National Eating Disorders Awareness Week: Confronting Societal Stigma

National Eating Disorders Week is February 26th to March 3rd. The goal of this week is to engage in important conversations about food, weight, body image, exercise, and other behaviors related to disordered eating. In this article, Clinical Psychology PhD students Saskia Jorgensen, Lauren Davis, and Valerie Wong dissect societal sitgma, fatphobia, and racism's role in the etiology of eating disorders.

February 28, 2024

By Saskia Jorgensen, Lauren Davis, and Valerie Wong

Over 29 million Americans––approximately 9% of the US population––experience a clinically significant eating disorder during their lifetime. Eating disorders are characterized by disturbances to an individual’s eating and food-related behavior and can cause significant mental distress. Individuals with eating disorders are often very concerned and preoccupied with their body shape and weight. 

Stereotyped or limited beliefs about who can and cannot be affected by EDs are a barrier to treatment for many individuals. While eating disorders are more commonly diagnosed in women, it is important to acknowledge that eating disorders can affect individuals of any gender, race, age, or weight. Common eating disorders include Anorexia Nervosa, Bulimia Nervosa, and Binge Eating Disorder, Other Specified Feeding or Eating Disorder (OSFED), and Avoidant/Restrictive Food Intake Disorder (ARFID). Eating disorders are particularly dangerous as they have the second highest mortality rate of all mental health conditions, with anorexia nervosa being the riskiest. 

Rates of EDs have escalated from 3.5% to 7.8% between 2000 and 2018, and Emergency Department visits for eating disorders among adolescent girls have doubled since the Covid-19 pandemic. Increasing awareness on what EDs are, including highlighting misconceptions and factors that increase risk, is an important step in prevention and treatment efforts.

While there are a myriad of biological and psychological factors influencing the development of eating disorders, these disorders are inextricably linked to existing sociocultural pressures that exert immense influence on individuals’ self-image and self-worth. The societal emphasis on unrealistic beauty standards, perpetuated by beauty and dieting industries that capitalize on individuals’ insecurities to drive sales, often lead individuals to internalize unrealistic thin ideals and engage in weight loss behaviors to achieve this ideal.

Societal stigma surrounding eating disorders casts a long shadow, influencing perceptions, behaviors, and treatment avenues. At its core lies ignorance, prejudice, and judgment, which only serves to exacerbate the suffering of those already grappling with the complexities of their conditions. Whether it's the pervasive belief that eating disorders solely afflict thin, young, affluent white women or the harmful notion that they are merely a matter of vanity, such misconceptions breed shame and isolation, and deter individuals from seeking help.

One of the most insidious aspects of this stigma is its ability to infiltrate every facet of life, from interpersonal relationships to professional environments. Friends and family members may inadvertently perpetuate harmful stereotypes through their words or actions, unknowingly deepening the divide between the individual and their support network. For example, weight loss is often praised, especially in people who are not considered “thin” prior to their eating disorder. Despite someone’s best intentions, this can cause an individual to lean further into their disordered eating and/or compensatory behaviors, such as purging or overexercising. In the workplace, misconceptions about eating disorders as a sign of weakness or unreliability can impede career progression and erode self-esteem, compounding the individual's sense of alienation and despair. 

Moreover, societal stigma often intersects with other forms of discrimination, further compounding the challenges faced by marginalized communities. For individuals navigating intersecting identities such as race, gender identity, sexual orientation, or socioeconomic status, the barriers to accessing appropriate care and understanding can be even more daunting. Cultural taboos, systemic inequalities, and limited representation within mainstream narratives exacerbate feelings of invisibility and invalidate the experiences of those whose voices are already marginalized.

Racism and white supremacy at the core of the diet industrial complex, which equate thinness with success and acceptance, and fatness with moral failure. Whereas fatness used to be a symbol of wealth for Europeans, symbolizing sociopolitical and economic power, the transatlantic slave trade and the figure of the Black African body established anti-fatness as the dominant ideology. Fatness could no longer be aligned with whiteness, status, and power, and instead became associated with greed and immorality. In the present, fatphobia and diet culture create a breeding ground for eating disorders, highlighting the urgent need to not only treat these conditions as individual psychological symptoms but for a societal shift towards dismantling racism, fatphobia, and diet culture.

Addressing the pervasive stigma surrounding eating disorders requires a multifaceted approach rooted in education, empathy, and advocacy. Central to this endeavor is the need to debunk common myths and misconceptions, replacing ignorance with informed understanding and compassion. By fostering open dialogue and raising awareness about the complex biological, psychological, and social factors underpinning eating disorders, we can dismantle the walls of stigma and cultivate a culture of acceptance and support.

‍–––

If you are struggling with an eating disorder, you are not alone. Help is available. 

ED Resources:

‍–––

Saskia Jorgensen is a Clinical Psychology PhD student at George Washington University and an intern with Sounds of Saving. 

Lauren Davis is a Clinical Psychology PhD student at Rutgers University whose research and clinical work focuses on disordered eating.

Valerie Wong is a Clinical Psychology PhD student at Rutgers University whose research focuses on disordered eating.

‍