Written by: Hamin Park
Artwork by: Jihwan Lee
You may have experienced looking in the mirror, realizing you may have gained some weight, and deciding to go on a diet: restricting calories and exercising more often. A healthy weight loss plan can be highly beneficial however, strict dieting often causes individuals to develop habits of eating disorders. What makes this extremely dangerous is the thin line between diets and eating disorders. You don’t necessarily realize the signs of eating disorders in your daily life until things get out of hand.
Common misconceptions about eating disorders
Eating disorders are not treated as seriously as other illnesses, such as depressive disorders, psychotic disorders, or anxiety disorders, due to the lack of awareness. An eating disorder is “categorized by a loss of self-control and an inability to think and behave rationally” since it is a mental illness. Active discussion is a must in order to spread awareness of the deadly costs of eating disorders and to break down myths surrounding the subject.
When it comes to eating disorders, people usually think of anorexia nervosa, characterized by severely low body weight, fear of food, and habits of starving. Some may also believe that anorexia is the only serious eating disorder that requires medical treatment. However, eating disorders can be developed in various forms and habits such as:
-Avoidant or Restrictive Food Intake Disorder: Individuals with this disorder experience disturbed eating due to either a lack of interest in eating or a distaste for certain smells, tastes, colors, textures, or temperatures.
-Anorexia nervosa: As the most well-known type of eating disorder, anorexia nervosa includes symptoms such as very restricted eating patterns and the intense fear of gaining weight or persistent behaviors to avoid gaining weight, despite being underweight. Body dysmorphia is closely related to Anorexia, causing a person to lose weight due to a distorted body image.
-Bulimia nervosa: Individuals with bulimia purge after consuming excessive amounts of food to remove the calories consumed and to relieve gut discomfort.
-Binge eating disorder: People with binge eating disorders do not limit calorie consumption. They consume large amounts of food rapidly, sometimes to the point
where they feel uncomfortably full (Alina).
The direct causes of eating disorders still remain a conundrum. Since eating disorders are categorized as a mental illness, you may think of them simply as an “unhealthy diet habit”. This leads to the common misconception that eating disorders are developed by choice and is something people can easily snap out of. It is known that 90% of eating disorders are caused by unhealthy diet habits however, recent studies show that certain genetic factors may also have an impact. Molecular genetics suggests that “greater than 50 percent of the variance in liability to eating disorders and disordered eating behaviors can be accounted for by additive genetic effects. The remaining variance appears to be due to unique rather than common environmental effects” (Wade).
Cultural norms and trends in Korea
Contrary to the common perception that eating disorders and Western concepts are influenced by Western beauty standards, eating disorders can be developed in many different environments by various factors. For instance, in Korea, many teens deal with eating disorders due to social norms and trends.
Mukbangs, which translate to “eating shows” is extremely popular in Korea. Hosts consume large amounts of different food while interacting with the viewers. However, studies find that “watching mukbang videos can trigger and reinforce disordered eating behaviors such as binge eating or purging behaviors (Gustafsson)”. Consuming excessive amounts of food at once, and imitating the mukbangers, can potentially lead to developing eating disorder habits.
The K-pop (Korean pop music culture) scene has perpetuated the “thin ideal” phenomenon, causing young adults to instill unrealistic beauty standards to achieve their idols’ appearance and body image. The standards set by the K-pop industry are extremely toxic as many celebrities follow extreme diet methods that include starvation and excessive exercise. Popular looks include “chopsticks legs” or “lollipop head,” a big head fronted with a cute face and Westernized eyes on top of stick-thin legs (Nancy)”.
When a diet becomes an eating disorder, it can be extremely difficult to break the unhealthy cycle. I encourage you to look after yourself, cherish your body, and maintain a balanced relationship with food, before having to deal with the crippling costs of eating disorders. Always remember, there is no one food that is more harmful than an eating disorder.
Works Cited
Fabello, Melissa. “Five Subtle Differences between Diets and Anorexia.” Everyday Feminism, 22 Aug. 2013, everydayfeminism.com/2013/04/five-differences-between-diets-and-anorexia/.
Petre, Alina. “Learn about 6 Common Types of Eating Disorders and Their Symptoms.” Healthline, Healthline Media, 18 May 2022, www.healthline.com/nutrition/common-eating-disorders.
Berrettini, Wade. “The Genetics of Eating Disorders.” Psychiatry (Edgmont (Pa. : Township)), Matrix Medical Communications, Nov. 2004, www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3010958/.
Strand, M., Gustafsson, S. A. (2020). Mukbang and disordered eating: a netnographic analysis of online eating broadcasts. Culture, Medicine, and Psychiatry, 44:4.
Matsumoto, Nancy. (2014). How the Asian pop culture boom is feeding eating disorders. Psychology Today .https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/eating-disorders-news/201409/how-the-asian-pop-culture-boom-is-feeding-eating-disorders
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