Anorexia Nervosa Analysis and How can be Treated

In certain cases, some adolescents develop an eating disorder. They forget that being healthy is the most important thing during this time of their life. A lot of adolescents go through puberty and if they do not eat properly, it can cause harm to their growth. In the movie, Regina wanted to lose 3 pounds. She did not eat and decided to only eat the protein bars that Caty gave to her. Regina thought the protein bars would help her lose weight. However, adolescents do not know that a healthy diet and exercise can actually help them lost weight. Instead, adolescents choose to become anorexic or bulimic. Anorexia is when an individual “voluntarily undereat and overexericis, depriving their vital organs of nourishment” (Berger, 2008, p. 459). The National Institute of Health states that “Young people with anorexia nervosa, for example, have difficulty maintaining a minimum healthy body weight. Anorexia affects one in every 100 to 200 adolescent girls and a much smaller number of boys” (National Health, 1999). Bulimia

Weight obsession affects millions of teenagers today, especially girls. At any given time, one out of every seven women has or is struggling with an eating disorder. One study a few years ago found that 36% of adolescent girls believed they were overweight while 59% were trying to lose weight ("Eating Disorders in Teens," n.d.). Up to 30 million people of all ages and genders suffer from an eating disorder (anorexia, bulimia and binge eating disorder) in the United States. Ninety-five percent of those who have eating disorders are between the ages of 12 and 25 (ANAD, 2015). Influenced by media and peers, people are being diagnosed with an eating disorder younger and younger. Forty-two percent of 1st-3rd grade girls want to be thinner and 81% of 10 year olds are afraid of being fat. Eating disorders have the highest mortality rate of any mental illness (Stewart, 2013). With these current statistics, it is evident that help is needed. We will explore the major types of eating disorders, the causes, the symptoms of eating disorders in adolescents, and effective treatment options available.

Anorexia nervosa is an eating disorder and a mental health condition that could potentially be life-threatening. People with anorexia try to keep their weight as low as possible by restricting the amount of food they eat. They often have a distorted image of themselves, thinking that they're fat when they're not.  Some people with the condition also exercise excessively, and some eat a lot of food in a short space of time (binge eating) and then make themselves sick. People affected by anorexia often go to great attempts to hide their behaviour from their family and friends by lying about eating and what they have eaten. Anorexia is linked to

Disordered eating can consist of anorexia, nervosa and bulimia. The images of being thin portrayed by media can result in teenagers feeling depressed, anxious and incline in self-worth. These feelings can then lead to depression, low self-esteem and anxiety, causing teenagers to lose self-worth.

Female adolescents can develop eating disorders because of the way the media portrays models. Adolescent girls’ attitude of the thin ideal leads to body dissatisfaction, which in return puts them at risk for serious eating disorders like bulimia and anorexia nervosa. Bulimia is an emotional disorder involving distortion of body image and an obsessive desire to lose weight, in which bouts of extreme overeating are followed by depression and self-induced vomiting, purging, or fasting. Anorexia nervosa is an emotional disorder characterized by an obsessive desire to lose weight by refusing to eat. Kara L. Kerr who is currently studying psychology, sociology, and women’s and gender studies at the University of Tulsa claims that “Approximately 40 percent of anorexia nervosa cases occur in females ages fifteen to nineteen” (1). Females’ that are the ages of fifteen to nineteen should not be worrying about the presentation of their

Anorexia nervosa. Anorexia nervosa is a stern disorder characterized by constant denial to maintain a normal body weight, extreme fear of gaining weight, disturbances in the experience of shape and body weight, undergo absence of menstrual cycles. Also, It carries notable medical risks as well as high risk of death of psychological disorders. Moreover, half of the deaths in anorexia are due to suicide because individuals with anorexia nervosa also experience depression (Loeb, 2016). According

Anorexia nervosa is psychiatric condition that is part of a group of eating disorders. It is associated with abnormally low body weight, extreme fear of gaining weight and a distorted perception of body image. Those with the disorder place a high value on controlling their weight to produce certain image. However, those suffering from the disorder more than likely use extreme efforts that tends to significantly interfere with their health and even normal activities or occupations in their lives. There is two forms of Anorexia, Anorexia Nervosa Binge is the type where an individual will purge when he or she eats. Restrictive Anorexia Nervosa is the form of anorexia nervosa where the individual will aggressively limit the quantity of food

