It is becoming a common assumption that eating disorders can result from discorded family relations. National Eating Disorders Association has launched a claim that if there are no clearly set boundaries between parents and children, children may experience the feeling of lack of control over their lives. Because of that, they try to control their eating habits, which then gives them a sense of control over at least that one thing in their lives.
Studies show that between one and two-thirds of patients with eating disorders have had a history of sexual or other abuse. That way abuse has about the same influence on eating disorders as on other psychiatric problems. However, there are many cases where abuse is a direct cause of eating disorders because many patients intentionally or do not starve themselves to lose sexual attractiveness.
Many individuals develop eating disorders as a result of loss of self-esteem caused by a failure at school or some competition. The reason for this is that many teenagers can perceive failure as personal worthlessness and then they try to improve themselves by controlling or limiting their eating. Not being able to achieve a perfect body image can severely damage their health.
One not-so-common eating disorder about which few people know is orthorexia. The problem is that the patient with this disorder has an obsession with a pure diet. The problem does not threaten their physical health so much as their mental health and the quality of their lives. The patients spend a lot of time and money trying to eat only healthy food which makes them feel special.