Eating Disorders: South African Schools

Eating Disorders in South African Schools: A Public Health Crisis

• This journal issue highlights the need for interventions to promote positive body image in young South African women from diverse backgrounds.
• South Africa's multicultural society sees body image dissatisfaction due to Western cultural influences that extend beyond traditionally "Western" communities.
• Western culture emphasizes thinness, an unrealistic goal for most that can lead to negative psychological effects.
• Women who struggle to achieve a thin ideal often develop a negative body image, defined as dissatisfaction with their perceived body size and feelings.
• According to a recent national survey, most young South African women aged 10-14 have a negative body image.
• 68% and 17% of the girls surveyed considered themselves overweight and believed their actual BMI was higher than their ideal BMI.
• 17% had attempted to lose weight, with some using extreme measures like food restriction and excessive exercise.
• The Jewish population makes up a small percentage (0.2%, or 75,000) of South Africa, with most residing in urban areas like Johannesburg where Western culture is popular.
• The Jewish group struggles with the same stereotypes, like the idealization of thinness.
• In a study of students in grades 8-11 attending a "traditional" Jewish high school in Johannesburg, 33% believed they were overweight, and 64% had tried to lose weight.
• 19.1% of these students used extreme weight-loss methods, like food restriction and binge eating.
• Eating disorder prevalence among these students was high at 20%, comparable to rates among White adolescent girls in South Africa and internationally.
• According to a study, educators seemed unaware of how much eating-related issues affected female learners and underestimated the problem.
• Eating disorders in the Jewish community are made more complicated by the contrast between Western culture's idealization of thinness and Jewish traditions where food is important.
• Young women committed to Jewish food traditions but want to be thin may be more likely to develop eating disorders than their non-Jewish peers.
• Societal and psychological factors may push women of Jewish descent to strive for unrealistic appearances.
• Body image dissatisfaction and distortion are becoming increasingly common.
• Higher levels of religiosity in the Jewish community may protect young women from body dissatisfaction and disordered eating behaviors.
• High religiosity is linked to less emphasis on physical attractiveness and external achievements for women.
• Research indicates that lower rates of eating disorders are observed in adult Israelis born to parents from Muslim countries and second-generation Israelis, mostly of European ancestry, despite exposure to Westernized norms.
• Community closeness and strong cultural and religious traditions may protect against negative body image and eating disorders in these communities.
• Interventions are needed to help young women develop their ethnic and religious identities to combat the increasing problem of self-hate and eating disorders.
• The goal should be to encourage young women to aim for a healthy BMI between 20-25 kg/m².
• Education should begin in schools and extend to communities and homes.
• Young women should be taught to "normalize" their eating habits and avoid being preoccupied with "dieting."
• They should also increase physical activity, rather than focusing solely on "exercise" because the terms "dieting" and "exercise” have a negative image in the community.