Throughout the history of the Western world, different changes have occurred in the value attributed to food and, with it, to body dimensions. Closely linked to this, we find the variations in the concept of beauty that have occurred in different eras Thus, for example, in developed cities, where food is not a limited commodity, thinness is considered the aesthetic ideal, while on the contrary in places where food is scarce, body roundness is the most aesthetically desirable.
We must not forget that Beauty is a subjective aesthetic value of the human being, and it does not have universality since it is influenced by various cultural and economic factors… what may be beautiful for one society, at the same time may not be so for another.
That is why social phenomena affect both the way we perceive beauty and the way we value ourselves. In certain contexts, this It can lead to eating disorders
Beauty standards and their influence on eating disorders
Symmetry, like human health, has been considered an indicator of beauty, along with other elements such as big eyes, long legs and youth. Today we have studies that show that these traits are good indicators of attraction.
Furthermore, the symmetry of the potential partner is a sign of internal health, and evolution would have been selecting the most symmetrical ones in order to rule out diseases or malformations that generate disadvantages in the offspring and thus achieve the future of the species.
It is difficult to achieve a definition of beauty due to this subjective nature, but we can speak of a canon of beauty referring to the set of characteristics that an object or person should have. so that the society in which it lives considers its attractiveness
This concept varies from time to time and from one culture to another. During much of prehistory there was a canon of beauty that corresponded to a woman with a large belly, voluptuous breasts and wide hips since the main objective was the survival and reproduction of the species. This concept evolved until it reached today, a stage in which extreme thinness fills the catwalks
This type of social stereotypes associated with body beauty are causing a potentiating effect on different eating disorders The main ones are the following.
1. Anorexia nervosa
It is the most important eating disorder due to the severity to which some cases can reach. The literal translation of anorexia nervosa is “nervous loss of appetite” and is a disorder caused by food intake deficit The subject who suffers from this disorder has an implacable need to lose weight caused by a phobic fear of obesity, which is why they follow a very strict and continuous diet, leading to starvation and in many cases death.
Symptoms include severe food restriction and subsequent malnutrition, distortion of body image, food avoidance behavior and different physical repercussions such as menstrual irregularity and later amenorrhea or impotence in the case of men.
2. Bulimia nervosa
Bulimia nervosa is an eating disorder characterized by binge eating and purging Like anorexia, the person is obsessed with his “ideal weight” (distorted as the vision of his body image) and is afraid of obesity, seeking above all his thinness.
The person begins to feel an urgent need to eat food at all costs and without self-control After these episodes of overeating or commonly called “binge eating,” the subject is invaded by negative feelings of guilt that he tries to remedy through induced vomiting, the use of purgatives and laxatives, or the consumption of amphetamines.
This circular behavior (need to eat – feeling of guilt – elimination of said feelings) occurs over and over again constantly perpetuating the bulimic condition. The influence of the media and advertising professional demands in some cases and the need for social integration, may be factors that predispose the person to suffer this type of disorder.
The most affected ages are those that cover adolescence where self-esteem has its greatest instability and social and reference group acceptance is the number one priority, but anyone can be vulnerable.
Nobody is perfect, but we are perfect imperfections. Know yourself, love yourself and improve yourself day by day In all aspects they must be the fundamental pillars for personal development and achieving psychological well-being that accompanies physical well-being.
