Final answer:
Environmental and biological factors contribute to the development of eating disorders. Child abuse, societal pressures, family history, and neurotransmitter/hormonal imbalances all play roles in the onset of disorders like anorexia nervosa and bulimia nervosa.
Step-by-step explanation:
Factors that could contribute to someone developing an eating disorder include a complex interplay of biological, environmental, and psychological elements. Environmental factors, such as child abuse, tight parental control over eating habits, a fragile sense of self-identity, and social isolation, have been found to significantly increase the risk of eating disorders. Cultural influences, particularly the idealization of thinness, also play a substantial role in the onset of disorders like anorexia nervosa and bulimia nervosa.
In addition to these environmental contributors, biological factors involving genetics and neurochemistry are also crucial. Having a close biological relative with an eating disorder significantly increases one's own risk. Dysregulation of neurotransmitters like serotonin and dopamine and imbalances in the hormones leptin and ghrelin are thought to influence eating behaviors and appetite control. Together, these factors create a vulnerability that may predispose individuals to eating disorders.