It
is believed that the phenomenon of eating disorders only occurs in
industrialized, wealthy Western societies. Desiring a youthful body to adorn
fashionable clothes that do not include a fuller figure is the ticket of
acceptance, health, success, happiness and availability. However,
increasing awareness has exploded the myth that it is a disease of the rich
showing that no culture is immune.
First
described in 1974, eating disorders (ED) perhaps represent the most dramatic
expression of a culture’s obsession with the regulation of body size. Marked
rises have taken place within the last 30 years amongst middle class women aged
15 – 25 (Lockie & Geddes p.41). In the US, up to 10 million females and
one million males suffer from ED. According to the Eating Disorders
Awareness and Prevention Organization, at least 50,000 individuals will die
directly as a result of this disorder (al-Korey p.54).
Causes
and Effects
One
of the interpretations the West gives to eating disorders is the need of some
women to defeminize. Parental attitude is also percieved as a significant
contributing factor to the disorder as some parents tend to consciously or
subconsciously interfere with their daughters’ attempts to establish normal
peer relations. The girl becomes torn between a fear of separation and the wish
to be accepted by her peers. The result is inconspicuous dieting, avoidance of
meals until the evening, eating ‘slimming foods’, regular fasting, etc.
An obsessional calorie count also develops, in addition to an intense interest
in food and cooking for others, but not eating herself (Lockie & Geddes
p.41).
Dr.
Horeya Ahmed, director of the Student Counselling Center at the American
University in Cairo describes anorexia: “It is an addictive behavior, it
snowballs…and the end of the line is death.” There can be extreme weight
loss of up to 40% below the desirable weight, decreased heart rate from a low
metabolic rate, anemia, rough dry scaly skin, low white blood cell count
increasing the risk of infection and hair loss due to poor nutrition (al-Korey
p.52). The sufferers become addicted to being thin, seeing it as a solution to
their problems: pressures at school, home, feelings of insecurity, low
self-esteem and the traumas of growing up. Adolescent girls may in
addition feel that they are losing control of their bodies as they start to
menstruate and develop a womanly shape. It becomes an attempt to turn back the
clock (Readers p.30).
Bulimia
is not directly fatal but eventually destroys the metabolism. Bulimics indulge
in binging and can consume up to 20,000 calories at a time. A sense of guilt
ensues and to ease their conscience, they vomit and take laxatives or diuretics.
A bulimic may look healthy, but a medical check-up will reveal internal damage
to organs, eventual tooth loss from the hydrochloric acid in the vomitus and
irregular heartbeats. This can lead to sudden death (al-Korey p.52, 53).
Crossing
the Cultural Divide
Dr.
Farouk Shaheen, director of the Nutrition Center in Cairo, gives two reasons why
Egypt has a low rate of eating disorders. “Islam provides comfort for a
troubled Muslim. Therefore it is not very common for a Muslim to undergo severe
psychiatric trauma.” The other reason stated was that in Egypt “a
person never feels alone, there is always family there to support and love that
person.” The small number of cases he has dealt with come from the
Egyptian upper class.
Dr
Horeya Ahmed, however, asserts that anorexia and bulimia are common in Egypt and
on the rise. She has dealt with several cases herself and continues to see more
and more patients (al-Korey p.53).
In
Mohammed Nassers’ comparative study published in the Psychological Medical
Journal, a sample of 420 15 year old students from El-Nile Secondary School in
Cairo showed an excessive concern about weight. There were 12 partial and 3 full
cases of bulimia nervosa. Nasser purports that the study confirms a morbid
eating pattern emerging in Egyptian society similar to that in the West. The
impact of Western values are easily transmitted as a global culture.
In
the disputed Palestinian and Jewish territories, five distinct Arab female
highschool populations (Muslim, Christian, Druze, Circassian and Bedouin) were
studied as well as a group of hospitalized adolescent girls with anorexia
nervosa. All the Arab populations except the Circassians had strong
Western influences in their attitude towards eating and body image (Shuriquie
p.2). It should be stressed, however, that living in a society whose existence
is continuously under threat is bound to affect all aspects of normal living
including elements of escapism.
The
modern image of women throws ideas into the heads of young girls depriving them
of the opporunity to discover for themselves their impending adulthood.
Non-Western cultural beliefs viewed plumpness as attractive and desirable, a
sign of prosperity, fertility and success. However as Andres Pumariegas’ 1986
study argues, the erosion of such beliefs is due to acculteration to the
mainstream American culture (Miller p.2). The shift of culture whether at home
or abroad is what is leading to the increased occurrence of ED. The fast
changing world, might not be what the doctor ordered after all!
Sources:
Read
Also:
