Many things contribute to eating disorders. We know that genetics is a big cause. We know that anxiety and mood disorders put you at a higher risk. We know that you are more likely to get sick if you are female or live in a Western culture. And we also know that any form of dieting or malnutrition can cinch the deal.

So. There's that.

But there's also a lot that we don't know. A new study in the Archives of Pediatric and Adolescent Medicine called "Family, Peer and Media Predictors of Becoming Eating Disordered"* looks scientifically at some common cultural factors related to binge eating and purging.

What they found was this (according to a press release):

During 7 years of follow-up, 10.3 percent of the girls and 3 percent of the boys started to binge eat or purge at least once a week. Slightly more girls started to purge (5.3 percent) than binge eat (4.3 percent), while binge eating was more common than purging (2.1 percent vs. 0.8 percent) among boys. Only a small proportion of boys and girls engaged in both binge eating and purging.

Although girls under age 14 whose mothers had a history of an eating disorder were almost three times as likely than their peers to start purging at least once a week, "maternal history of an eating disorder was unrelated to risk of starting to binge eat or purge in older adolescent females," the authors write. "Frequent dieting and trying to look like persons in the media were independent predictors of binge eating in females of all ages. In males, negative comments about weight by fathers was predictive of starting to binge at least weekly."

"Our results suggest that prevention of disordered eating and eating disorders may need to be age- and sex-specific. Efforts aimed at females should contain media literacy and other approaches to make young persons less susceptible to the media images they see," the authors conclude. "In addition, programs for females should focus more on becoming more resilient to teasing from males, whereas programs for males should focus on approaches to becoming more resilient to negative comments about weight by fathers."

Or, instead of blaming the fathers, we should encourage ALL parents to teach healthy eating and prevent dieting.

*You'll need a copy of Adobe Acrobat to read the paper in full.

A long time ago, in a world far, far away, plump women were considered pretty. Sexy. Attractive.

Aside from the fact that I hate the word 'plump,' this may have been a good thing. Except for Kate Moss and Nicole Ritchie perhaps.

I came across an interesting article yesterday in the New York Times about girls being "overfed" in the mostly Islamic country of Mauritania in North Africa.

Why?

Men find them sexier that way.

Hmmmmm........

In days gone by, fat was a symbol of fertility. It meant that you had enough energy reserves to sustain a pregnancy. That you could survive a famine. I'm guessing (hoping) that this was a woman's natural fat and curves, but even so. While I'd wager that carrying too much weight on your body is far less harmful than carrying too little, it's still not good. Especially psychologically.

The article describes the ordeals of girls being overfed, such as being forced to drink 5 gallons of camel's milk, and having to eat their own vomit if they couldn't keep it down. It's the total, utter, and complete opposite of dieting young girls here in America. That it's normal. That health will be risked in order to achieve what society calls the ideal body. That the ideal body is so far off from reality that you have to alter yourself physically to achieve it.

Basically, it means that just about everyone, everywhere idealizes a female figure that is not compatible with the way most women look.

I heard it explained in one book on evolutionary psychology that beauty has to be somewhat rare because ordinary really isn't beautiful. And beautiful is a good way to find a mate with ideal genes.

Bollocks. Yeah, beauty is on the inside, but people also find different things beautiful in the opposite (or same) sex. Nor is this a ticket to eternal happiness, as much as current weight loss companies would have us believe.

Of course, the article started with a little vignette about Mauritanian women taking walks, all fat and huffing and puffing. Why?

One woman said, "Because I am fat."

Another woman said, "For my health and to be skinny."

And this is where cultures collide. Big time.

Is this tradition of overfeeding girls dying out because of health risks? Or because men are finding different things beautiful in women?

I'm no expert, but I have a hunch that it's the latter. Or maybe it's driven by the women, thinking that they will have a better chance of finding a mate if they look thinner.

Basically, the moral of the story is this: why can't we be beautiful just the way we are? (cue Christina Aguilara music) Why do we have to starve or binge in order for someone to find us attractive?

I think it also goes deeper than just what men want. It's the little snarky competition between women as to who will get the best guy. I feel much more insecure about my looks when I'm in a group of women than when I'm in a group of men. How am I being judged? Do I measure up? It's all of this primal competition. For years, this sexual selection has allowed our species to survive.

Isn't it time for a better way?