Anorexia Nervosa And Its Influence On Society

Incidences of Anorexia Nervosa have appeared to increase sharply in the USA, UK and western European countries since the beginning of the 60s (Gordon, 2001). The increasing prevalence of the disease has led the World Health Organisation to declare eating disorders a global priority area within adolescent mental health (Becker et al. 2011). Anorexia has in many ways become a modern epidemic (Gordon, 2000) and with a mortality rate of 10% per decade (Gorwood et al. 2003), the highest of any mental disorder (Bulik et al. 2006), it is an epidemic that social and biological scientists have been working tirelessly to understand.

It has been found that eating disorders are most common in the western and industrialized culture where food is abundant. This is because these individuals attach a lot of importance to their physical appearance and are willing to do anything to get the dream figure. An eating disorder is not just watching what one eats and exercising on a daily basis but is rather an illness that causes serious disturbances in eating behaviour, such as great and harmful cutback of the consumption of food as well as feelings of serious anxiety about their body shape or mass. They would start to stop themselves to go out anywhere just so that they could work out and burn all of the calories of a meal or snack that they had scoffed earlier. Two of the most common eating disorders are anorexia nervosa and bulimia nervosa. The regular description of a patient with either disease would be a youthful white female, with an upper social standing in a predictably socially competitive environment.

With Anorexia Nervosa, there is a strong fear of weight gain and a preoccupation with body image. Those diagnosed may show a resistance in maintaining body weight or denial of their illness. Additionally, anorexics may deny their hunger, have eating rituals such as excessive chewing and arranging food on a plate, and seek privacy when they are eating. For women, they go through immediate body changes from abnormal to no menstruation periods and develop lanugo all over their bodies. Characteristics of an anorexic individual also consist of extreme exercise patterns, loosely worn clothing, and maintain very private lives. Socially, to avoid criticism or concern from others, they may distant themselves from friends and activities they once enjoyed. Instead, their primary concerns revolve around weight loss, calorie intake, and dieting. In regards to health, many will have an abnormal slow heart rate and low blood pressure, some can develop osteoporosis, severe dehydration which can result in kidney failure, and overall feel weak (Robbins, 27-29). It has been reported that Anorexia Nervosa has one of the highest death rates in any mental health condition in America (www.NationalEatingDisorders.org).

We have talked about many things in class that the Western culture has probably created. The obsession with perfection and body image in our society has caused many problems, one of which being anorexia. Anorexia is not just about having no fat or feeling overweight. Organs start shutting down and hair grows in places that it doesn’t normally grow to insulate the body. It can be very dangerous, and even life threatening. The desire to be perfect physically, has caused a major medical problem for some people. Hospitals won’t even take these people once they are at the end of life stage because there is nothing they can do.

Since the 1950s the cases of eating disorders have been increasing, especially in westernized countries (Wade, Keski-Rahkonen, & Hudson, 2011). 1950 was the year where having curves was accepted, but this view changed when societal culture started to become more important to the average person. Culture is comprised of how people think, behave, and work in a particular society (Merriam-webster’s collegiate dictionary, 2015). Societal culture is comprised of athletic influence, media, and the fashion industry. All of the societal culture factors are responsible for the rise of eating disorders in young adults. In 2011, it was found that 20 million women and 10 million men suffer from eating disorders at some point in their lives (Wade et. al, 2011). Eating disorders are not always considered an important mental illness, but due to the high number of cases they should be because they can lead to health problems including slow heart rate, low blood pressure, and severe dehydration. These side effects can lead to death if not treated properly which is why eating disorders should be looked at as a clinical disease.

Culture beliefs have been viewed as an important cause in the formulation of eating disorders. Research states that “Widespread eating disorder difficulties have been reported among both Caucasian and black South Africa college students (le Grange et al., 1998)” (Butcher et al., 2013, p.304). It has been described as a worldwide problem. Anorexia nervosa cases are not known as a culture specific illness however, culture does impact the disorder clinical display. Bulimia nervosa is viewed as a culture specific disorder because it has been detected in the western exposure to becoming a thin individual, having access to food, and present day plumbing providing the individual access to vomit in

A main cultural implication for an eating disorder is gender. Even though men can still have eating disorders, they are more likely to happen to women, or young girls. This is due to or societal views. The prevalence of anorexia nervosa is most common among Caucasian females. In our society, we view females a certain way and hold our standards very higher. This makes females feel self-conscious about themselves and their bodies. With Joan, she often struggled to be what everyone else wanted her to be. Women in different cultures do not have to deal with these views on social media. According to our textbook, females have a .9% prevalence rate for anorexia nervosa where males only have a 0.3. It also says in our textbook that Caucasian males have preferred females with skinnier bodies then African American males. This view makes females want to be thinner and causes them to eat less or

