ideal figure is almost impossible to achieve, but women get panicked about their
weight and stop eating. Individuals can experience physical consequences, such as, malnutrition,
and many chronic diseases, such as, high blood pressure, diabetes, heart disease, dental issues,
heart attack, inflamed esophagus, weak bones, and sometimes even death (Blodgett Salafia et al.,
2015). The physical impact of the eating disorder shows the impact gradually on the body
system. The effects are long term, which cast their impact in the adulthood. If an individual
suffers from this disorder and its resultant health effects, then it is an added cost to the family of
the individual and the community at large. The society is then burdened to provide long term
treatment to these individuals. Yu, Damhorst & Russell (2011) state that in the future, when
these young people grow up with many chronic diseases, the community has to provide proper
medical treatment at large, in terms of hospital facilities, drug counseling, and many more. The
working capacity of that individual will also be affected due to ill health, which in turn will
affect the work culture as well as the productivity of the community.
The individuals with severe eating disorder suffer from isolation and substance abuse.
These can have repercussions for their families. The academic performance, social interaction,

2IMPACT OF EATING DISORDER
participation in school and college programs, all get affected due to health issues of the
individuals (Moessner & Bauer, 2017). The parents wanting to cope up with such problems, also
get isolated from the society, which is again a major problem for the community. As the problem
of eating disorder is more mental and less physical, it brings extreme pressure on the individual
and their families although from different perspectives. The behavior coming from this disorder
puts an emotional toll on the affected individual and his family and friends. They start lagging
behind in confidence, which gets reflected in their regular activities of daily life and the family
faces financial consequences (Gale et al., 2014). The medical cost for such nervous problem is
quite high and the families and the society gets affected by the cost of treatment.
It can be said that, the self perception of an individual, influenced by the media, can
result in disastrous impact on the individual in terms of physical and mental ill health and the
families and the community get affected through high medical cost and social isolation.

3IMPACT OF EATING DISORDER
References
Blodgett Salafia, E., Jones, M., Haugen, E., & Schaefer, M. (2015). Perceptions of the causes of
eating disorders: a comparison of individuals with and without eating disorders. Journal
Of Eating Disorders, 3(1). DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.1186/s40337-015-0069-8
Gale, C., Gilbert, P., Read, N., & Goss, K. (2014). An evaluation of the impact of introducing
compassion focused therapy to a standard treatment programme for people with eating
disorders. Clinical psychology & psychotherapy, 21(1), 1-12. DOI: 10.1002/cpp.1806
Moessner, M., & Bauer, S. (2017). Maximizing the public health impact of eating disorder
services: A simulation study. International Journal of Eating Disorders, 50(12), 1378-
1384. DOI: 10.1002/eat.22792
Rohde, P., Stice, E., & Marti, C. (2014). Development and predictive effects of eating disorder
risk factors during adolescence: Implications for prevention efforts. International Journal
Of Eating Disorders, 48(2), 187-198. DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.1002/eat.22270
Yu, U., Damhorst, M., & Russell, D. (2011). The Impact of Body Image on Consumers’
Perceptions of Idealized Advertising Images and Brand Attitudes. Family And Consumer
Sciences Research Journal, 40(1), 58-73. DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/j.1552-
3934.2011.02088.x