Increase of patients with anorexia nervosa (AN) is seen in modernized countries of Europe, USA and East Asia, especially in Japan. In Japan, a sharp rise of patients with AN has been recorded all since the 1980s. The most endangered group are high school and university aged females. The rise of AN in Japan has been the result of various factors such as modernization and acculturation. Doctors research the bio-medical, psychological and socio-cultural factors as the reason for increase of AN. Doctors theorize that acculturation of western beauty ideals through media, mental illness and family relationships are the main cause for the rise of AN; regarding family relationships, the most crucial is the relationships between mother and
daughter. Despite the massive amount of research in Japan, doctors are unable to provide either a successful way of preventing or fitting treatments for AN. The government and other institutions aren’t successful at solving this problem. In this thesis, I would like to introduce the rise and current situation of AN in Japan. First, I will define the disorder and introduce the history of its studies. Next, I will describe the main reasons for the rise of AN among
Japanese women and try to explain why the reasons are so common. The main aim of this thesis is to present the state of AN in modern Japan and to provide possible solutions to the growing pandemic of eating disorders.
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