Blaming the parents for an eating disorder is like blaming parents for asthma or childhood diabetes. That’s what Allan Kaplan, M.D. says, Chair of the Eating Disorders Department at the University of Toronto and Past President of the Eating Disorder Research Society.
He made that statement last year in response to fashion model Gisele Bundchen stating that unsupportive families cause anorexia nervosa. Kaplan says there’s no such scientific evidence. What the research has figured out is that anorexia nervosa is more complex than simply wanting to reach some ideal slim image.
He thought Bundchen’s accusation caused harm because it perpetuate misconceptions and further stigmatized eating disorders. Truth be known, most parents are working hard for their child’s recovery – no matter the age of the child.
Dr. Kaplan’s research is studying which genes contribute to anorexia (so I suppose in the very broad sense you could blame the parents for anorexia as well as the color of your eyes or hair). Funded through the National Institute of Mental Health, the research is studying families with a history of anorexia nervosa at 10 points throughout the world.
It’s true that many people in our culture are concerned with weight and diet and there are many social pressures to be thin. Even so, less that half of 1 percent of all women develop anorexia which tells us that it can’t be social pressure by itself.
On the other hand, genes do seem to play an important part.
Anorexia is a serious and for some a lethal illness. Characterized by the relentless pursuit of being thin, and the obsessive fear of gaining weight, anorexia commonly begins during adolescence. However, it can rear its ugly head just about any time in your lifetime. Dr. Kaplan says that personality traits such as perfectionism and anxiety are usually in place during childhood before anorexia appears.
Obviously all the factors influencing eating disorders need to be explored. Finding ways to prevent people from developing these personality traits, regardless of whether the influences are genetic or environmental, need to be initiated at the same time.
Demonstrating a genetic component to anorexia is significant and eliminating the myths demonstrates that there’s much more research to be done.
Out of curiosity, have you heard people accuse their parents or someone else parents for someone’s anorexic condition? Scroll down to the blank window and tell us what happened and if you remembered how you responded.
To your successful self image,
Ruthan Brodsky
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