Myths and Eating Disorders: Eating Disorders Are All About Looks

“They are hell and very misunderstood. I do not have one because I want to be thin or copy a model.” – a woman diagnosed with anorexia nervosa on eating disorders

There tends to be a misconception that eating disorders are caused by vanity – that they are a narcissistic preoccupation with being thin.

In a way, it’s understandable how people reach this conclusion: media coverage of eating disorders tends to focus either on the fluctuating weights of celebrities or rare instances in which someone has become emaciated as a result of an eating disorder. One only has to flick through a handful of popular women’s magazines to find these representations. Certain publications have also used the classic (and inaccurate term) “the slimming disease” to describe eating disorders.

Body size can be a concern of people with eating disorders, but the root causes of eating disorders are usually not centred around concerns of weight or appearance – although that may be where negative feelings are projected.

US eating disorder charity The Joy Project says:

“There is a very important distinction between ‘vanity’ and the goals of someone with an eating disorder… an eating disordered person is often motivated by the fear of being something awful. They are not trying to reach a state of ‘perfect.’ Rather, they are trying to reach a state where there is nothing about them that makes them vulnerable to ridicule or harsh judgment by others.”

Eating disorder recovery blogger Arielle Lee Bair says:

“Eating disorders are mental illnesses. People do not choose eating disorders, nor do they turn to eating disorders purely to look better or thinner. Eating disorders are unique to each individual: everyone’s eating disorder and reasons for developing one are different.”

So, why do people get eating disorders if they aren’t solely caused by a motivation to be thin? EDucation asked the question “Why did your eating disorder develop?” to a number of people in recovery.

Here are their responses:

How do you feel about the misconception that eating disorders are a form of vanity? What is your response to the true reasons behind eating disorders?