This is the age old debate in science and psychology. The idea being how much of our traits are determined biologically (specifically by our DNA) and how much is due to the environment we surround ourselves with.
A good example of this debate in action is eating disorders. In psychology there are many theories why individuals may develop a disorder including a good mix of biological and environmental arguments. A specific place where this really comes to light is in dancers. As a dancer myself since the age of 3yrs old being in and out of classes of differing styles and teaching in the past year or so it has obviously played a huge part in my life so naturally I am curious about this special case and how much research has been done. It is argued that traditionally this is seen in ballet dancers with the pressure to be thin to produce beautiful lines and increase flexibility, I would argue this is the case for aerial arts as well which I have started taking classes in within the last few months and already I find myself working out more whether it is because I want to lose weight and be thinner or to get stronger so I can do more complex moves I cannot decide.
What got me thinking about this topic was this article on the BBC News website that I read ironically during my lunch break at work
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-22985310
Like I have mentioned above in my experience as a dancer the arguments in this article ring true. In the studio you are used to seeing other people in tight clothing and it is very competitive always wanting to improve and better yourself and if that means losing weight so be it. You will naturally compare your figure to those around you as well as your idols. My idols range from Ginger Rodgers to Dita Von Tease (yes I do have a wild side) so I would consider myself as having a healthy outlook yet I will watch what I eat and the amount I exercise so there is still some element of control and wanting to stay a certain weight there. The articles listed at the end of this post which I have also read agree also.
You can therefore easily see the environmental factors at work in my case, but has anyone done any work to determine whether there is a biological predisposition or trigger that makes certain individuals more prone to this? If anyone knows of any research into this I would be most interested to know :)
http://eat-26.com/Docs/Garner-Sociocultural-Factors-1980.pdf
http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/erv.605/abstract
http://www.mclean.harvard.edu/pdf/news/mitn/mp0803.pdf
http://londondance.com/articles/features/danceuk-conference-nutrition-and-disordered-eating/
http://www.scienceofeds.org/2013/05/09/dancing-your-way-to-recovery-from-anorexia-nervosa/
http://www.dancing-times.co.uk/features/item/830-thecomplicatedtrutheatingdisordersinballet
http://www.era.lib.ed.ac.uk/handle/1842/3584
http://dancerseatingdisorders.wordpress.com/2011/05/09/effects-of-eating-disorders-on-dancers/
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2719561/
http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/eat.20299/abstract?deniedAccessCustomisedMessage=&userIsAuthenticated=false
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