Many of today’s adolescents are constantly worried about how they look and feel self-conscious or uncomfortable if they don’t feel that people like what they reflect. Unfortunately, for a number of kids and teens, that concern can lead to an obsession that can become an eating disorder. Eating disorders such as anorexia nervosa or bulimia nervosa cause dramatic weight fluctuation, interfere with normal daily life, and can permanently affect their health. Because these kids don’t feel comfortable with their bodies they try their hardest to not gain weight. A combination of psychological, genetic, social, and family factors are thought to be involved. Eating disorders can start with getting bullied and feeling self-conscious about yourself. You

America is a society obsessed with focusing on weight, as we should be since we have the highest obesity rates in the world. However, damaging things can occur from this obsession with maintaining the ideal weight and demanding to be thin. This is a crisis for adolescents especially since they are in a state of imaginary audience which causes them to be extremely self conscious (Beck, Myer). With the constant fear of being judged many will develop eating disorders such as anorexia nervosa. Psychology Today reports that “Eating disorders were reported to be the third most common illness classified as ‘chronic’ for adolescents in 2000”. All of these disorders can be life threatening to adolescents especially since South Carolina Department of Mental Health found that, “95% of those who have eating disorders are between the ages of 12 and 25”, with anorexia nervosa being extremely popular among those ages.

I believe one of the most pressing problems in adolescent mental health as we are getting settled into this new millennium is the eating disorder, anorexia nervosa. According to the DSM-5 (2015), anorexia nervosa is “characterized by distorted body image and excessive dieting that leads to severe weight loss with a pathological fear of becoming fat.” In other words, people who suffer from anorexia nervosa genuinely fear becoming fat so much so that they take drastic measures to achieve their ‘perfect’ body or their desired body. Anorexia nervosa “primarily affects adolescent girls and young women” (2015). This disorder is common in these demographics and is increasingly becoming a problem for young female adolescents. The reason for this is

Adolescence is a period of transition, a period in which body image is an important factor to them. Having a good nutrition is crucial to support the growth of youth and to establish healthy eating habits. What people eat affects how they look, how they feel, and how they can get sick, even to the point of dying. In the period of Adolescence, Ages 11 to about 20, body image is important to them, how people see them and how they look. Many people do not know what an eating disorder is, and they do not even know what it can do to someone. Some eating disorders that can affect the physical self of a teenager are obesity, binge eating, anorexia, and bulimia nervosa. Eating disorders affect millions of teens around the world, they are most common in a culture whose focus is on weight and body image, and can affect male or females, races, and ethnic backgrounds.

The United States has a high incidence of obesity, anorexia nervosa and bulimia. Obesity also known as overweight is having excessive body mass above the normal weight for the child’s age and sex. Anorexia nervosa and bulimia is an emotional disorder characterized by body imagines and the fear of gaining weight. However, people who are anorexia refused to eat in order to control their weight. On the other hand, people who are bulimia consume a large amount of food within a short of period of time. Then they begin to purge, fast or exercise right away because they feel shameful or guilt for eating an abundance of food. Overall, there are cultural influences that contribute to eating-related disorders in teenagers.

Anorexia nervosa is an eating disorder that makes people lose more weight than is considered healthy for their age and height. (1Anorexia Nervosa MedlinePlus) They may be afraid of gaining weight, even though they are are underweight. They will have extreme control over their food and calorie intake, and exercise intensely. Individuals with this condition usually have low to extremely low weight, and body fat. Most patients are malnourished. Patients with this disorder have a disturbed body concept.

Anorexia Nervosa can occur at any point in life, but is most common in men and women ages twelve through twenty-five. However, anorexia is more commonly found in young women and girls than males (). Unhealthy or odd weight management behaviors are particularly common in teens and adolescents. One study found that “Over one-half of teenage girls and nearly one-third of teenage boys use unhealthy weight control behaviors such as skipping meals, fasting, smoking cigarettes, vomiting, and taking laxatives” (Neumark-Sztainer, 2005). Unfortunately for many teens, these unhealthy behaviors can develop into something more and eventually lead to anorexia or other eating disorders. Adolescents at this age and time in their lives are becoming more aware of their body image and comparing themselves to others. Many adolescents are so obsessive over their body image that they look to restricting food as a way of controlling

Eating disorders are not a consequence of only one source, they are caused by different factors. Physiological, psychological, social and cultural circumstances are the main sources of these diseases. Anorexia and bulimia are the most common diseases among teenagers. Anorexia is the needless loss of weight; it is more commonly presented in teenage girls. On the other hand, Bulimia can be described as the action of binge eating followed by purging. Bulimia is a severe issue among society due to the reason that it affects a big portion of the adolescent population of the world. The effects of bulimia range from physical to mental issues.