Departments of Psychiatry and Epidemiology, Columbia University, New York, USA ; New York State Psychiatric Institute, Unit 9, Rm. 5808, 1051 Riverside Drive, New York, NY 10032 USA.
Department of Clinical & Counseling Psychology, Columbia University (Teachers College), New York, USA.
J Eat Disord. 2015 Sep 17;3:33. doi: 10.1186/s40337-015-0070-2. eCollection 2015.
Once concentrated among adolescent Caucasian females in high-income Western countries, today, eating disorders (EDs) are truly global. Building upon previous work describing the rise of EDs among cultures in transition, we contextualize the emergence of EDs in Asia by locating this development within the broader discourse about the processes of change that have radically transformed Asian societies over the last three decades. By identifying where EDs are emerging in the region, and by examining their particular expression, our aim is to explicate a fuller story of the relationship between culture and eating disorders. Much of the discussion of EDs in non-Western societies is predicated upon the assumption that an increase in EDs is the by-product of "Westernization", the term used to describe the process by which increased cultural contact with the West results in the transmission of so-called 'Western' ideas and cultural norms to a non-Western culture. While the Westernization literature represents a historical anchor in our understanding of EDs in Asia, we propose that this analysis is incomplete in that societal change in the form of industrialization and urbanization occurring independently from, or in tandem with, "Western" influence are critical factors contributing to the rise of EDs in Asia. Further, our review of eating disorders in Asia suggests that an understanding of the diversity and distinctiveness of the individual countries and cultures that comprise 'Asia' is crucial to understanding the emergence and rise of EDs across this vast region, suggesting that eating disorders are not culture-bound or culture-specific, but rather culture-reactive. Taking into account both the historical influence of Western culture and the more contemporary effects of Asian industrialization and urbanization, key distinctions among respective Asian cultures expands our understanding of the development and expression of EDs globally.
曾经，饮食失调症（ED）主要集中在高收入西方国家的青少年白种女性中，但如今，它已真正成为全球性问题。在之前描述转型文化中 ED 上升的工作基础上，我们将 ED 在亚洲的出现置于亚洲社会在过去三十年发生的根本性变革过程的更广泛论述中，从而使这一现象具有地域背景。通过确定该病症在亚洲哪些地区出现，并考察其具体表现形式，我们旨在更全面地阐述文化与饮食失调症之间的关系。在非西方社会中讨论 ED 时，大多基于这样一种假设，即 ED 的增加是“西方化”的结果，该术语用于描述与西方的文化接触增加导致所谓“西方”思想和文化规范向非西方文化传播的过程。尽管西方化文献是我们理解亚洲 ED 的历史依据，但我们认为，这种分析并不完整，因为以工业化和城市化形式发生的、与“西方”影响独立或并行的社会变革，是导致 ED 在亚洲上升的关键因素。此外，我们对亚洲饮食失调症的研究表明，理解构成“亚洲”的各个国家和文化的多样性和独特性，对于理解这一广阔地区 ED 的出现和上升至关重要，这表明饮食失调症不是受文化限制或具有文化特异性的病症，而是对文化有反应。既要考虑西方文化的历史影响，又要考虑亚洲工业化和城市化的更当代影响，亚洲各文化之间的关键区别扩展了我们对 ED 在全球范围内的发展和表现的理解。
