While reading chapter 11, I found the topic of eating disorders to be the most interesting. Some people may think that eating disorders are rare, however, they are much more common than we think. I found myself questioning what causes an eating disorder. After thinking about this for awhile, I concluded that possible causes for an eating disorder could be a genetic predisposition of a gene, peer pressure, the influence of the media and/or a combination of both. I believe that someone with an eating disorder must start out with having low self esteem, which therefore could be caused by a genetic predisposition. Also wanting to "fit in" and look like the celebrities in Hollywood could all add to influence this genetic predisposition. But is there a way to know for sure? 
Does nothing really taste as good as skinny looks?
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I personally believe that an eating disorder can arise from a multitude of factors, all of which you have mentioned in your blog. In our generation we have had celebrity role models who are unreasonably thin, promoting some sort of physique that we should deem to be "ideal." We are now in a time where a Marilyn Monroe type of body is "just not skinny enough," whereas during her time she was the ideal beauty. This pressure that "all the celebs are doing it" and "all my friends look this way" is extremely harsh on someone who does struggle with weight. I personally have never been gifted with the "skinny gene" but do put my time into the gym to stay healthy. If only more people in the public eye promoted this type of ideal well-being, instead of starvation, excessive fitness training, or photoshop just to look thin.
I agree that there are many possible causes of eating disorders and believe that there is no way to know for sure. I think that it is often caused by a combination of several factors such as the personality trait of being a perfectionist combined with low self esteem or a stressful event. I think that causes of eating disorders range across many people because the combinations of the factors that cause these disorders are different for every person.
I think you have a very good point. One of my friends had an eating disorder and she was fortunate enough to fight through it and now is healthy and active. Her older sister just recently developed an eating disorder also. This girl is in her twenties and I know their parents well enough to say that I don't think it would ever be possible for it to be their environment forcing this eating disorder. I think it is totally plausible for genetics to be the cause. This is a great point and something for researchers to look into.
Eating disorders are very serious and I believe often go under the radar. They are not always detectable and those who have them often try to keep them a secret. I also agree that there are several factors that go into producing a eating disorder, whether it's brought on by genetics or the constant pressure of the world we live in. I agree that it could also be a combo of the two. I think there should be more research done on this topic to see if we could learn more about this disorder and ways to prevent it.
The topic of eating disorders is very interesting. It really is hard to determine what causes them to arise in individuals, and its very plausible to be due to a large number of factors like people have mentioned above. I also have a friend who had an eating disorder and she lived in a very health environment. It is definitely a disease that people can not control, and many dont even know how it developed in them. This is where the topic of it being something in your genes makes a lot of sense. Although, like i said before it can definitely be due to other factors, especially media and trying to have that "perfect body" we see on tv and in the magazines. Today that perfect body is much smaller than we have seen before, and it could cause people to develop an eating disorder because they strive for it so much.
I guess taking into effect the definition of an eating disorder is eating either too much or too little than your body needs to survive, then most people would have an eating disorder of some type. Especially in America where there is fast food on every corner and in our faces at every moment on TV and ads. It is bizarre to think that people would not want to eat, because most people love to. This raises the question of just what is wrong with these people if it is clearly abnormal. I do not know much about this, but from what I have seen on TV and read about, people with eating disorders have something actually wrong with them. They are either addicted to eating or have a mental block which makes it difficult for them to love themselves with an ounce of fat. Rarely do you see people that hate eating and are fat, or anorexic people that love to eat.
Here is a link to some info I found on the causes of eating disorders: http://www.nationaleatingdisorders.org/nedaDir/files/documents/handouts/WhatCaus.pdf
I do not know exactly what causes eating disorders, but I think it is different for everyone.
When I was a freshman in high school I suffered with low-self esteem and thought that my muscular body was not ideal. I was a cheerleader on the varsity team and I aspired to be a flyer, or the girl that is thrown in the air during stunts. To be a flyer you had to be flexible and light-weight. Although I was think, I had a lot of muscle. So to become I a flyer I greatly restricted my diet. I was never officially diagnosed with anorexia, but I had similar symptoms to what the textbook gives. I had an average (actually slightly below average) body weight, but I saw myself as larger than I actually was so to gain control of this I restricted my diet.
Again, that is just my personal experience and it is probably different from person to person.