Eating Disorder: Body Image

Thesis Statement: It is important to understand eating disorders and the types of eating disorders to overcome them and seek the proper treatment.

In the past few decades researchers have focused on eating disorders, the causes of these disorders and how they can be treated. However, it has mainly been in the last decade that researchers have started looking at eating disorders in children, the reasons why these disorders are developing at such a young age, and the best recovery program for these young people. To understand this growing problem it is necessary to ask a few important questions:

Millions of teens and adults are faced with eating disorders and negative body images everywhere they go. Celebrities promote unrealistic standards and display what the “acceptable” body is. Because of our stick thin role models we have in the media today much of our society holds their own body image to the unobtainable standards of celebrities. People are bombarded with images of what’s “sexy” instead of what’s healthy (Helmich). In a world based around celebrities and media, shouldn’t they be promoting a healthy body image instead of the negative ones we are being smothered with?

Thesis statement: Young adults and adolescents are the ones who are the most susceptible to develop an eating disorder. The exact causes for eating disorders might vary with every person, but the most controversial ones are social media, unhealthy eating habits and genetics.

Anorexia nervosa as stated in the Webster dictionary is a voluntary weight loss of at least twenty-five percent of body weight. The dramatic change in thinness may lead to other health problems such as cessation of menstruation. Another popular eating disorder is bulimia. Bulimia, as stated in the Webster dictionary, is an eating disorder characterized by binges, purges with laxatives, and self-induced vomiting. Some people have alternating patterns of the two problems. A prolonged period of either eating disorder can result in serious health problems or in severe cases death. In today’s society more and more adolescence feel the pressure to be perfect, to be thin. Anorexia and bulimia is the leading types of disorders that adolescences face.

Although a great deal of early research on body image and eating disorders focused on upper/middle class Caucasians living in America or under the influence of Western ideals, many researchers are realizing that eating disorders are not isolated to this particular group. They are also realizing the differences in body image between occur in different races and genders (Pate, Pumariega, Hester 1992). Recently, several studies have shown that eating disorders transcend these specific guidelines, and increasingly, researchers are looking at male/female differences, cross-cultural variation and variation within cultures as well. It is impossible to broach the concept of body image without

In the article by Sarah Gralen, she explains how this is the time during which anorexia nervosa and bulimia become most prominent. This is due to the occurrence of puberty which shifts young minds toward achieving a body image which is socially appealing (Gralen 2). The pressures of dating and body changes has more prevalence in young girls, thus increasing the chance of eating disorders in them over boys their same age. As an effort to keep their self-esteem at a peak, adolescents seem to believe that depriving their bodies of necessary nutrients is more important than enjoying their young years. With media promoting unattainable and unrealistic body as healthy and beautiful, adolescents of both gender are seen to carry over unhealthy eating patterns to their adult lives. This unfortunately has the potential to bring about poor quality dating relationships as the person afflicted with body image problems obtained in adolescence is more concerned with proving their worth rather than delving deep into interpersonal relationships. Gralen asserts that “While eating disorders are easily overcome, the tendencies for the adolescent to revert back to the unhealthy behavior is extremely high, and often acts in a cycle” (3). Dieting in early adolescence and overcoming the issue has been seen to increase the chance of the disorder returning in later

The average that someone develops anorexia is 19 years old (NIMH), but that does not mean a person can only be 19 in order to develop an eating disorder. The NIMH has reported cases of eating disorders reporting in ages as low as .1 percent of eight to eleven year olds and .2 percent of twelve to fifteen year olds. Eating disorders are becoming more common for students in high school and college, since they view it as a coping mechanism to handle their

Many children and adolescents not only express dissatisfaction with their figure, shape and weight, but also exhibit disordered eating behavior, such as binge eating (eating a large amount of food with a sense of lack of control), food restriction, laxative abuse and vomiting. For children and adolescents, eating disorders can overlap in many instances. As an example, some children alternate between periods of anorexia and bulimia. Eating disorders typically develop during adolescence or early adulthood. However, research has shown that they can start in childhood, too. Females are much more vulnerable. Only an estimated 5% to 15% of people with anorexia or bulimia are male. With binge eating, the number rises to 35%

