Women majorly affected by eating disorder, says study

New Delhi: A new research has found that women are majorly affected by the eating disorder that causes abnormal eating habits and negatively affects a person's physical or mental health.

Disruptions in the eating behaviour may not necessarily be motivated by the drive for pursuit of thinness or any distortion of body image, but rather gender expectations and pressures from a culturally dominated society.

In addition, the media plays a significant role in further influencing the minds of the spectators by floating unattainable images of the body unnecessarily, as mentioned in the research, which was published in the journal Eating Disorders.

"It is important to stress that the study does not work on the assumption that issues concerning gender identity are only relevant to the experience and treatment of eating disorders in girls and women," said Su Holmes, researcher at the University of East Anglia in Norwich, the UK.

"The focus on how eating -- and body distress -- may be used to negotiate dominant ideas about gender and sexuality is similarly applicable to male patients, as well as gender minorities, even whilst the cultural constructions at stake may be different."

The researchers examined female participants, aged between 19 and 51 years, over 10 weeks. All the participants were diagnosed with anorexia, a type of eating disorder in which people avoid eating to maintain a low body weight.

The results derived that people who are diagnosed with eating behaviours act as passive victims of various influences like media and society, in most cases.

(With IANS inputs)