by Fiona Stockard | Apr 16, 2015 | Addiction Articles, Body Image / Eating Disorders
New Facts about Eating Disorders
According to a recent study done by researchers at the University of Southampton and the Solent NHS Trust, women experiencing financial difficulties are more likely to develop an eating disorder.
This study, led by clinical psychologist Dr. Thomas Richardson, examined college age women in the UK. The results, published in The International Journal of Eating Disorders, are a telling look into an often misunderstood area of mental health.
What the Study Found
The study itself was conducted on more than four hundred undergraduate college students from across the UK. Researchers complied information on family affluence, current money troubles, and attitudes towards food (measured using the Eating Attitudes Test).
Participants completed research surveys between one and four times at intervals of three months apart. It’s safe to say Dr. Richardson and his researchers were thorough.
Perhaps the most interesting piece of information uncovered by this new study is the “vicious cycle” aspect of financial insecurity and eating disorders. This came to light when researchers determined that not only do financial difficulties increase the chance a woman will develop an eating disorder, but extreme attitudes regarding food are indicative of future financial trouble.
In layman’s terms, this means that a lack of money can trigger an eating disorder and an eating disorder can further contribute to a lack of money. This may lead to a vicious cycle of financial insecurity, harmful eating, and further financial insecurity.
Aside from the interesting cyclical nature of eating disorders and financial troubles, researchers also discovered:
- Alarming eating attitudes occur more frequently in women from lower income families
- In fact, a lower median family income led to increased potentially harmful eating behavior in later surveys
- Increased financial insecurity in initial surveys led to troubling attitudes towards food in later surveys
- The higher an individual’s Eating Attitudes Test score was initially, the higher their level of financial insecurity in the second survey
- All surveys indicated that financial troubles and eating disorders are linked in women, but not in men
Dr. Richardson had the following to say about his findings,
“There may be a ‘vicious cycle’ for these students, where negative attitudes towards eating increase the risk of financial difficulties in the short term, and those difficulties further exacerbate negative eating attitudes in the longer term” (Medical Express).
Recovery Options
So, what does this information mean for recovery from eating disorders? After all, it’s easy to identify a problem, but fixing it is a bit harder!
Well, this new study shows just how much power money has in our culture. If worrying over money can increase a woman’s risk of developing an eating disorder, well, then something needs to change.
So, women struggling with disordered eating should be able to receive financial assistance. While this is sometimes the case, thanks for family support or treatment centers offering scholarships, it’s not always the case. Let’s change that! Let’s petition the government, or other federal resources, to offer financial assistance for those in early-recovery!
Obviously, this can get dicey. An addict in early-sobriety doesn’t need access to large amounts of cash. With the proper oversight, though, this could be a valid option for decreasing financial trouble for women in early-recovery!
by Sally Rosa | Dec 17, 2014 | Addiction Articles, Body Image / Eating Disorders
Is Being Skinny Everything?
You can’t turn on your TV, check your email, or go on Facebook and Instagram without being bombarded by the message that skinny is everything. In today’s world, we’re constantly, and I mean constantly, told that less pounds = more attention, self-confidence, and self-esteem.
Are these messages true, though? Does a smaller waistline really solve all our problems? It should come as no surprise that I think this is a bunch of baloney. Not only do I think it’s BS, but I think a lot of people agree with me
Is this hot?
To prove my point, and to set the record straight on what men and women really like, I interviewed my friends. I talked to guys and girls about what they find attractive. I even asked a couple of strangers their thoughts on skinny.
What they have to say may just surprise you!
What Men Find Attractive
I asked three guys I know, and one random stranger, what they find attractive. I also asked them why they think being skinny is perceived as so important.
J: I like women with self-confidence. Yeah looks are important obviously, but the way they carry themselves is more important. Like if I meet a girl and it’s obvious she’s insecure about herself, I’m less attracted to her. Or if she’s always asking if she looks hot, or if I’m attracted to her, I’m going to like her less. Is that messed up?
I think women put so much importance on being skinny because…it’s like a self-fulfilling prophecy. They’re told that there’s nothing more important than being skinny so much they believe it. Then being skinny is all they care about and they start spreading the “message” of skinny to other women. It’s a circle.
A: I think girls who look healthy are hot. It’s weird too, ‘cause girls can be skinny and healthy and large and healthy. For me it’s all about health. Maybe ‘cause I’m in the gym so much. I don’t know. If a girl’s ribs are poking out and it’s obvious she hasn’t eaten in like a week, I just don’t find that attractive.
Being skinny is important to women because it’s all they hear. Have you ever looked at the magazines next to the register at Publix? It’s “how to lose ten pounds,” or “do this to look good in a bikini.” Of course girls are going to want to be skinny ‘cause it’s all they know.
