Eating disorders (TCA) and their relationship with social networks in adolescents

Adolescence is a stage characterized by drastic changes in a person's life. Young people form the pillars of their own identity, while they seek to differentiate themselves from their adult references and be understood by their peers. In the Internet era, social networks have proven to be an important contributing factor to the contraction of eating disorders (TCA), especially in young people traveling through adolescence.

In this article we will tell you what you can do to contribute to stop this massive TCA contraction, which day by day seems to increase.

Content

• What are the TCA?
• Disorders of eating and adolescence behavior
• Social networks, a factor that favors the appearance of a TCA?
•  How to help a teenager suffering from a TCA?
• Conclusion
  • References

What are the TCA?

Serious conditions related to food intake, which affect health and can lead to important consequences of not receiving a correct treatment in time. Thus we could define eating disorders. Needless to say, their impact is not noticeable only because of visible changes at the body level, the people who suffer from them also have emotional imbalance and may suffer damage to vital organs, such as the heart.

In general, TCA imply obsessive care in weight and what types of foods consume. With a distortion in the way of perceiving their own body image, people with eating disorders do not see the mirror objectively their body, they are usually self -examinating people with low self -esteem who suffer from these conditions.

The most renowned TCAs are anorexia nervosa and bulimia, which imply a great fear of weight gain. In anorexia, food intake is dangerously restricted and too exercise is performed, in bulimia periods are generally given that then lead to binge and subsequent purges by vomiting or the intake of laxatives. However, there are many more disorders of this type such as vigorexia, which implies an obsessive perception of weakness in the body, leading to extreme exercise routines and steroid intake to increase muscle mass or orthorexia, an obsession for eating in way healthy, which usually leads to avoid important food groups and, subsequently, malnutrition.

Disorders of eating and adolescence behavior

Adolescence is the period that is most associated with the emergence of some eating disorder. During it, young people develop their identity, generating great changes. The TCA in them act as an attempt to take control of their emotions to the extreme changes through which they are going through. There are family factors that contribute to adolescents suffering from some type of TCA, although this does not mean that the family is exclusively responsible for what happens. Parents with high expectations, family environments of tense or constantly conflicting climates, Some father or mother obsessed with his own body figure, are some of the reasons that could come to potential that a teenager suffers from this type's disorder.

It usually tends to be thought that TCAs occur due to some factor, but the reality is that There is no single cause that generates a disorder of these characteristics, a combination of situations and factors usually occurs. For example, it is proven that some people, genetically, may be prone to contract them; also features of character such as perfectionism and self -examination contribute to trigger them.

Social networks, a factor that favors the appearance of a TCA?

Society tends to associate thinness with beauty. "How beautiful you look, you are thinner". "What diet are you doing? I would do very well, I am not going to get a partner ". Phrases of this style resonate naturally.

Famous and famous are taken as models, they advise extreme diets and have unreal bodies. They They go viral in social networks showing how they feed healthily and daily exercise, they are imposed as unattainable goalss that those who consume their material seek to reach any. Imagine how this can affect a young teenager who is in full development of his own personality, and not to talk about those cases that suffer from low self -esteem.

Social networks contribute to internalize these harmful ideals for so many people, leading us to Forget that each of our bodies is different, that not all diets can adapt to all of us, that health and well -being come first.  We get tangled up in superficial issues such as aspect and, many times, we put aside the true care of our physical and mental health. Above all, it has been proven that orthorexia cases are increasing. This, especially in adolescents, can have an impact of extreme seriousness.

 How to help a teenager suffering from a TCA?

The adult environment that accompanies young people in their daily lives is essential to provide containment and help to achieve a recovery. Taking into account that teenagers spend a lot of time on the Internet and are exposed to these harmful models, it is essential to instill the truth: that they are not real, that they are unattainable, that acceptance and self -esteem are essential to be able to live well. Create spaces for containment, expression, trust and accompaniment, This will contribute to counteract the damage of the TCA in the health of today's young people.

It is clear that not all people who consume the influencers who are dedicated to talking about healthy life or extremely thin models necessarily suffer from any of these disorders. But, it is proven that they contribute largely to trigger them, especially in those cases where other factors already generated propensity to contract a TCA.

Conclusion

In the era of virtuality, exposure and viralization of content complex things quite things. Above all, they become complicated to go through adolescence, a conflictive period in anyone's life, without obsessing with unreal ideals.

Young self -love and acceptance must be instilled. Break stereotypes and value what we are. That is the key to eradicating this type of pathologies at all simple. Change collective thinking to live better.

References

• Crispo, r., Figueroa, e., & Guelar, D. (1997). Anorexia and bulimia: what you have to know. Gedisa.
• Ojeda-Martín, Á., Del Pilar López-Morales, M., Jáuregui-Lobera, i., & Herrero-Martín, G. (2021). Use of social networks and risk of suffering from young people. Journal of Negative and No Positive Results, 6(10), 1289-1307.
• from Alda, I. EITHER., Bleye, l., & Carmona, R. Eating disorders (TCA) on social networks: use profile and possible hazards.