26 Potential Causes And Risk Factors Of Eating Disorders

It's only "common sense" to suppose some identified risk factors actually do increase the risk of eating disorders. But some of the factors commonly blamed for eating disorders have little or no bearing on the disease.

Age

Anyone at any age can develop an eating disorder. However, eating disorders most commonly begin at puberty through young adulthood, up to about age 25.

Being naturally thin

People who are thin without making any effort to diet are at increased risk for developing eating disorders because they are praised for their thinness.

Body dissatisfaction

Not feeling good about one’s body increases the risk of binge eating and bulimia nervosa, but not anorexia nervosa. Many people who have anorexia nervosa feel good about their super-thin bodies.

Borderline personality disorder (BPD)

People who live with BPD generally have issues with fears of abandonment and impulse control. They may deprive themselves of food as a means of self-injury or even as a suicide attempt. They may find temporary relief in feeling "more than full" and engage in binge eating. About 25 percent of people who live with anorexia nervosa and 28 percent of people who live with bulimia nervosa are also challenged by BPD.

Depression

Depression often precedes the development of binge-eating disorder in both males and females.

Difficulty getting along with family, friends, and peers

Researchers don’t know whether difficulty getting along with family, friends, and peers predicts anorexia nervosa or that anorexia nervosa predicts difficulty getting along with family, friends, and peers.

Early puberty

Precocious puberty increases the likelihood of both anorexia nervosa and bulimia nervosa.

Excessive intermittent fasting

Intermittent fasting once or twice a week can benefit health, but all kinds of eating disorders are made more likely by fetishizing or obsessing about intermittent fasting.

Exercise

Regular exercise is not a risk factor for eating disorders, but excessive exercise is a risk factor for anorexia, bulimia, and binge-eating disorder.

Family history

People who have a mother, father, sister, brother, or grandparent who has an eating disorder are more likely to develop their own eating disorder.

Functional impairment

People who live with physical disabilities are more likely to engage in purging behaviors (self-induced vomiting, abuse of laxatives and diuretics).

History of overeating

People who have a history of overeating are more likely to develop binge-eating disorder or bulimia nervosa.

Life transitions

Many people develop eating disorders as they attempt to cope with major transitions in life, such as the divorce of parents, moving to a new town, major changes in income, the end of a relationship (particularly the end of a first love), failing at school or on the job, or succeeding and moving up at school or on the job. Incest, sexual assault, and violence may also trigger an eating disorder, as can the experience of involuntary starvation.

Low body mass index (BMI)

No personal characteristic is more tightly connected to the risk of developing anorexia than an already-low BMI (weight for height).

Low birth weight

People who were born with low birth weight or who were born prematurely are more likely to develop eating disorders later in life.

Meal struggles at age six

People who had conflicts with their parents over eating at mealtime at age six are more likely to develop anorexia nervosa as teenagers.

Misguided coaching and bad training decisions

Young athletes whose performance class is determined by weight try to be at the highest weight allowed in the lowest possible weight class. Some athletes are pressured by their coaches to eat less and drink less to make a lower competitive weight, and some athletes make these decisions on their own. Gymnasts, dancers, and actors also may restrict food to lose weight and then lose control over the habit.

Negative affect

Constant expression of negative emotions and poor self-image predict all of the eating disorders. There is no disorder of eating that is not related to negative affect.

Parental separation

Researchers have found that parental separation is not a factor in developing bulimia nervosa.

Peer dieting

Children and teens whose peers diet are no more likely than any others do develop eating disorders. Peer dieting behavior has no significant effect on the development of eating disorders.

Perfectionism, interpersonal distrust, and fears about growing up

Surprisingly, researchers have found that these personality characteristics do not increase the likelihood of bulimia nervosa. It is still possible to develop bulimia with these personality characteristics. It is just not more likely than normal.

Positive experience with dieting

Young people who lose weight after calorie-restricted dieting and receive praise for looking good are more likely to develop eating disorders.

Psychological issues

Eating disorders may cause or they may be complicated by pre-existing anxiety, depression, obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD), body image dysphoria, and/or substance abuse.

Social media

Exposure to photos and reports of fun activities by thin people on social media increase the risk for anorexia nervosa, binge-eating disorder, and purging, and also increase the risk of developing purging behavior.

Teasing experiences

Teasing greatly increases the likelihood of binge eating in males.