Research findings have suggest that eating disorders are “culture-bound syndromes” in which the sign and symptoms of a disorder reflect a social pressure from different culture (Abram et al. 1993, p.50). China has for some time having experienced the social transition from a traditional society to modern society (Lee and Lee 1996, p.178). In these processes, the impact of western values, ways of life and culture provide a factor in the development of eating disorders, which most Chinese have not focused on. Furthermore, eating disorder regularly goes unrecognized or is just diagnosed after they have advanced to an extreme stage. Further findings reveal the mortality rate of eating related disorders range from 0.3% to 20% (Lee and Lee 1996, p.176). Early diagnosis of such disorders is imperative since major incidents are never realized in time thereby increasing the prevalence of the condition in China.
Eating disorders such as bulimia nervosa and anorexia are distinguished by clinical dissatisfaction in eating behaviours and body image. Eating disorders are mainly prevalent in western countries, especially in girls (American Psychiatric Association 1994, p.24)). Some years back, non-western nations were viewed as being immune to developing eating disorders, fundamentally, because they had cultural values that did not overestimate or appreciate thinness. In fact, the cultures associated plumpness with positive attributes such as fertility, wealth, and femininity (Buhrich 1981, p.154). Nonetheless, some studies indicate that the trend of abnormal eating disorders has been escalating in non-western nations such as Iran and South Africa. Besides, whereas there were minimal eating disorders in Hong Kong towards the end of the 20th century, about 10% of female adolescents acquired certain types of the eating disorder in 2001 (Becker et al. 2003, p.427). In Japan, the prevalence of female school students with scores over the threshold point on the Eating Attitudes Test-26 (EAT-26) increased from 5.4% in 1999 to 11.2 % in 2003. In China, there was unexpected instance of weight-related preoccupation among schoolchildren, particularly in Mainland China (Becker et al. 2003, p.429). The findings from the study demonstrate that abnormal eating disorder victims are no longer confined to Western countries (Coombs 2011, p.286). Eating disorders, for example, anorexia nervosa and bulimia nervosa could be seen from one viewpoint as pathologies of dieting and their increasing prevalence in Western countries indicate that dieting has increased body dissatisfaction and bulimic symptoms in females (Buchan and Gregory 1984, p.327). The behaviour associated with dieting such as worry about food, weight, exercise and obsessive behaviours often co-occur with other psychiatric disorders and physical problems including anxiety, depression, affect social functioning, substance abuse disorders and impaired body function.
Lifestyle factors strongly affect how people maintain their health. For instance, common reasonable principles of behaviour such as not skipping breakfast, not smoking, exercise and adequate sleep are associated with health maintenance (Grilo 2006, p.53). Researche have also linked eating disorders to abnormal eating trends adopted in a particular type of lifestyle lifestyle (Becker et al. 2003, p.426). For instance, drunkards and smokers are more likely to forego meals and fail to notice the urge to eat at the right time. In a nutshell most drunkards and smokers adopt a lifestyle that puts food away while concentrating on their drinking and smoking habits. Moreover, the level of activities undertaken daily may influence the level of food intake. For example, learners staying with family members were established eat more meals than their counterparts who do not stay with family members (Buchan and Gregory 1984, p.328). as already mentioned, lifestyle factors closely correlate to the advancement of abnormal eating disorders. Western cultures such as visiting restaurants and bars, smoking cigarettes, and the underscoring of “thinness as beauty” influence eating attitudes and lifestyle behaviours (Becker et al. 2003, p.431). Moreover, the distraction with body image is among the prevalent clinical attributes seen to cause eating disorders. Most current theories view body dissatisfaction as the immediate trigger for development of the eating disorders.
The findings on Bio-psychosocial studies show the significance of including psychological and biological factors in addition to sociocultural components as far as eating disorders are concerned (Buhrich 1981, p.155). For instance, the study hints that self- esteem, BMI and sociocultural affect both male and female adolescents (Buhrich 1981, p.155). The studies done through Bio-psychosocial model of body image and eating disorder among adolescent girls is another great case of how sociocultural, biological and interpersonal factors increase the risk for BID among adolescent males and females (Hsu 1987, p.117). Particularly to their examination, factors recognized to foresee BID were high BMI (biological factor), negative effect (psychological factor), and the strain to be thin from peers (sociocultural factor).
