There is no one specific reason for eating disorders. There are many factors that contribute to this expanding problem. Traumatic events, controlling environments, peer pressure, and the media are some of the most frequent causes for eating disorders. Eating disorders are a result of psychological and interpersonal factors. The most common eating disorders involve one of the following: starvation, binging, compulsively overeating. Regardless of the eating disorder one may have, the effects can be devastating and even life threatening.
In many cases, death can be a contributing factor to one's disorder. For example, death of a close relative or friend can lead to too many painful emotions for one to take in and be able to deal with. They find their comfort either with food or by starving themselves. Whether it be binging, starvation, or overeating, this can be the beginning of a life long illness. Other situations such as rape, divorce, degrading comments, and first sexual experiences often occur in one's childhood. Many traumatic childhood experiences can also lead to what results in eating disorders. Children that have experienced their parents go through a divorce may feel abandoned or alone. Children that have grown up around eating disorders have a higher tendency to form an eating disorder themselves. .
Materialistic and superficial parents can affect their child's self-esteem. These families tend to be over protective and not good at solving problems. Parents that are not involved in their child's life and hold high expectations for them can create a tremendous amount of pressure for the child. Again this can result in mixed emotions that he or she may not be able to handle causing them to turn to food. Although much of the pressure comes from family and traumatic experiences, the larger percent that causes eating disorders are the media and peer pressure. The people that are seen in magazines, television, and advertisements are portrayed as happy, successful and thin.