Research findings have suggest that eating disorders are “culture-bound syndromes” in which the sign and symptoms of a disorder reflect a social pressure from different culture (Abram et al. 1993, p.50). China has for some time having experienced the social transition from a traditional society to modern society (Lee and Lee 1996, p.178). In these processes, the impact of western values, ways of life and culture provide a factor in the development of eating disorders, which most Chinese have not focused on. Furthermore, eating disorder regularly goes unrecognized or is just diagnosed after they have advanced to an extreme stage. Further findings reveal the mortality rate of eating related disorders range from 0.3% to 20% (Lee and Lee 1996, p.176). Early diagnosis of such disorders is imperative since major incidents are never realized in time thereby increasing the prevalence of the condition in China.
Eating disorders such as bulimia nervosa and anorexia are distinguished by clinical dissatisfaction in eating behaviours and body image. Eating disorders are mainly prevalent in western countries, especially in girls (American Psychiatric Association 1994, p.24)). Some years back, non-western nations were viewed as being immune to developing eating disorders, fundamentally, because they had cultural values that did not overestimate or appreciate thinness. In fact, the cultures associated plumpness with positive attributes such as fertility, wealth, and femininity (Buhrich 1981, p.154). Nonetheless, some studies indicate that the trend of abnormal eating disorders has been escalating in non-western nations such as Iran and South Africa. Besides, whereas there were minimal eating disorders in Hong Kong towards the end of the 20th century, about 10% of female adolescents acquired certain types of the eating disorder in 2001 (Becker et al. 2003, p.427). In Japan, the prevalence of female school students with scores over the threshold point on the Eating Attitudes Test-26 (EAT-26) increased from 5.4% in 1999 to 11.2 % in 2003. In China, there was unexpected instance of weight-related preoccupation among schoolchildren, particularly in Mainland China (Becker et al. 2003, p.429). The findings from the study demonstrate that abnormal eating disorder victims are no longer confined to Western countries (Coombs 2011, p.286). Eating disorders, for example, anorexia nervosa and bulimia nervosa could be seen from one viewpoint as pathologies of dieting and their increasing prevalence in Western countries indicate that dieting has increased body dissatisfaction and bulimic symptoms in females (Buchan and Gregory 1984, p.327). The behaviour associated with dieting such as worry about food, weight, exercise and obsessive behaviours often co-occur with other psychiatric disorders and physical problems including anxiety, depression, affect social functioning, substance abuse disorders and impaired body function.
Lifestyle factors strongly affect how people maintain their health. For instance, common reasonable principles of behaviour such as not skipping breakfast, not smoking, exercise and adequate sleep are associated with health maintenance (Grilo 2006, p.53). Researche have also linked eating disorders to abnormal eating trends adopted in a particular type of lifestyle lifestyle (Becker et al. 2003, p.426). For instance, drunkards and smokers are more likely to forego meals and fail to notice the urge to eat at the right time. In a nutshell most drunkards and smokers adopt a lifestyle that puts food away while concentrating on their drinking and smoking habits. Moreover, the level of activities undertaken daily may influence the level of food intake. For example, learners staying with family members were established eat more meals than their counterparts who do not stay with family members (Buchan and Gregory 1984, p.328). as already mentioned, lifestyle factors closely correlate to the advancement of abnormal eating disorders. Western cultures such as visiting restaurants and bars, smoking cigarettes, and the underscoring of “thinness as beauty” influence eating attitudes and lifestyle behaviours (Becker et al. 2003, p.431). Moreover, the distraction with body image is among the prevalent clinical attributes seen to cause eating disorders. Most current theories view body dissatisfaction as the immediate trigger for development of the eating disorders.
The findings on Bio-psychosocial studies show the significance of including psychological and biological factors in addition to sociocultural components as far as eating disorders are concerned (Buhrich 1981, p.155). For instance, the study hints that self- esteem, BMI and sociocultural affect both male and female adolescents (Buhrich 1981, p.155). The studies done through Bio-psychosocial model of body image and eating disorder among adolescent girls is another great case of how sociocultural, biological and interpersonal factors increase the risk for BID among adolescent males and females (Hsu 1987, p.117). Particularly to their examination, factors recognized to foresee BID were high BMI (biological factor), negative effect (psychological factor), and the strain to be thin from peers (sociocultural factor).
Body image refers to how people perceive their bodies when they see their images in the mirror. They imagine themselves to act or appear in a certain way, even though they could act or look differently from the people around them. An individual is said to have a positive body image if they accept the reality of their physical size and shape (Mukai et al 1994, p.680). They fully comprehend their weight, body form, and the way their bodies move and function. However, most people, especially women develop disconnect between the reality of their body and shape and what they deem ideal. The greater the gap between their perception and what they really look like, the greater they have to struggle with their negative body image (Lee et al. 1996, p.77). The negative perception can in turn affect behaviour and restrict people from social interactions and a fulfilling life, secure life.