Body image refers to how people perceive their bodies when they see their images in the mirror. They imagine themselves to act or appear in a certain way, even though they could act or look differently from the people around them. An individual is said to have a positive body image if they accept the reality of their physical size and shape (Mukai et al 1994, p.680). They fully comprehend their weight, body form, and the way their bodies move and function. However, most people, especially women develop disconnect between the reality of their body and shape and what they deem ideal. The greater the gap between their perception and what they really look like, the greater they have to struggle with their negative body image (Lee et al. 1996, p.77). The negative perception can in turn affect behaviour and restrict people from social interactions and a fulfilling life, secure life.
People with exceedingly negative body image always become disgusted with the body parts they hate. Regrettably, the obsession causes eating disorders, obsessive-compulsive disorder, and depression that adversely affect a person’s quality of life and the health of an individual (Cash and Smolak 2011, p.47). Whereas men and women have issues with body image problems, women admit more negative perception of body image than do men. Even in conversations, women are likely to blash off themselves before family and friends. The resulting negative self-talk reduce self-esteem and confidence (Mukai et al. 1994, p.682). An analysis of the situation reveals that women want smaller thighs, flatter stomachs, and bigger breasts since they imitate the socialites and celebrities and hope to model their lifestyles (Mukai et al. 1994, p.683). The solution to these problems lies in stopping negative self-talk and embracing methods and techniques of building realistic and positive body image.
The construction of a body image is cultural and multidimensional and involves components of attitudes and perception. Body image can be linked to disturbance in psychopathology as measured by the Eating Disorder Inventory and attitude characteristics (Lee et al. 2012, p.570). Thus, body image disturbance is connected with other core attributes such as feelings of ineffectiveness and poor interceptive awareness. Body image can be used to predict a particular eating disorder since the girls or young women who are dissatisfied with their body could resort to restrictive dieting that consequently predict the start and continuation of adverse eating disorders attitudes (Abram et al. 1993, p.51). Therefore, body image is the main predictor of degeneration in bulimia and anorexia nervosa. Patients who recover from eating disorders report body image to be the major obstacle to permanent change. Predictably, the most serious challenge is how to initiate lasting change in body disapproval among girls or women with eating disorders across different cultures.
In order to reverse the negative effects of body image, it is important to encourage a healthy lifestyle. Through experience and practice, it has been established that encouraging healthy group norms is among the most significant intervention targets in the course of therapy. In addition, a main obstacle to change could involve parental perception towards shape and weight or the over-valuation of thinness by parents (Lee et al. 2012, p.573). Such attitudes could have serious and destructive effects on the treatment interventions in children. Accordingly to this aspect, it is important that stakeholders approach the issue with sensitivity to cultural factors that influence the attitudes of the parents. Nonetheless, treatment has to concentrate on changing the parents’ beliefs or values that inhibit size acceptance as well as regard for personal differences in a range of attributes (Mumford et al. 1992, p.177). Accordingly, remarkable technological improvements in recent years for addressing body dissatisfaction for obese people and those are at risk for eating disorders can be used to treat adverse eating disorders. For example, psycho-educationally focused prevention initiatives can alleviate body dissatisfaction and minimize ameliorates disorder symptoms among female college students, provided there is a sustained follow-up.
The Chinese conceptualize eating disorders as a Western mental health concern as the Westerners often stress the “fat phobia” aspect of the eating disorders. Unlike their peers from the West, the Chinese are not so much concerned with appearances (Abram et al. 1993, p.54). Studies suggest that Chinese respondents show few classical concerns regarding anorexia. Among the Chinese people, it is social stigma to have institutions related with mental or eating disorders such as anorexia (Lee and Lee 2000, p.320). The Chinese socially accept physical problems more than they accept mental health issues thus women who experience anorexia are more likely to talk about their issues through somatic symptoms such as dislike for food, not feeling hungry or abdominal problems. Instead, the Chinese consider causes of eating disorders as industrialization, eating habits, media influence, social pressure for thinness, and parental pressure. Specifically, One-Child Policy children are thought to experience more societal pressure to perform in their lives.
With the growth of anorexia largely depending on superstitions and social stigma concerning mental health issues, a conventional strong food tradition, general unconsciousness on eating disorders and other cultural aspects that affect the manifestation of the disorder one concludes that eating disorders are culture-reactive as opposed to culture-specific (Lee and Lee 1996, p.172). Thus, the conditions why people may have anorexia disorder depend on a given culture and interpretations of media representations of the “normal body image.”
