Ethnicity and Eating Disorders: What Does The Research Say

Several issues come into play when examining eating disorders such as psychological factors, culture and environment. Other elements such as genetics and biochemistry have been shown to be contributing factors as well, and they too can play a significant role in these disorders. Yet when our society considers those who have eating disorders, the image most often associated with them is white women of privilege. The truth is: Eating disorders do not discriminate.

Eating disorders are common among individuals who struggle with issues such as clinical depression, anxiety disorders and obsessive-compulsive disorder. Those are psychological factors that don’t discriminate either. Analysis of a Minnesota Adolescent Health Study found that dieting was associated with weight dissatisfaction, perceived overweight and low body pride in all ethnic groups. Those are all components that help increase the risk of an eating disorder, and unfortunately, society plays a key role in reinforcing those issues.

Cultural ideas help to shape how we view different ethnic groups, which makes our views biased and lacking in statistical and relevant research. When it is believed that no problem exists, or when predisposed views shape how we form opinions, the idea that eating disorders belong only to a certain ethnicity takes precedence.

Women and men from various racial and ethnic minority groups are not “immune” to the elements that exist in their environment and the culture that surrounds them. If we take a closer look, every culture or ethnicity struggles with self-esteem, experiences trouble coping with emotions or expressing emotions, and has feelings of hopelessness and inadequacy.

Factors including differing world views, values and beliefs need to be incorporated into researching how various cultures may be affected by eating disorders and how, as a culture, they may deal with this issue. According to the National Eating Disorder Association, recent research has shown that minority women are less likely to seek treatment than their white counterparts. This may be one of the contributing factors to the perception that minorities are unaffected by eating disorders. Even though more inclusive research is needed in this area, it is important to understand that treatment must be inclusive for all cultures, ethnicities and gender to effectively continue the battle against eating disorders.