Sticks and Stones can break my Bones

Nancy Salvato

My initial reaction to the news of a genetic component that predisposes particular people toward anorexia was dismissive; Junk Science! Reflecting on possible causes for the disorder, I immediately attributed it to our culture. I figured the disorder is probably not prevalent in countries where food isn’t so readily available. I can’t imagine in a part of the world where the inhabitants subsist on genetically altered rice and powdered milk, too many people paying attention to the Atkin’s Diet. Whereas, in affluent societies, a person can walk into any bookstore and on the cover of every fashion magazine is likely to be a beautiful, scantily clad woman. She is considered ideal, not because of what is between her ears but rather a reflection of her physical characteristics.

Sadly, this Goddess like creature is not an honest portrayal of what most girls face when gazing upon oneself in a mirror. Whether its one zit or one hundred, grey hairs or wrinkles, there is always a flaw revealing its presence. No matter how stunning, any member of the female sex can find something to criticize on her body at a moment’s notice. She will never be the vision of perfection that nags at her dream self. How could it be considered surprising to find so many girls compulsive in their eating habits; not eating in front of people, eating and binging, not eating at all? Or on the flipside; eating, then hating oneself, eating and exercising for half the day, and never just enjoying food without guilt. I just didn’t buy into the notion that it could be anything other than the barrage of messages aimed at the female sex suggesting that girls need to look perfect; driving a person to a food disorder, “Nip & Tuck, or stomach staple.

Nevertheless, researching, I discovered countless images of anorexics; literally skeletons with skin, and many depictions of an anorexic literally starving his or herself because (hypothetically, there might be too much serotonin in the brain producing anxiety) by cutting off the food supply, a sense of calm and control ensues. I found that anorexics are not just female. According to the author of Males and Eating Disorders: Research, “Eating disorders in males are clinically similar to, if not indistinguishable from, eating disorders in females.” Further, “Conflict over gender identity or over sexual orientation may precipitate the development of an eating disorder in many males. It may be that by reducing their sexual drive through starvation, patients can temporarily resolve their sexual conflicts.”
(http://72.14.203.104/search?q=cache:hjKpXXA9EgAJ:www.nationaleatingdisorders.org/nedaDir/files/documents/handouts/MalesRes.pdf+anorexic+men+compared+to+women&hl=en&gl=us&ct=clnk&cd=4)

Anorexics aren’t always in their teens or older. According to a Newsweek article, Fighting Anorexia: No One to Blame, “Researchers, clinicians and mental-health specialists say they're seeing the age of their youngest anorexia patients decline to 9 from 13.” (http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/10219756/site/newsweek/)

Then how do genetics play a role? The author, Peg Tyre found that,

Doctors now compare anorexia to alcoholism and depression, potentially fatal diseases that may be set off by environmental factors such as stress or trauma, but have their roots in a complex combination of genes and brain chemistry. In other words, many kids are affected by pressure-cooker school environments and a culture of thinness promoted by magazines and music videos, but most of them don't secretly scrape their dinner into the garbage.

As I continued reading, I concluded that the scariest symptom of anorexia is that,

Anorexics are often delusional. They can be weak with hunger while they describe physical sensations of overfullness that make it physically uncomfortable for them to swallow. They hear admonishing voices in their heads when they do manage to choke down a few morsels. They exercise compulsively, and even when they can count their ribs, their image in the mirror tells them to lose more.

Although my initial inclination was to dismiss any genetic component to anorexia and attribute it to a compulsive, unhealthy reaction to society’s message that “thin is beautiful”, apparently I was only partially correct in my assumption of the cause. While, “Children predisposed to eating disorders are uniquely sensitive to media messages about dieting and health,” like alcoholics and drug addicts whose bodies demand more of the chemical creating their “high”, anorexics have a genetic disposition toward addiction, as well. In their case, not eating creates a sense of calm and control. It is my hope that if scientists can isolate a gene which inclines an anorexic toward addiction, that they can also isolate the genes which predispose other addictions so that our children can grow up and realize their dreams.

Copyright © Nancy Salvato 2006

Nancy Salvato is the President of The Basics Project, (www.Basicsproject.org) a non-profit, non-partisan research and educational project whose mission is to promote the education of the American public on the basic elements of relevant political, legal and social issues important to our country. She is also a Staff Writer, for the New Media Alliance, Inc., a non-profit (501c3) coalition of writers and grass-roots media outlets, where she contributes on matters of education policy.

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Nancy Salvato is an Independent Contractor with Prism Educational Consulting. A teacher, she has worked with students ranging from preschool through college. Her credentials are in History, Language Arts, and Early Childhood Education. Nancy serves as the 6th Congressional District Coordinator with the Center for Civic Education, the Education Liaison for Illinois Senator Ray Soden, and is a member of the DROE Strategic Planning Process to Promote a Countywide Community of Learning. Nancy is currently developing a Constitutional Literacy Program which the DROE hopes to pilot upon completion. Her columns can be found in American Daily, The Common Voice, Education News, GOP-USA, Opinion Editorials, TheRant.us and The Washington Dispatch. She has been published in The Washington Times, Townhall.com, Iconoclast, & Free Republic Network, as well as other nationally and internationally published media outlets.

civicedu.60515@comcast.net