Influence of Western Culture
The perception of the body image is presented in different ways in as much as most Chinese women do not consider it as a challenge to them. Sociocultural studies amplify the influence that western culture have on the Chinese among other communities across the world. The need to look more feminine especially in cases where a person apes another becomes the focal point in determining the body picture. The body dissatisfaction of most Chinese women in particular, has prompted the adoption of various survival mechanisms (Lee et al. 1996, p.82). As a reserve for culture, most of the practices adopted to improve the body shape and weight are not publicly practice. This idea is further affirmed by the research done by Coombs (2011) on the mechanisms adopted in treating eating disorders in the community. Most Chinese students in America perceived a tall and slim body to be more feminine rather than their normal plumpness (Chen and Swam 1998, p.396). The feeling of having an amicable body affect is regarded the key factor behind the rise in plastic surgery in the Chinese culture that not only trend in America but also back in their homeland, China (Staley and Zhan 2011, p.1).
Both American and Chinese men were reportedly attributed to physical strength that comprise of relevant muscle firmness that is an ideal component of the feminine body shape (Chen and Swam 1998, p.398). In a normal setting, the interpersonal relationship between men and women from different backgrounds are determined by their freedom of association. The moment a person, whether masculine or feminine attributes his or her body affect to negative perceptions, their social esteem is greatly reduced. The most affected individuals in such cases are students in American universities as a result of the cultural diversity emanating from a mixture of people from different cultural backgrounds. In a nutshell, the Chinese women get acculturated with time and this aspect is much seen in the practice of plastic surgery. According to Staley and Zhan (2011), the plastic surgery is the major step taken by the affected chines women to improve on their general body affect. This practice establishes an American feminine shape, height and weight without interfering with their faces (Lin et al. 2012, p.569). The influence instituted by the assimilated Chinese women is the main catalyst for slim and tall bodies in the realm of improving their body image.
The Rise in Plastic Surgery
Chinese women believe that their American counterparts are more beautiful. This notion is a clear standpoint of body dissatisfaction that has prompted the adoption of plastic surgery to enable them look more American. Hopkins (1998) hints that the development in plastic surgery interest among the Chinese women intensified during the reform period on gender regime (p.290). During this period, the consumption of cosmetics increased significantly with the changes in consumption behaviour of women. The desire to look more feminine in various cosmetic outfits inspire most women to adjust their body shape and size. In as much as the consumption level on cosmetics was distinct to an individual depending on taste and preference, the consumption of cosmetics was generalized with the rise in gender regime (Hopkins 1998, p. 290)
Plastic surgery is a surgical operation done with an aim of improving, repair and managing body defects (McGregor and McGregor 2000, p.216). This medical operation involve reconstruction, restoration and alteration of human body. Scientific findings indicate that the surgical procedure involving skin grafting using skin grafts obtained from donors or from the patients in particular. To clearly understand the basics of plastic surgery and its role in the Chinese culture, it is prudent to discuss the various types of the surgical practice both in America and in China as the case study. This study narrows down to the main types of plastic surgery which adopt distinct approaches depending on the intended outcome.
Reconstructive surgery involve correctional surgical practices with respect to functional impairments resulting from traumatic injuries, congenital abnormalities, burns and infections such as cancer among other impairments (Converse 1997, p.96). The goal of reconstructive surgery is to restore the normal functioning of the targeted body part without altering the previous morphological appearance. The functionality aspect of the particular organ or body part is greatly improved besides maintaining the physical appearance. Examples of reconstructive surgery include but not limited to breast reconstruction done after a cancer treatment procedure, contracture surgery done on patients that survive burns and laceration repair. Other procedures include hand surgery, tumor removal and scar repair (Converse 1977, p.101). The Chinese culture change towards a better body image is therefore not attached to reconstructive surgery since most of the procedures are done to restore the body to its normal functioning. The need for a beautiful body is not attached to the major role of reconstructive surgical operations that repair and improve the functionality of body organs.
