Can Violence cause Eating Disorders?

The origin and course of eating disorders and nutrition have a multifactorial etiology and should therefore take into consideration: psychological factors, evolutionary, biological and socio-cultural (Juli 2012). Among the psychological factors we will focus on violence (in any form) and in particular on the consequences that they have on women, which vary in severity. Recent studies show that women get sick more than men, both from depression and eating disorders, with a ratio of 2:1; this difference begins in adolescence and continues throughout the course of life (Niolu 2010). The cause of this difference remains unclear. Many studies agree that during adolescence girls have negative feelings more frequently and for a longer duration caused by stressful life events and difficult circumstances, such as abuse or violence. This results in an increased likelihood of developing a symptom that will be connected to eating disorders and/or depression. As far as the role of food is concerned in eating disorders, it has a symbolic significance and offers emotional comfort. Eating means to incorporate and assimilate, and even in an ideal sense, the characteristics of the foods become part of the individual. Feelings that lead to binges with food are normally a result of feelings related to abuse or violence and lead to abnormal behavior which leads to binging and the final result being that the person is left feeling guilty and ashamed. Research confirms that 30% of patients who have been diagnosed with eating disorders, especially bulimia, have a history of sexual abuse during childhood. Ignoring the significance of this factor can result in the unleashing of this disease as the patient uses the disorder as his expressive theater (Mencarelli 2008). Factors that contribute to the possibility of developing an eating disorder are both the age of the patient at the time of the abuse and the duration of the abuse. The psychological effects that follow may include dissociative symptoms and symptoms of an Eating Disorder.