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Samantha Fraver

Prof Flores

ENG 1201

24 July 2020

How Social Media Affects Anorexia

Although anorexia nervosa is likely the most common eating disorder people have heard

about, it is not the most common. Only 0.1% of the U.S. adult population suffers from anorexia,

making it less common than bulimia and binge-eating disorder (“Eating Disorder Statistics”).

Still, millions of people live with it every day. Approximately 30 million people in the United

States suffer from eating disorders (“Eating Disorder Statistics”). Whereas other factors

contribute to anorexia, social media has the most considerable influence on anorexia in young

adults, given that young adults spend lots of time on social media, and the stigma from models

of skinny equals beautiful. The United States should follow in other countries’ footsteps and

ban underweight models and require photoshopped pictures and videos to clearly state they

have been modified.

Anorexia is an eating disorder where a person weighs less than 15% of their ideal body

weight (Bhandari, Smitha). People with anorexia have an abnormal fear of gaining weight and

a warped perception of weight. They put such an emphasis on losing weight that it often

interrupts their daily lives. You often see people struggling with anorexia obsessing over

every calorie they eat, although anorexia isn’t usually about food. People use it to cope with

some other emotional problem. It can be challenging to identify an eating disorder because

some people have a high metabolism and are naturally thin. You can also be overweight with
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an eating disorder. Some physical signs of anorexia include extreme weight loss, fatigue,

dizziness, low blood pressure, and dehydration (“Contact the Helpline”). People generally

attempt to hide their symptoms, so people don’t catch on to what they are doing. Many people

that hide their symptoms don’t speak about their illness, even if they are aware it is, in fact, a

disease. Hiding their illness can lead them to the Internet to seek comfort and acceptance from

other anorexia sufferers.

A common misconception about anorexia is that the only reason people may be anorexic

is that they want to be thin, but this is not always the case. These people often use dieting and

starving to gain a sense of control in stressful situations such as abuse, family and relationship

problems, and a history of a difficult childhood. Others use it as a coping tool to relieve anxiety.

(Is your teen at risk of developing an eating disorder?). While all these can be causes of anorexia,

they are not the most significant. Almost all young adults have access to social media. Although

abuse and relationship problems are more difficult to deal with, more people have access to

social media than those who suffer from abuse.

Eating disorders have drastically increased since the 1940s. It was so rare that it was

almost an unknown disease (Sharan, Pratap, and Shyam Sundar). The number of cases

increased significantly in the 1990s, around the time that the Internet became popular. Social

media has set near impossible standards for beauty by filtering and airbrushing pictures,

photoshopping out the less than ideal attributes, and editing photos so much that they are

nearly unrecognizable. Magazines rely on social media, so not only are you seeing these

photoshopped images online, but also in the grocery store. It’s almost impossible to escape.

These models are made to look beautiful to society’s standards, and it makes others believe

they need to be skinny and have long hair to be beautiful. Anyone can be anorexic, but young
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adult females are most likely to develop an eating disorder and are more likely to be

influenced by these images. According to nationaleatingdisorders.org, males represent 25% of

individuals with anorexia. The prefrontal cortex will not fully develop until age 25 (Statistics

and Research on Eating Disorders”), which aids in making choices and appropriate judgment,

making young adults believe that the unrealistic photos they see are real. We also see the

same unrealistic body images on television. There are countless diet cooking shows and

commercials for weight loss pills and equipment. We continuously see commercials and ads

depicting women and men with “perfect” bodies, but too often, this image of “perfect” is

unrealistic. We often associate being skinny with being attractive, healthy, and successful.

Fig. 1. What is Anorexia? (“Breathe Life Healing Centers”)

If left untreated, anorexia can damage organs, especially the heart, kidneys, and brain.

There can be a significant drop in blood pressure, hair loss, osteoporosis, tooth decay, fluid-

electrolyte imbalance, and even death. 20% of people with severe eating disorders die without

treatment (“Contact the Helpline”). One in five anorexia deaths is by suicide (“Eating Disorder

Statistics.”), although if the person has an underlying emotional disorder, it is also partly at fault.

An issue in treating anorexia is that many people deny having the illness and refuse treatment.
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Those who do seek treatment often don’t get enough of it and have a high risk for relapse. Four

of the most common routes for treatment include psychotherapy, medication, counseling, and

hospitalization. Hospitalization often doesn’t work because the person isn’t able to stay for the

entire treatment process. In some cases, people decide they have had enough treatment and leave.

Other times, people can’t afford it. The average cost of inpatient treatment is $1000/day, and the

recommended length of stay is three to six months (Is your teen at risk of developing an eating

disorder?). Thousands of dollars a week is a large sum of money for most people, and insurance

may not cover it all. Medication is often paired with therapy. Commonly prescribed medications

include antidepressants and antipsychotics. While they do not treat anorexia, they help with

symptoms related such as anxiety and depression. Counseling and psychotherapy go hand in

hand. Counseling is more of short-term treatment, so it’s often not used in severe cases of

anorexia. Psychotherapy is a long-term treatment, and it covers more issues than counseling.

Social media is a hot spot for bullying. Cyberbullying is common in young adults

because many find it easier to say something rude or insulting online versus in person.

