Abstract:
Eating disorders are extremely underreported in the South Asian diaspora due to cultural attitudes and perceptions of the illness and lack of resources for those who identify with this demographic. The goal of this presentation is to use lived experiences that have been collected on a rolling basis for the recently-formed initiative Shuno to depict the unique barriers people of South Asian descent face in accessing care for eating disorders and related behaviors. The presentation will include a discussion surrounding why mental illnesses overall and specifically eating disorders are so overwhelmingly viewed from a Western perspective, along with how various sociodemographic factors impact the way in which an eating disorder materializes in an individual. Furthermore, the need for culturally-competent care will be highlighted and emphasized through accounts of community members’ ill experiences with providers who were unable to consider their personal background in determining the best way to proceed with recovery, and how discourse around the topic in general is constrained by the media only identifying a certain population as being able to experience eating disorders. There is a sparse amount of literature and materials curated to look at how eating disorders affect South Asians differently from other populations. This presentation will support the importance of integrating cultural consideration to eating disorder diagnosis and treatment while also encouraging that a community-based approach be taken to reduce incidences of the disorder. Misconceptions of eating disorders and stigma are what perpetuate one’s experience with the illness, as indicated by personal narrations, and so it will be proposed that focusing on educating the community rather than concentrating information in a few people is the best way to advance the field.
