Eating Disorders and Religion

            In addition to our physical dependency on food, human beings also have strong emotional connections to the foods we eat. Eating disorders have been asserted as fitting into an addiction framework, as they involve key elements which define addiction: compulsivity, a loss of control, and continuation of behavior despite harmful consequences (Garner & Gerborg, 2004). The tendency to deny that a problem exists and the potentially fatal outcomes of eating disorders have also been cited as evidence of the addictive nature of disorders such as bulimia nervosa, anorexia nervosa, and binge eating. .
             Religious orientation has various psychological implications in relation to food, and there has been increasing interest in the link between spirituality/religion and eating disorders (Richards, Hardman, & Berrett, 2007). Various researchers have documented that religious belief is a harmful force and increases eating disorder symptoms. In other words, certain religious beliefs may be used as a justification to engage in eating disordered behavior. .
             According to the historical accounts of religious fasting in Judeo-Christian tradition, Medieval Europe saw a marked incidence of female fasting from the 11th to 16th century, undertaken for a range of purposes including ascetic practices and penance for sin (Vandereycken & Van Deth, 1994). There has been a general agreement among authors that the self-starvation behavior of these medieval saints appears similar to that of present day women struggling with anorexia nervosa. While some authors believe that the etiology of modern day starvation behavior is distinct, others support a more substantial connection between religious fasting and eating disorders, noting that present day eating disorder sufferers may give religious meaning to their food restriction. .
             The argument among several authors about the behavioral differences between historical self-starvation and modern day anorexia is that fasting saints were not in pursuit of thinness or driven by an intense fear of gaining weight, while anorexia nervosa is characterized by these distinguishing symptoms.