Eating Disorders in Various Cultures

It's often assumed that people who have eating disorders are white, upper or middle class, American women. However, research is now indicating that eating disorders know no boundries. People from many different races, classes and countries struggle with eating disorders including anorexia, bulimia & compulsive overeating.

In the United States, it is not only the white, upper or middle class woman who struggles with eating disorders. Black, Hispanic, and Asian women as well as heterosexual men, gay men and lesbian women also battle with eating disorders and struggle with body image problems.

In a paper for the American Psychological Association (APA), Tori DeAngelis writes "More men are worried about their body shape, black women binge-eat as often as white women and lesbians are plagued by their appearance more than stereotypes hold, new research shows." She continues "Psychologists believe that a range of factors are feeding the rise in body-image problems in non-traditional groups. One study, for example, shows that advertisements mirror the body-image concerns each gender is most susceptible to. Other research suggests that the reason black women binge-eat is not because their culture accepts heavier weights, but because they're depressed. Such findings emphasize the need for research that examines social, cultural, psychological and personal variables."

DeAngelis notes "Psychologist Ruth Striegel-Moore, PhD, is helping to shatter another myth: that black women are immune from eating disorders because they're less worried about having a large body. In a study of 6,000 women, including 1,500 black women, the Wesleyan University psychology professor is finding that black and white women engage in binge-eating behavior at the same rate - about 8 percent for each group. (Engaging in binge-eating is not the same as having the full-blown disorder, Striegel-Moore noted.) The study, funded by the National Institutes of Health, is the largest comprehensive study of eating disorders to include black women. Her preliminary findings also show that both black and white women have the same rates of either bulimia nervosa or binge-eating disorder - 3 percent in each group."

You can read DeAngelis's paper at: Body Image Problems.

The Something-Fishy site has a page which discusses this issue. They report that "Eating Disorders are one of the most common psychological problems facing young women in Tokyo, Japan. According to a Japan Certified Clinical Psychologist, many who came for counseling often gave their reason for doing so as experiencing problems in having healthy interpersonal relationships such as with family or in social environments such as at college or within the workplace. There is still a great shame attached to seeking counseling in Japan, and for this many victims do not get the help they need or deserve. It also makes it nearly impossible to determine exactly how many victims of Eating Disorders are in Japan."