The Pressure to Be Thin

Newswise — The American Psychiatric Association said the eating disorder anorexia nervosa "afflicts as many as one in every 100 females." While the media is often blamed for influencing girls to become thinner, UAB psychologist Mary Boggiano, Ph.D., said eating disorders develop from a combination of environmental, behavioral and genetic factors. "Media images don't cause eating disorders, but they do set up stress and anxiety in young women that lead to behavioral factors, namely dieting. Strict dieting is the gateway to eating disorders. Not everyone who diets, however, develops eating disorders. There's strong evidence that genes make some vulnerable to eating disorders."