Assignment #12

There are many different determinants that can affect an illness or public health problem. These determinants can be classified into biological, social, environmental, economic, and political. The biological determinants of anorexia are much more important than many people think. A person with a family member that has anorexia, whether a parent or sibling, are at an increased risk of 12 times to develop anorexia and these biological factors contribute to approximately 56% of the increased risk. Social determinants are arguably the largest category of determinants because the pressures to be thin come from social pressures. Often parents pressure their children to be thin and be the best they can be if they participate in activities such as ballet, gymnastics, or modeling. It can also come from parents who criticize their children or their children’s looks. Social pressures of school can also have a large impact on anorexia. A need to want to be the best and be perfect often leads teenagers down the road to anorexia. Stressful events such as a parents’ divorce, a breakup, or the onset of puberty can often trigger anorexia or push a teen over the edge into anorexia. Ethnicity also matters although it is not a large factor. Indian girls and Caucasian girl are more likely to be anorexic than African-American girls. It does affect African-American girls although it is much less common.

Environmental determinants often depend on where and how a person was raised. If a person was raised in a wealthy city environment then they are exposed to the other factors that I mentioned earlier. If they are raised in a lower class family that lives outside the city they are much less likely to be exposed to these factors and therefore at a lower risk for anorexia. Economic determinants also play a role in anorexia, but they are very closely related to the environmental determinants. The more money a person has the more likely they are to be exposed to these factors. But if a person has more money they are also much more able to pay for treatment after a person has been diagnosed and are also more likely to get a diagnosis in the first place. Treatment for anorexia is very expensive and often very difficult to pay for and if you are wealthy you are able to afford these expensive treatments. But this can also be a problem because people who are anorexic are often in denial and will deny treatment and forcing them into treatment can be to the dislike of the patient. Political determinants are very few because there are very few laws concerning anorexia and laws do not affect anorexia. Social factors are much more prevalent than political factors in this case.

http://www.mentalhelp.net/poc/view_doc.php?type=doc&id=11748&cn=46

http://helpguide.org/mental/anorexia_signs_symptoms_causes_treatment.htm