Keywords
eating disorders, Asian American women, race and eating patterns
Abstract
Eating disorders can be defined as a psychological illness that results in abnormal or disturbed eating patterns. The three common eating disorders diagnosed within the United States are anorexia, bulimia, and binge eating disorder. When analyzing the demographic distribution of individuals diagnosed with an eating disorder in America, it was shown that the subcategory of Asian American citizens had significantly lower amounts of data in comparison to other racial categories. This may be attributed to the fact that on average, Asian Americans are half as likely as Caucasian Americans to seek mental health services. Three main areas shown to have an influence on the development of an eating disorder are cultural, interpersonal, and societal. According to most data on the topic, Asian American women who live in a household that enforces traditional Asian culture standards are more likely to develop an eating disorder due to the conflict between Western culture and the Asian ideal of perfectionism. The risk is found to be higher if the relationship to the immediate family is strained or distant. In terms of societal influence, the hyper-sexualization of Asian women in the media may also have a detrimental impact on eating patterns. Because available data on this topic is scarce, further research would allow for a better understanding of the situation and enable the medical community to create more effective outreach methods for those suffering from an eating disorder.
Recommended Citation
Seipert, Shelby
(2024)
"An Examination of Eating Disorders Among Asian American Women,"
Intuition: The BYU Undergraduate Journal of Psychology: Vol. 16:
Iss.
2, Article 8.
Available at:
https://scholarsarchive.byu.edu/intuition/vol16/iss2/8