People with exceedingly negative body image always become disgusted with the body parts they hate. Regrettably, the obsession causes eating disorders, obsessive-compulsive disorder, and depression that adversely affect a person’s quality of life and the health of an individual (Cash and Smolak 2011, p.47). Whereas men and women have issues with body image problems, women admit more negative perception of body image than do men. Even in conversations, women are likely to blash off themselves before family and friends. The resulting negative self-talk reduce self-esteem and confidence (Mukai et al. 1994, p.682). An analysis of the situation reveals that women want smaller thighs, flatter stomachs, and bigger breasts since they imitate the socialites and celebrities and hope to model their lifestyles (Mukai et al. 1994, p.683). The solution to these problems lies in stopping negative self-talk and embracing methods and techniques of building realistic and positive body image.
The construction of a body image is cultural and multidimensional and involves components of attitudes and perception. Body image can be linked to disturbance in psychopathology as measured by the Eating Disorder Inventory and attitude characteristics (Lee et al. 2012, p.570). Thus, body image disturbance is connected with other core attributes such as feelings of ineffectiveness and poor interceptive awareness. Body image can be used to predict a particular eating disorder since the girls or young women who are dissatisfied with their body could resort to restrictive dieting that consequently predict the start and continuation of adverse eating disorders attitudes (Abram et al. 1993, p.51). Therefore, body image is the main predictor of degeneration in bulimia and anorexia nervosa. Patients who recover from eating disorders report body image to be the major obstacle to permanent change. Predictably, the most serious challenge is how to initiate lasting change in body disapproval among girls or women with eating disorders across different cultures.
In order to reverse the negative effects of body image, it is important to encourage a healthy lifestyle. Through experience and practice, it has been established that encouraging healthy group norms is among the most significant intervention targets in the course of therapy. In addition, a main obstacle to change could involve parental perception towards shape and weight or the over-valuation of thinness by parents (Lee et al. 2012, p.573). Such attitudes could have serious and destructive effects on the treatment interventions in children. Accordingly to this aspect, it is important that stakeholders approach the issue with sensitivity to cultural factors that influence the attitudes of the parents. Nonetheless, treatment has to concentrate on changing the parents’ beliefs or values that inhibit size acceptance as well as regard for personal differences in a range of attributes (Mumford et al. 1992, p.177). Accordingly, remarkable technological improvements in recent years for addressing body dissatisfaction for obese people and those are at risk for eating disorders can be used to treat adverse eating disorders. For example, psycho-educationally focused prevention initiatives can alleviate body dissatisfaction and minimize ameliorates disorder symptoms among female college students, provided there is a sustained follow-up.
The Chinese conceptualize eating disorders as a Western mental health concern as the Westerners often stress the “fat phobia” aspect of the eating disorders. Unlike their peers from the West, the Chinese are not so much concerned with appearances (Abram et al. 1993, p.54). Studies suggest that Chinese respondents show few classical concerns regarding anorexia. Among the Chinese people, it is social stigma to have institutions related with mental or eating disorders such as anorexia (Lee and Lee 2000, p.320). The Chinese socially accept physical problems more than they accept mental health issues thus women who experience anorexia are more likely to talk about their issues through somatic symptoms such as dislike for food, not feeling hungry or abdominal problems. Instead, the Chinese consider causes of eating disorders as industrialization, eating habits, media influence, social pressure for thinness, and parental pressure. Specifically, One-Child Policy children are thought to experience more societal pressure to perform in their lives.
With the growth of anorexia largely depending on superstitions and social stigma concerning mental health issues, a conventional strong food tradition, general unconsciousness on eating disorders and other cultural aspects that affect the manifestation of the disorder one concludes that eating disorders are culture-reactive as opposed to culture-specific (Lee and Lee 1996, p.172). Thus, the conditions why people may have anorexia disorder depend on a given culture and interpretations of media representations of the “normal body image.”
Influence of Western Culture
The perception of the body image is presented in different ways in as much as most Chinese women do not consider it as a challenge to them. Sociocultural studies amplify the influence that western culture have on the Chinese among other communities across the world. The need to look more feminine especially in cases where a person apes another becomes the focal point in determining the body picture. The body dissatisfaction of most Chinese women in particular, has prompted the adoption of various survival mechanisms (Lee et al. 1996, p.82). As a reserve for culture, most of the practices adopted to improve the body shape and weight are not publicly practice. This idea is further affirmed by the research done by Coombs (2011) on the mechanisms adopted in treating eating disorders in the community. Most Chinese students in America perceived a tall and slim body to be more feminine rather than their normal plumpness (Chen and Swam 1998, p.396). The feeling of having an amicable body affect is regarded the key factor behind the rise in plastic surgery in the Chinese culture that not only trend in America but also back in their homeland, China (Staley and Zhan 2011, p.1).