Much to our perceived attention is the idealised image that most aspire to have. In attempting to achieve such a look involves drastic measures for some and possibly fatal. There is ample of evidence to suggest that such measures revolve around an individual’s eating habits thus leading to unhealthy disordered eating patterns. Eating disorders refer to abnormal eating habits characterised by excessive or insufficient intake of food and develop from a number of interrelated issues. Much of the research into eating disorders has focused particularly on anorexia nervosa and bulimia nervosa and its developmental causes. Anorexia nervosa is a psychological disorder characterised by delusions of being overweight resulting in conspicuous

Anorexia Nervosa is currently viewed by society as an extremely complicated disorder, misunderstood, over looked, and misjudged based on the stigmas of society. People who suffer from eating disorders like Anorexia do not always report the fact they are in living with the disorder because they are ashamed or scared of what might happen to them or what people will say. An individual may also feel that they do not met the exact criteria of Anorexia Nervosa in the DSM 5. An example of the DSM 5 criteria for Anorexia Nervosa is an individual purposely takes too little nourishment, has below average body weight, fearful of gaining weight, refusal to keep a normal weight, distorted body perception

The article that I read this week is called, “Eating Disorders: Culture and Eating Disorders.” This article is about eating disorders such as, anemia and bulimia, and how they affect different cultures. In America, eating disorders are a thing because people are so worried about body image and want to be skinny, but in Hong Kong and India it’s used for religious purposes. In a lot of other cultures eating disorders are very rare or are unheard of. A researcher named Bemporael believes that eating disorders have been around before the 19th century. They think the situation grew bigger in a time where there were a lot of wealthy people. I think it’s very hard to tell when eating disorders have started and when it became such a huge

Eating disorders are severe disturbances in eating behaviors, such as eating too little or eating too much. “Anorexia nervosa affects nearly one in 200 Americans in their lives (three-quarters of them female)” (Treating anorexia nervosa). Anorexia, when translated into Greek means “without appetite” which is not true for all suffering from anorexia most people with this disorder have not lost their appetite they simply have to ignore it. People with anorexia have an intense fear of gaining weight and have convinced themselves that they are overweight even if they are the opposite of overweight. Since the way that they view themselves is in a negative light they starve themselves and put their lives at risk. “In the most severe

Hudson, Hirripi, Pope and Kessler’s (2007) research indicates that the average onset of anorexia nervosa is 19 years old, but can develop as young as 14 years old, and women are more likely to develop anorexia nervosa than men. Some studies indicate that anorexia affects whites more than Hispanics, African Americans and Asians; however it crosses cultures and socially diverse populations (APA, 2013). According to the DSM 5, Anorexia nervosa predominantly occurs in developed, high-income countries such as in the United States, as well as in many European countries, Australia, New Zealand, and Japan. Individuals who present with weight concerns that develop eating and feeding disorders varies substantially across cultural contexts. One study indicated that that “the ‘spread’ of Western values regarding slimness (fat phobia) is primarily responsible for the development of anorexia nervosa in non-Western societies” (Rieger et al., 2001). Rieger et al (2001) also looked at the medical records of Asian women and found the absence of fat phobia; the rationale for dietary restriction was commonly related to other external factors. The WHO (2004) also reports that female athletes, ballet students, fashion models and culinary students are at risk of developing anorexia nervosa; unhealthy dieting and society’s

The biological underpinnings are only part of anorexia the mechanics is careful not to dismiss the point of the studies to culture and psychological issues of and catalysts for eating disorders. (“Case”) The studies are put together. This teenage girl in Fijian caused bad eating disorders in just three years. Anne Becker showed us the introduction of a television into the population of Fijian.(“Case”) The media has contributed to eating disorders in America’s teens.

Cultural Stance: To explore cultural implications in understanding anorexia nervosa, one should evaluate several different cultures and make conclusions based on how certain lifestyles influence the pathology. Body image and beauty ideals are a large focus in societies that have large media followings. In this exploration of societies, American, Chinese, and Arabian cultures will be assessed for their culture and influence in the presentation of AN.

Wikipedia (2015) defined this eating disorder as: ”… An eating disorder characterized by food restriction, odd eating habits or rituals, obsession with having a thin figure, and an irrational fear of weight gain. It is accompanied by a distorted body self-perception, and typically involves excessive weight loss.” Anorexia nervosa is classified by food construction, it is an eating disorder inapplicable eating practice. They are so obsessed with having a thin figure. They are anxious of gaining weight, and they