Eating disorders such as overeating, or snacking all the time, or even spending hours and even days without eating have gained scale worldwide among young people, as shown the study of Spain.
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In Brazil, around 10 million people have some type of eating disorder.
Problems can originate from different factors and have different treatments. According to researcher Jônatas de Oliveira, from the USP Faculty of Medicine, eating disorders can be classified into two categories: those related to body image and those not related to body image.
“We have specific criteria to classify an eating disorder, you can notice that the individual is involved in this phenomenon with great intensity”, he explains.
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According to Oliveira, the eating behaviors of those with disorders are very similar and the culture of a society plays a fundamental role in the development of these disorders, because it imposes certain standards, even if indirectly.
“The eating disorder will be a way for the individual to try to change their body image and weight”, he explains.
Children and teenagers concerned about standards
According to Oliveira, young people are like a blank sheet of paper, so it is from different experiences that they begin to shape their behavior and personality.
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“In this period, where personality is being formed, where the idea of who I am, what size I am, what my body is like, what is beautiful and ugly, among others; your mind is still under construction, questionmoving and changing, along with some hormonal changes. Thus, this individual becomes more independent, questionlover and there is an impulsiveness that is a little more marked”, he assesses.
It is also during this period that young people can experience vulnerable situations that can disrupt their relationship and understanding of their own body, which can cause disorder and eating disorders.
Suffering some type of prejudice, for example, can generate changes in the eating behaviors of children and young people who are still going through the process of building their self-esteem.
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Social Media
Social networks seem to play a fundamental role in the increase in the number of young people suffering from some type of eating disorder. According to Oliveira, this happens, among several reasons, because they have facilitated these individuals' contact with a very wide variety of bodies and increased a stimulus to reduce eating.
An example of this is the TikTok thread of girls obsessed with being thin in the style of Bella Hadid (Isabella Khairiah Hadid), the American supermodel who is extremely thin and considered a “beauty standard” for younger people.
@kaairoppi Struggled a lil @twicefruteria2 #bellahadid #satire #hadid #model #mynameisbellahadid #fyp ♬ original sound – Eduarda Rebouças
“There is research that links screen time with some eating behaviors. Social networks can be configured as a factor in the maintenance of this disease, combining with certain stimuli that encourage the practice”, adds Oliveira.
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(Source: Jornal da USP)