Cosmetic surgery forms the major focal point of the discussion. This type of surgical operation is purposely done on normally body anatomy to minimize aging besides improving the overall appearance of the body (Gillies and Millard 1957, p.27). Findings by Liu et al. (2012) reveal that the number of aesthetic surgery increased drastically between the year 2000 and 2015 with an approximate of 15.9 million incidences by 2015 in America (p.52). The discussion targets both America and China since most of the invasive practices on Chinese culture started by the Chinese students in America. The findings therefore affirm that the need for a better body affect has prompted the application of surgical procedures across the world at large. According to Gillies and Millard the most common examples of cosmetic surgery practices include but not limited to mammoplasty. This procedure involve the breast reduction or breast enlargement depending on the previous situation. Buttock augmentation involve the use of silicone implants to enhance the butt size and shape. Rhinoplasty involve the reshaping of the nose structure and appearance. Cryoneuromodulation entail the use of nitrous oxide gas in the treatment of subcutaneous and superficial tissues where dermatological conditions, pain and wrinkles are greatly reduced. Other examples include otoplasty where the ears are reshaped, cheek augmentation that deals with the tightening of the cheeks and zygoma reduction plasty that entail face reshaping. Also important to note is the brachioplasty procedure that is done to reduce the amount of fats and excess skin between the underarm and the elbow. In as much as there are many more examples of cosmetic surgical procedures, the aforementioned examples form the basis of the discussion on cosmetic type of plastic surgery. In a nutshell the reorganization of the body image to match the American standards entail the application of the various procedures outlined in the essay to increase the overall appearance of the body.
Further research by Yu and Ko (2012) hints that the culture assimilation occurred not only in America but also in other countries such as Korea (p.82). Chinese immigrants adopted various cultures that lead to the invasion of their own over time. The practice of plastic surgery is more pronounced since it is also reflected in the Korean immigrants and students from China. The practice of plastic surgery is not limited to Chinese women only, women from different ethnic background adopt the practice with respect to the intended purpose of the operation (Yu and Ko 2012, p. 89). Women from the African nations just to mention, go for the surgical operation to change their colour which in other words is naturally black.
The intention behind plastic surgery determines the relevant procedure to undertake on the respective people affected. Therefore, the influence of the western culture and general modernization has greatly changed the perception of Chinese women on body image. According to Lee et al. (1996), the Chinese women were never concerned with their body sizes and weight as much as they did for mental disorders (p.76). This analogy suggests that the alienation that took place over time lead to the change in feelings towards the beauty of a woman. In other words, the physical beauty is much attached to body affect that is, size, shape, height, and muscle orientation in the body (Hopkins 2007, p.293). Moreover, findings proved that most Chinese men were attached to ladies with slim and tall ladies which is a true picture of a standard American woman (Chen and Swam 1998, p. 399). Going by the fact that every woman wants to be the best, the Chinese women never considered the side effects of plastic surgery. The rise in the aforementioned practice confirms that the affected people are mindless of the side effects besides the beauty bestowed to them.
The alteration in body image by the feeding habits among other factors pose psychological discomfort as revealed by Coombs (2011, p.286). The moment a person gets preoccupied with the negative feeling about what the public say about them, they rush to alter the physical appearance without taking keen interest on the internal result in the long run (Staley and Zhan 2011, p.16). However, studies prove that behind the beauty that results from cosmetic surgery, various health related risks occur over time (Gillies and Millard 1957, p. 72). Complications arising after aesthetic surgical operations are attributed to the chemical and reactive compounds used during the process. Such disorders include but are not limited to damage of the nervous system, organ failure and scarring problems among others. Converse (1977) confirms that most of the implants especially done on the breasts are always removed within ten days to avoid further grave effects (p.120). In regard to this aspect, it is imperative to say that the western culture compounded both negative and positive effects on the lifestyle of the Chinese citizens.
Conclusion
Weight reduction and control of feeding habits are mentioned as the most important ways of dealing with body image. In other words, the moment a person understands the extent of her body food requirement, overweight conditions are greatly minimised. Most importantly, excess weight may result from obese conditions that may call for medical attention besides the physiological treatment of frequent body exercises. Body dissatisfaction resulting from the perception on an individual’s body image causes psychological discomfort that may lead to the adoption of other ways to restore a perfect body image. The influence of western culture is strongly seen in the application of plastic surgery to improve the body image. As a matter of fact, the Chinese women aim to look as beautiful as a standard American woman. According to this analogy, a good woman should be slim, tall with a good shape.
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