Eating Disorders Across Cultures

A great deal of research on eating disorders and body image focuses on middle and upper class Caucasians living in America or under the Western ideals and influences. Many researchers, however, are realizing that eating disorders are not isolated to this particular group. They are studying gender differences and cross-cultural variation, as well as variation within cultures. Indeed, religion, social coping methods, family life, and socio-economic status all have an impact on the way that eating disorders manifest. These characteristics all vary within and among cultures making eating disorders complex problems to understand.

Among western cultures, eating disorders are not just about thinness or fatness. The anorexic’s “intense fear of gaining weight or becoming fat is not a fear of fat itself, but of embodying the values of her culture associated with fatness” (Ruelle, 2004, p.3). Ruelle also explains that the relationship between culture and eating disorders “among Western people, slimness has come to symbolize not only attractiveness but also self-control, youth, and efficiency in both social and work-related domains. By contrast, fatness connotes ugliness, shame, and even sin” (Ruelle, 2004, p.3).

When researchers consider body image and eating problems in American women, they also “take account of social-cultural factors and factors of oppression, such as racism and sexism” (Carlisle, 2000). One extensive study compared Black women living in different western countries, Africa, and in the Caribbean and took into account several considerations from the social contexts mentioned above to analyze and reach an understanding about the black woman’s perception of body image. They found that black women overall prefer a more voluptuous body shape which is associated with wealth, stature, and fitness in their cultures (Carlisle, 2000). This study shows how perceptions of body image differ between African American and Caucasian women. African American women tend to be happier with themselves and have a higher self esteem. Studies emphasize that there are different cultural constraints and body image ideals according to different ethnic groups. This is not to say that African American women, compared to those from other ethnics groups, experience greater socially acceptance when they have rounder figures. Indeed, the idea of beauty as thinness has become increasingly more universal across ethnic groups, including African-American, Caucasian, Latina, and Asian women.

Similarly, studies have shown that gender differences in the concept of body image and prevalence of eating disorders tend to be consistent across culture. Females generally tend to report greater body dissatisfaction and eating disorders than do males. In addition, it is more culturally accepted for a female to strive to be thin. In contrast, males are more likely than females to struggle with desires to be bigger, better toned, and more muscular (Davis, 1998).