PRACTICAL RESEARCH

Submitted by:

DEO ANGELO D. ELUNA

G-12 JOHN DEWEY
 Eating Disorder

Problem:

1. What are the types of eating disorder prevalent in the Philippines?

2. What influences the eating disorder of the adolescents in the Philippines?

Introduction

Eating disorders are a dangerous, sometimes deadly, disease (Fairburn & Harrison,

2003). These conditions rely on a serious disturbance to normal eating habits, which affects the

physical and mental health of individuals (Fairburn & Harrison, 2003). The 3 most prominent

types of eating disorders recognised by the 'Diagnostic and Statistical Mental Disorders Manual'

(DSM) are anorexia nervosa (AN), bulimia nervosa (BN) and the newest suggested DSM5

diagnostic entity, 'binge eating disorder' (BED) (Hilbert, 2015). AN is known as the pursuit of

extreme weight loss, which can be further distinguished by extreme food selectivity, frequently

excluding fatty foods in their diet. AN has the highest mortality rate among all DSM disorders.

This is attributed not only to the adverse effects of customers' small weight, such as bone

cracking, epilepsy and cardiac disease, but also to increased suicide risk (Birmingham, Su,

Hlynsky, Goldner & Gao, 2005). The difference between AN and BN is that acute food

deprivation is disrupted by binge feeding episodes, accompanied by laxative or more frequently

self-induced purging (Fairburn and Harrison, 2003). These conditions are sometimes

characterized by signs of anxiety and depressive illnesses, such as decreased attention,

irritability and obsessive characteristics, with a subgroup including either drug abuse or self-

injury, and occasionally both (Fairburn and Harrison, 2003). BED is the most common ED, more

common than BN and AN combined (Guerdjikova, Mori, Casuto & McElroy, 2017). This

condition is characterized by often recurring binge feeding episodes combined with negative
psychosocial problems (Hilbert, 2015). These binge feeding episodes are unaccompanied by

subsequent purging, but normally accompany experiences of lack of control, embarrassment,

remorse and/or depression (Hilbert, 2015). 

Festinger's (1954) social comparison hypothesis helps demonstrate this in adolescents

[15]. According to this theory, when contrasting with others, people make self-evaluations.

When people equate themselves to someone they somehow consider superior (e.g., thinner,

more beautiful, more popular), they may come to see themselves negatively. Although teens

may understand that the models they see in the media are not credible role models, social

pressure may cause them to equate with photographs shared on social media (SM), leading to

poor satisfaction with their own bodies. The more they idealize thinness or other qualities, the

more they become disappointed with their measurement of what is called body beauty on SM.

Adolescents aged 13-18 in the Philippines ranked first in internet usage time, averaging

9 hours and 29 minutes every day, with SM usage time averaging 4 hours and 12 minutes ( We

Are Social Digital 2019: Global internet use accelerates) . According to a Kantar Media survey

(ABS-CBN News, 2017), SM affects when and what Filipinos consume. Surprisingly, it found

that 80% of Filipino adolescents aged 10-19 were SM consumers.

Additionally, Philippine teens are exposed to unhealthy food and drinks, including in their

schools and nearby areas (Kelly et al, 2015). Analyzing changes over a recent 17-year stretch

in the Philippines, the prevalence of obesity has risen sharply, and teenagers are no exception

to this trend (Adair et al., 2018). This trend makes teenagers vulnerable to their looks

uncomfortable with their body image. Many researches find evidence for an association

between body discomfort and pathological eating disorders (Rochelle & Hu, 2017).

Due to its subliminal influences, excessive use or overuse of SM can pose dangers,

particularly for teenagers, due to high usage rates. Adolescents must consider SM's unforeseen
consequences (Barry et al., 2017). SM's effects on wellbeing have not been thoroughly

researched, and no observational data has been gathered on SM's effect on eating attitudes,

body discontent, and pursuing thinness rather than fitness (De Vries et al., 2016). This is an

especially important concern for teenagers aged 13-18 in the Philippines due to their high

internet access period and concomitant vulnerability to multiple SM usage consequences.

 References

ABS CBN News [Internet], (2017). Septembr. 6. [cited 2019 June 11]. Business. Available

from: https://news.abs-cbn.com/business/09/06/17/social-media-now-a-player-in-

what-where-filipinos-eat-kantar-study.

Adair, LS, Duazo, P, & Borja, JB How overweight and obesity relate to the development of

functional limitations among Filipino women. Geriatrics, (2018). 3(4),

63. https://doi.org/10.3390/geriatrics3040063.

Barry, CT, Sidoti, CL, Briggs, SM, Reiter, SR, & Lindsey, RA Adolescent social media use

and mental health from adolescent and parent perspectives. Journal of Adolescence,

(2017). 61, 1-11. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.adolescence.2017.08.005.

Birmingham, C., Su, J., Hlynsky, J., Goldner, E., & Gao, M. (2005). The mortality rate from

anorexia nervosa. International Journal Of Eating Disorders, 38(2), 143-146. doi:

10.1002/eat.20164

De Vries, DA, Peter, J, de Graaf, H, & Nikken, P Adolescents' social network site use, peer

appearance-related feedback, and body dissatisfaction: Testing a mediation

model. Journal of Youth and Adolescence, (2016). 45(1), 211-

224. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10964-015-0266-4.

Fairburn, C., & Harrison, P. (2003). Eating disorders. The Lancet, 361(9355), 407-416. doi:

10.1016/s0140-6736(03)12378-1
Festinger, L A theory of social comparison processes. Human Relations, (1954). 7(2), 117-

140. https://doi.org/10.1177/001872675400700202.

Guerdjikova, A., Mori, N., Casuto, L., & McElroy, S. (2017). Binge Eating Disorder.

Psychiatric Clinics Of North America, 40(2), 255-266. doi: 10.1016/j.psc.2017.01.003

Hilbert, A. (2015). Binge-Eating Disorder. Encyclopedia Of Feeding And Eating Disorders,

1-5. doi: 10.1007/978-981-287-087-2_47-1

Kelly, B, King, L, Jamiyan, B, Chimedtseren, N, Bold, B, Medina, VM, et al Density of

outdoor food and beverage advertising around schools in Ulaanbaatar (Mongolia)

and Manila (The Philippines) and implications for policy. Critical Public Health,

(2015). 25(3), 280-290. https://doi.org/10.1080/09581596.2014.940850.

Rochelle, T, & Hu, WY Media influence on drive for thinness, body satisfaction, and eating

attitudes among young women in Hong Kong and China. Psychology, Health

and Medicine, (2017). 22(3), 310-318. https://doi.org/10.1080/13548506.2016.1226507.

We Are Social Digital 2019: Global internet use accelerates [Internet], NY: We Are Social.

(2019). January. 30. [cited 2019 June 11]. Available

from: https://wearesocial.com/blog/2019/01/digital-2019-global-internet-use-

accelerates.