B: It’s kind of hard to say. I mean I definitely like skinny girls, but I like girls with a little meat on their bones too. Should I not say that? I like all kinds of girls is what I mean. Definitely though there are girls who are too skinny or weigh too much. I guess I like normal girls. Skinny, fat, whatever.
It’s definitely society’s fault girls think being skinny is so important. There are entire channels, sites, Facebook groups, whatever, just dedicated to how to lose weight. That seems kind of messed up.
Stranger: I like women who are a bit bigger. You know how supermodels look like toothpicks? I’m just not into that. It’s fine if women want to try and be that, but it’s just not my thing.
I think women make being skinny the most important thing because of society and culture. That skinny supermodel look is all you see everywhere. That’s what girls see when they’re young and that’s what they grow up believing. It’s pretty sick actually. It’s like that for guys too. Not in the same extreme way, but it exists.
What Women Find Attractive
I asked two women, and another stranger(!), the same questions.
H:Being skinny is attractive for sure, but so is being large or bigger or whatever you want to call it. Being healthy is attractive and you can be healthy when you’re skinny or when you’re big. Most men and women think skinny is hotter than being normal sized or bigger and I guess that’s true a lot of the time, but not always.
It’s definitely about how the media portrays women. It pisses me off whenever I think about it and I think about it a lot. Seriously go on any site and the models never look like me. Not that I think I’m fat but I’m not model skinny. Go to Forever 21 right now on your phone. What do you see?
C: Skinny is definitely attractive. It just looks good. I feel better when I’m skinnier. I have that confidence, guys look at me more, and like I know it’s messed up, but that’s just how it is. You don’t have to be skinny to be hot but it definitely helps.
I don’t know really why being skinny is so important. Probably it has to do with how I was raised. It’s probably like that for a lot of girls. My mom would tell to watch my weight or boys wouldn’t like me. And look at TV. Aside from Kim [Kardashian] there’s like no big women. Jennifer Lawrence always says how fat she is, but that’s not true. She’s pretty normal.
Stranger: I feel more attractive when I’m skinny, but I don’t know how much guys like that. I dated a guy who always told me to gain weight [laughs]. That was a weird relationship. But yeah, being skinny is important to me. It’s important to every woman. Think about it, no one tells you to be fat but they always tell you to be skinny.
It’s our culture that makes being skinny so important. Like what I said a minute ago, people are always telling you to lose weight. It doesn’t matter how little you weigh, you’re always persuaded to weigh less. It’s on TV, movies, the internet, social media…everywhere. If we can change that then being skinny probably wouldn’t be important to so many women.
by A Women in Sobriety | Nov 11, 2013 | Body Image / Eating Disorders
Beauty’s in the Eye of the Beholder
When did skinny as a rail, I can see your ribs, you look like a starving Ethiopian become what men want? Back in the day, like way back in the day, larger people were desirable. Having meat on your bones meant you had a lot of money. Who doesn’t like money?
“Man, that guys is like five-hundred pounds! He must have so much money to be that big! Do you know if he’s seeing anyone?” asked Marie Antoinette. “Look at that shorty,” King George would say, “I’m gonna take her to the joust, get her knocked up so she can pop out some lads to sit on my thrown, plow the fields, and lead my troops into battle.” That’s a direct quote, by the way.
Today, Brock the frat boy with sculpted abs and an Audi his daddy paid for, combs the savanna (the quad) at the university his dad is a legacy at, looking for the skinniest, most emaciated woman. No way Brock would every date a woman based on her brains or personality. It’s the same reason Brock won’t drive a Prius. I mean, if he had a smart girl and a Prius, his frat brothers would pick on him. He wouldn’t be cool…but he might be smart!
Women, we don’t get a pass on this one either. We hate it when another woman has better shoes, or a better purse, or better hair. We hate it when Susie has the star quarterback on her arm and we “just” have the second string running-back. Last year, a guy friend broke up with his girlfriend. He told me her response. Ready to be dumbfounded? “You’re not really in the financial position I would hope for and you’re way too skinny.” Really? You said that out loud? So people can hear you?
I guess romantic attraction has always been about looks, status, and money.
Can we blame women and men for starving themselves, doing steroids, buying things they can’t afford, and going to ANY length to appear attractive? No, we can’t! It’s all over TV, the internet, billboards, and everywhere else! Women are made to feel we have to be super skinny to find a guy and be happy! Guys are made to feel like they need to be a six-figure lawyer with abs of granite to find a girl and be happy!
We can’t blame them, but we can stop feeding the delusion machine. We can start talking about how happiness is internal, about how beauty comes from within. The size of a person’s heart is more important than the size of their stomach or thighs! Someone’s weight should be measured in the amount of times they make you laugh!
Happiness isn’t something to be bought, it’s an emotion there’s no quick fix for. That’s why it’s so hard to find. Hell, it should be! You won’t find happiness in a bank account, or good looks. It’s found deep inside a person’s heart. Happiness, love, and beauty are found in the heart and in there – one size fits all!
