How disordered eating can impact society

Identify and address specific multicultural and diversity factors and considerations including gender, cultural diversity, socioeconomic status, and sexual orientation for this population. The population is youth with a focus on disordered eating.

Diet and nutrition have become a very contentious issue around the world. For one, rising populations are placing pressures on countries to ensure an adequate supply of nutritional food products. However, rising inflation, lower crop yields, and global warming have all inhibited the ability of many countries to keep up with rising demand. For shortages in certain countries combined with unhealthy eating habits in wealthier nations have contributed heavily to disordered eating. Within poor countries, the inability to access food in the quantities needed can difficult, particularly those with low socio-economic status. Here, the inability to afford high quality food, combined with a severe lack of access can contribute heavily to disordered eating. Many nations in Africa and certain parts of Latin America suffer from this phenomenon. Likewise, wealthy nations often have the issue of convenience goods and products which are plentiful but unhealthy. Here convenience items such sugary soft drinks, fast food restaurants, and vending machines all contribute to do disordered eating. This is particularly acute for children who are highly susceptible to suggestive marketing campaigns designed to engrain certain brands within a child’s mind. Here, these factors often contribute to demand on the part of children to indulge in disordered eating (Buser, 2010).

Cultural diversity and socioeconomic status, even in developed markets also has a large role in disordered eating habits. For one, minority households tend to have certain dietary habits that could cause health concerns for youth later in life. Certain communities, for example, have diets high in fried food which contains large amounts of sodium and unhealthy fat. These dietary habits, combined with a sedentary lifestyle often causes health concerns for minority youth. These health concerns can include high blood pressure, a higher risk of obesity, a higher risk of stroke or even heart attack in later years. Obesity, particularly for at risk youth, can also lead to other indirect consequences such as depression, lack of social skills, or a higher susceptibility to bullying. All of these elements are negative to the overall development of youth within developed nations.

Disordered eating can also have implications for the overall development of youth going forward. By establishing unhealthy habits so young, it will be difficult for youth to break these habits as they become older. This in turn, could create issues for overall society. For example, unhealthy lifestyles can often be linked to lower productivity in the workforce, higher absenteeism, and higher healthcare costs. From a socioeconomic perspective, these consequences can undermine the overall economic wellbeing of members in society due primarily to poor eating habits established during youth. Further, the expenses associated with regulating the overall industry to ensure the youth are eating proper and nutritious diets can also be a cost to society (Massey-Stokes, 2000).