1. Chapter 9, “Adolescence” Body and Mind,” section Puberty explains the physical and mental changes that teenagers go through, it’s the state in which they transition from children to young adults, incapable of completely just one or the other (Berger, 315). The first changes of puberty, physically-wise, begins around the ages of 9 – 13 years’ old for both boys and girls, which include facial and body hair, deepening of the voice, and of course body growth; such as the hands, feet, face, and private parts. Although genetics do play a role of the timing of these body changes, environmental, emotional, and cultural factors can also affect the time and age when puberty happens. Sometimes it’s delayed, other times the process is quicker than norm. “About two thirds of the variation of age of puberty is genetic, evident not only in families, but also in ethnic groups…precocious puberty is genetic, but the cause of the increase is largely unknown – perhaps childhood obesity or new chemicals in the environment” (Berger, 320-321). Among puberty, adolescents’ nutrition become poor due to body image…In addition, there eating disorders that teenagers discover during their transition, they are more “vulnerable to unhealthy eating,” and unlike childhood, “eating disorders increase drastically during puberty” (Berger, 325). This part of the chapter explains two major and serious types of eating disorders. Anorexia Nervosa is a voluntarily starvation in which a person will starve him or

Body image is an important concept in many adolescent and young adult minds. To have a positive body image is to know that you are beautiful. To be beautiful is to reach the standards of beauty in society. However, society is constantly changing those standards as time goes by. Many young men and women strive to reach the positive, even if it means their health, money, and mind. They have the media, such as magazines to thank for these wonderful standards.

Many young teenagers have developed eating disorders, as they sadly use unhealthy habits to manage their weight and that is through skipping meals, fasting, self- induced vomiting, and not to forget excessive exercise. People with anorexia tend to be very skinny, and as when they look into the mirror, they literally see excess body fat. Their minds have tricked them into believing they need to lose more weight to be able to look fit.

“People often say that beauty is in the eye of the beholder, and I say that the most liberating thing about beauty is realizing that you are the beholder,” according to Salma Hayek. Society should have a positive outlook on body image, rather than face a disorder that can change one’s whole life. Negative body image can result from the media, with photoshop and editing, celebrity fad diets, and society’s look at the perfect image. Negative body image can lead to dangerous eating disorders, such as bulimia and anorexia. It can also take a risk to unhealthy habits, such as smoking, alcohol, and drugs. It is important to stress the effects of body image, because the world still struggles with this today. Society should not be affected by

The amount of males that are unsatisfied with their bodies has tripled in the last twenty-five years. According to Helen Fawkner, doctor of philosophy, it has increased from fifteen percent of the male population to forty-five percent. It is an extremely severe problem that most people are not aware of. It can lead to suicidal thoughts, self-harm, and eating disorders, but the majority of people think that males do not have to worry about it as much as females. However, they have the same amount of pressure to have the perfect figure as females, it is just not delineated. Body image and eating disorders are not just female problems, men go through the same issues.

Body image may be viewed as the way people see themselves and even imagine how they make look based off how they may feel about themselves. Yet it could also be viewed as the way other people see you. Body image, in medicine and psychology refers to a person 's emotional attitudes, beliefs and views of their own body (Positive and Negative Body Image). According to Positive and Negative Body Image, a negative body image develops when a person feels his or her body does not amount up to family, social, or media standards. Many people feel as if they don’t measure up to the belief of others. People who have accepted the way they look often feel good about their image and would be considered to have a positive body image. One’s appearance may not be measure up to how their family expects it to be or how it is perceived to be in the media, but once people learn accept and be proud of the way they look they’ll be better off in the long run. When a person is measured against the standards of the beauty seen frequently in the media and it doesn’t compare to how they feel about themselves it become discouraging. Having said that, long-lasting negative body image can affect both your mental and physical health which could lead to eating disorders down the road.