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Context Matters: Environmental Influences on Eating disorders, Disordered eating and Body Image

New Content ItemWithin some environments, the development of eating disorder symptoms - such as binge eating, strict weight control, or over-valuation of one's body weight or shape - may appear to be logical, if not functional. Many, but not all, aetiological models consider the environment in the onset and maintenance of eating disorders. In this Special Issue in Journal of Eating Disorders, we explore the extent to which eating disorders (inclusive of body image disturbance and disordered eating) are (at least in part) an injurious result of or are exacerbated/maintained by the environment within which one is exposed.

Edited by: Dr Long Le, Dr Deborah Mitchison, and Professor Bryn Austin


  1. Eating disorders and food ingestion (EDs) are serious mental illnesses with a higher prevalence in young adults, with difficult diagnoses that cause serious morbidity and mortality problems. There is not much ...

    Authors: Cynthia Isabel Ortiz-Lopez, Maria Elena Romero-Ibarguengoitia and Hector Cobos-Aguilar
    Citation: Journal of Eating Disorders 2023 11:217
    Content type: Research Published on:

  3. Exercise addiction (EA) and eating disorders (ED) frequently co-occur in both professional and amateur athletes, with up to 48% of individuals with EA also exhibiting symptoms of ED. Furthermore, pathological ...

    Authors: Dalit Lev Arey, Adi Sagi and Asaf Blatt
    Citation: Journal of Eating Disorders 2023 11:131
    Content type: Research Published on:

  5. It has been previously established that sexual minorities are more likely to suffer from mental health illnesses due to experiencing unique stressors such as fear, anxiety, stigma, harassment, and prejudice. R...

    Authors: Nour Kalash, Hana Harb, Nadine Zeeni, Myriam El Khoury and Lama Mattar
    Citation: Journal of Eating Disorders 2023 11:87
    Content type: Research Published on:

  7. There have been an increasing number of systematic reviews indicating the association between eating disorders (ED), including its risk factors, with mental health problems such as depression, suicide and anxi...

    Authors: Eng Joo Tan, Tejeesha Raut, Long Khanh-Dao Le, Phillipa Hay, Jaithri Ananthapavan, Yong Yi Lee and Cathrine Mihalopoulos
    Citation: Journal of Eating Disorders 2023 11:51
    Content type: Review Published on:

  8. Sexual minority individuals are at disproportionately greater risk for eating disorders, yet little is known about the ways in which factors in the social environment relate to eating disorder symptoms in this...

    Authors: Diane L. Rosenbaum, Kristin J. August, Meghan M. Gillen and Charlotte H. Markey
    Citation: Journal of Eating Disorders 2023 11:6
    Content type: Research Published on:

  10. Young adults are increasingly exposed to social media and their image/video-based activities. They use these platforms to share images, videos and advice in different fields like food and nutrition with: recip...

    Authors: Lisa Filippone, Rebecca Shankland and Quentin Hallez
    Citation: Journal of Eating Disorders 2022 10:184
    Content type: Research Published on:

  11. Body appreciation might serve as a protective factor for developing eating disorders and is associated with participation in physical activity. Less is known about whether various arenas for physical activity ...

    Authors: Christine Sundgot-Borgen, Lise Katrine Jepsen Trangsrud, Tobias Otterbring and Solfrid Bratland-Sanda
    Citation: Journal of Eating Disorders 2022 10:183
    Content type: Research Published on:

  12. The acute phase of the COVID-19 pandemic was associated with significant increases in the prevalence and severity of eating disorders (EDs). Studies also highlighted changes to sleep quality and duration in ma...

    Authors: Jacqueline B. Mehr and Morgan H. James
    Citation: Journal of Eating Disorders 2022 10:181
    Content type: Comment Published on:

  13. Weight-related stigma has negative physiological and psychological impacts on individuals’ quality of life. Stigmatized individuals may experience higher psychological distress and therefore increase the poten...

    Authors: Po-Ching Huang, Chiu-Hsiang Lee, Mark D. Griffiths, Kerry S. O’Brien, Yi-Ching Lin, Wan Ying Gan, Wai Chuen Poon, Ching-Hsia Hung, Kuo-Hsin Lee and Chung-Ying Lin
    Citation: Journal of Eating Disorders 2022 10:177
    Content type: Research Published on:

  14. Multiple published sources from around the world have confirmed an association between an array of adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) and other traumatic events with eating disorders (EDs) and related advers...

    Authors: Timothy D. Brewerton
    Citation: Journal of Eating Disorders 2022 10:162
    Content type: Review Published on:

  15. Anorexia nervosa (AN) is associated with impairments in socio-emotional functioning, including difficulties in interpersonal relationships as well as alexithymia (difficulties identifying and describing one’s ...

    Authors: Linda Lukas, Christina Buhl, Gerd Schulte-Körne and Anca Sfärlea
    Citation: Journal of Eating Disorders 2022 10:143
    Content type: Research Published on:

  16. Siblings of people with anorexia nervosa (AN) have been found to experience strong emotions, changing family roles and poorer wellbeing as a consequence of experiencing the effects of the illness on their sibl...

    Authors: Eleanor Scutt, Jasmin Langdon-Daly and Janet Smithson
    Citation: Journal of Eating Disorders 2022 10:123
    Content type: Research Published on:

  18. In Pakistan, for a decade or so, there has been a huge increase in body ideals, and thinness and eating disorders reported during pregnancy. The purpose of the present research was to study the lived experienc...

    Authors: Tamkeen Saleem, Shemaila Saleem, Sheikh Shoib, Jaffer Shah and Syeda Ayat-e-Zainab Ali
    Citation: Journal of Eating Disorders 2022 10:74
    Content type: Research article Published on:

  19. Diagnostic overshadowing can prevent the treatment of comfort eating in people with intellectual disabilities, and the published literature contains few therapeutic examples. This case study reports a relative...

    Authors: Chris Millar and Beth Greenhill
    Citation: Journal of Eating Disorders 2022 10:29
    Content type: Case report Published on: