Identifying Risk Factors for Eating Disorders

The National Eating Disorders Collaboration explains that eating disorders are the result of a combination of psychological, social, and genetic factors like low self-esteem or perfectionism; overvaluing body image in defining self-worth; stress, depression, and trauma; avoidance of social interaction; involvement in a sport that emphasizes body shape; troubled family or personal relationships; and teasing or bullying. National Eating Disorders Collaboration, November 2019