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Anorexia and Women of Color - Page 2

© Mark Stuart Ellison

Studies outside the United States also challenge the traditional notion that eating disorders are a white, Western girl's problem. Researchers at the University of Capetown administered a questionnaire to 1,435 South African college students, 739 Caucasians and 696 non-Caucasians, from six universities in two large cities. According to the researchers, black students scored significantly higher on standardized measures of eating disturbances than the other ethnic groups tested⁶. In addition, the investigators found that a similar percentage of black and white females had scores within the clinical range for eating disorders⁷.

A paper from the University of Hong Kong, Shatin, hypothesizes that anorexics belong to an international social group found in many developing parts of the world⁸. It cites the "globalization of fat phobia," increased affluence, and the spread of biomedical technology as factors influencing the proliferation of eating disorders throughout the planet⁹.

Clearly, more work needs to be done in this area. But the data presented are food for thought.

1. Williamson, L. "Eating Disorders and the Cultural Forces Behind the Drive for Thinness: Are African-American Women Really Protected?", Soc. Work Health Care 1998; 28(1): 61-73.

2. Streigel-Moore, RH et. al. "Drive for Thinness in Black and White Pre-adolescent Girls", Int. J. Eat. Disord. 1995 Jul.; 18(1):59-69.

3. Ibid.

4. Crago, M; Shisslak, CM; and Estes, LS. "Eating Disturbances among American Minority Groups: A Review." Int. J. Eat. Disord. 1996 Apr.; 19(3):239-48.

5. Idid.

6. Le Grange, D; Telch, CF, and Tibbs, J. "Eating Attitudes and Behaviors in 1,435 South African Caucasian and Non-Caucasian College Students", Am. J. Psychiatry 1998 Feb.; 155(2): 250-4.

7. Ibid.

8. Lee, S. "Reconsidering the Status of Anorexia Nervosa as a Western Culture-Bound Syndrome", Soc. Sci. Med. 1996 Jan.; 42(1): 21-34.

9. Ibid.

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