The Fear of Fat Criterion Within the DSM IV Essay example -- anorexia n

As our society is bombarded with the images of manufactured beauty and thinness, conversations increasingly center on dieting and personify dissatisfaction. The media advertises weight loss products in the form of pills, drinks, surgery, fitness equipment and support groups to mold individuals into the proposed ideal form. This evidence alone suggests a strong case for the possibility of a pathological fear of fat. Is this fear, however, the driving force behind all cases of anorexia nervosa and bulimia? According to the DSM IV, the fear of gaining weight is essential for these diagnoses to be make. Strong arguments have been made both in favor and against modifying the existing criteria to allow for the diagnosis and treatment of individuals, regardless of whether or not a fat phobia is present. Is it culturally deadened to retain this particular criterion, a fear of gaining weight, if a patient has not been exposed to the same cultural pressures and orientation towards being thin? Although western finishing is thought to be the dominant culture, because of power and economics, non-western cultures make up eighty percent of the worlds population (Lee, 1995). Many of these sub-dominant cultures are present in the melting pot of the modern United States. Are these non-Westernized individuals being denied the necessary treatments and interventions merely because a fear of gaining weight is not expressed? Such a strong focus on body dissatisfaction may cause one to overlook or disregard the pressures of societal systems, such as immigration or poverty, on the mental and physical well being of an individual. If fat phobia is indeed a culturally constructed definition of anorexia nervosa, it la... ...ternational Journal of Eating Disorders, 17, 175-183. King, M.B., & Bhugra, D. (1989). Eating disorders Lessons from a cross-cultural study. Psychological Medicine, 19, 955-958. Lake, A.J. Staiger, P.K., & Glowinski, H. (2000). E ffect of Western Culture on Womens Attitudes to Eating and Perceptions of Body Shape. International Journal of Eating Disorders, 27, 83-89. Lee, S. (1993). How abnormal is the desire for thinness? A survey of eating attitudes and behaviour among Chinese undergraduates in Hong Kong. Psychological Medicine, 23, 437-451. Lee, S. (1995). Self-starvation in context Towards a culturally sensitive understanding of anorexia nervosa. Social light and Medicine, 41, 25-36. Thompson, J.K. & Altabe, M.N (1991). Psychometric qualities of the figure rating scale. International Journal of Eating Disorders, 10, 615-619.