Currently, the effects of social media on ones mental health is heavily debated, especially its correlations to the rise in eating disorder cases worldwide. As of 2019, the prevalence of eating disorders has risen from 3.5 percent of the world population to 7.8 percent (Body Image and Eating Disorders). The most common age for eating disorder onset is 18-21 (Rehman), however, there has been a 42% rise in women over 35 seeking treatment (Howard), and a 119% rise in children under 12 in inpatient care for eating disorders (Pike), both in the last decade. Generally, the amount of inpatient admissions for treatment has more than doubled (Body Image and Eating Disorders). There are three most common types of eating disorders that will be discussed; anorexia nervosa, bulimia nervosa, and binge eating disorder. Anorexia is caused by a psychological rejection of food (Forgacs et al.), leading to a weight loss of 15-60% of the patients body weight (Zoltan). Individuals with Bulimia consume large amounts of food, then attempt to eliminate it by self-induced vomiting, otherwise known as purging (Forgacs et al.). These two variations of disordered eating are extremely dangerous since they often lead to the malnourishment of the body, which can cause dangerously low levels of blood pressure and in the worst ca
ses, heart failure (Howard). Analogous to bulimia, in cases of binge eating disorders, large amounts of food are consumed during a binge often associated with feelings of guilt, but there is no behavior of purging afterward (Zoltan). BEDs can be related to obesity, equally as dangerous, and is also commonly referred to as a repeated and more extreme form of emotional eating. Although significantly more women struggle with disordered eating than men, the illness is often diagnosed much later in men and is, therefore, more deadly (Rehman). Additionally, BIPOC, people in the LGBTQ community, people with disabilities, people in larger bodies, athletes, veterans, substance abusers, people who have other mental illnesses, and people who have traumatic experiences are all more likely to develop eating disorders than the average woman (Statistics and Research on Eating Disorders) (Eating Disorder Statistics). The United States has 30 out of 70 million of the current reported cases globally, however, it is estimated that the actual number of total cases is much higher, especially in other countries, due to a lack of resources, treatment, and overwhelming stigma (Body Image and Eating Disorders). Over 70 percent of individuals who suffer from disordered eating do not seek treatment because of stigma (Pike).