Sometimes people have a completely different online persona for being able to say mean things

anonymously (“How to Identify, Prevent, and Respond”). A person’s weight and appearance are

the most common things to be picked on, leading to depression, anxiety, and low self-esteem,

resulting in anorexia by the person trying drastic things to make the bullying stop. Those

suffering from anorexia often become obsessed with the disease, trying to perfect themselves,

which is why many deny having anorexia. They see their problem as them trying to look good.

They see themselves as fat even when they are extremely thin; therefore, they continue to try to

lose weight.
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Fig 2. Skinny girl looks in mirror and sees herself as fat (“Shutterstock”)

Social media has played a role in influencing anorexia by promoting Pro-Ana

websites. Pro-Ana websites include blogs, forums, and chat rooms that support practices

involved with anorexia or weight loss. These sites may worsen anorexia, as people involved in

the discussions praise weight loss and encourage unhealthy body shape and size (Pro-Ana

Websites: What You Need to Know). People also share pictures of their “progress” on these

sites, often called thinspiration, which can further encourage anorexia because young adults see

these pictures and strive to look like them. You can find photos with the thinspiration tag on

websites such as Facebook, Instagram, and Tumblr. Tips for supporting anorexia on these sites

include tips on suppressing hunger and support groups to keep each other on track of losing

weight. Anorexia is referred to as Ana on these sites. Giving the disorder a name like a friend

takes bad emotion out of it. Typically, Pro-Ana websites do not look to recruit people into the

world of eating disorders. Instead, they provide individuals with existing eating disorders with

information on maintaining the disorder (Pro-Ana Websites: What You Need to Know). It

becomes more challenging to treat an eating disorder the longer it goes on. It also becomes more

difficult for the person to accept they have an eating disorder after living with it for an extended
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period. By maintaining anorexia, not only is the person maintaining an unhealthy lifestyle, but

they are also not getting the help they need for a likely underlying mental disorder.

MyFitnessPal is a downloadable app that has received a bad reputation for encouraging

anorexia. This app can be an excellent tool for tracking exercise and calories for those that

understand their bodies and the number of calories they need. For years, this specific calorie

counting app allowed users to set a daily calorie limit as low as zero. Although the app doesn’t

cause eating disorders, it can help maintain one with being able to set a calorie goal to nothing

(“Calorie Counting Apps 'Can Exacerbate Eating Disorders'.”). This app also has discussion

boards where you can chat and message other members, allowing those suffering from anorexia

to discuss their Pro-Ana goals and look at each other’s daily food and exercise logs. I have not

had an eating disorder, but I have used MyFitnessPal and have witnessed these discussion

forums about encouraging anorexia habits. Other calorie-tracking apps such as Lifesum and

LoseIt can also be linked to maintaining anorexia, though they have not allowed such a low-

calorie limit. They do have chat rooms as well, where anorexia sufferers talk about their goals

and can also look at other food and exercise logs to compare. Comparing each other's food and

exercise can make people compete to see who can lose the most, even if the person is already at a

dangerously low weight.

One may argue that psychological factors such as obsessive-compulsive personality

traits, perfectionism, depression, and low self-esteem are more prominent influences of anorexia.

Studies have shown a relationship between them, but social media can often be the cause of

those psychological factors, which puts social media as the root of the problem. Social media can

also worsen these behaviors (“Causes of Anorexia Nervosa”). People involved in activities such

as swimming, gymnastics, dance, and modeling are also more likely to suffer from anorexia
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because the activities focus on being thin. Any professional athlete generally has a workout and

diet routine they strictly follow. A high school or college student who looks up to these players

may try the same method and believe it is healthy when it is not. Others say that a leading cause

of anorexia is the lack of information young adults are provided about healthy eating and

exercising habits. In public high schools, food education is rarely taught. Many students rely on

the Internet for information about weight loss. They often can’t pick reliable sources from

unreliable ones. When young adults want to lose weight, they usually go with the faster method,

even if it’s unhealthy. Some young adults also order weight loss or water pills. Unless prescribed

by a doctor, these can do more harm than good.

France believes social media has had such an influence on anorexia that they have begun

to act. April 3rd, 2015, passes legislation that bans dangerously thin models from the fashion

industry. They must present a doctor note saying they are at a healthy body mass index and have

periodic weigh-ins. Any photograph that has been edited must clearly state so. Any website that

encourages anorexia will be banned and can face a fine and jail time if caught administering a

site. According to the BBC, anorexia affects 30,000-40,000 people in France. Italy, Spain, and

Israel have also put restrictions on underweight models (“France Bans Extremely Thin Models”).

These countries have taken an interest in helping those with eating disorders and discouraging

the behavior. Letting everyone know that a picture had been edited depresses the idea that that is

the ideal body image. Having healthy models promotes healthier lifestyles because fewer people

are trying to lose weight to look like them.

Millions of Americans live with an eating disorder. We must encourage healthy eating

habits and share the dangers of excessive weight loss. Parents should discuss images their

children see in magazines and television and inform them of healthy ways of living, so their
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children don’t think they need to look similar. It’s time to step up and acknowledge these

unrealistic standards of beauty, so we can help those suffering from eating disorders and help

prevent others from developing one. By taking steps such as banning underweight models and

labeling photoshopped photos as edited, we can create a pathway for young adults away from the

everyday stigmas that come with being unrealistically thin.

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