Eating Disorders: A Psychological Analysis

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.

Eating disorders have become an increasing public health problem once thought to be an affliction amongst young women, now an epidemic across culture and gender boundaries. Anorexia gives rise to serious socio-economic and bio-psychological circumstances of our ever vast, growing society. Awareness of eating disorders have increased but perhaps only in proportion to its advancement of its research and treatment. That which still leaves us in a position for a much greater demand for education and heightened awareness of this perplexing disease.

It was not a very easy thing to do. I must have told myself to quit about a million times. I only worked hard and gave it my all for two weeks.

In USA, 20 million females and 10 million males are anorexia patient, dissatisfied with their bodies. Moreover this trend is usually seen in youngsters from age 6 to 10, studying in schools. They first of all start feeling complex regarding their body shapes and their chubbiness. [1] Then this complex stars growing more and more unless some counseling or control is done. If kids get no help they might develop such complex further into anorexia. Normally it happens to girls that at the age of 6, they start developing their body shape and weight concerns, contrary to

Anorexia nervosa is an eating disorder that consists of self-regulated food restriction in which the person strives for thinness and also involves distortion of the way the person sees his or her own body. An anorexic person weighs less than 85% of their ideal body weight. The prevalence of eating disorders is between .5-1% of women aged 15-40 and about 1/20 of this number occurs in men. Anorexia affects all aspects of an affected person's life including emotional health, physical health, and relationships with others (Shekter-Wolfson et al 5-6). A study completed in 1996 showed that anorexics also tend to possess traits that are obsessive in nature and carry heavy emotional

Anorexia nervosa is a deadly eating disorder that has been an increasing problem over recent years for this generation, especially in adolescent females. Since almost everyone can access the media whenever and wherever they want, our society has been constantly shown images that have shaped our standards of beauty in which we then pass down to adolescents. In a society where mass media is so easily accessible, it 's not hard to see why images of extremely thin models can have a major impact on the minds of adolescent females who want to be accepted. Though the causes may be hard to change or impact, there are many possible treatments for those with anorexia nervosa ranging from psychological, biological, social and many other different treatments that target key components of this disorder in order to help those in need.

The brain is a changing part of the body. During a lifetime, many think that their bodies are not the way society says they should be. Because of the disfigured views of their bodies, people begin to develop eating disorders such as anorexia nervosa. According to Mental Health by Jennifer Hurley, symptoms of anorexia include an unhealthy and unnatural fear of gaining weight, even if the person affected is at a stable body weight. The book continues on by saying that this eating disorder is a mental disorder that may be caused by academic, social, and family problems (Hurley 33). Anorexia nervosa can be treated by therapy.

Eating disorder is a psychological concept of eating and weight theory that is related to this issue/current event. The most prevalent eating disorders these days include, Bulimia Nervosa and Anorexic Nervosa (Weiten & Doug, 2012). The incidents of young women binge-eating or purge-eating increased in 1970, through which women starved themselves, sometimes resulting in death (Weiten & Doug, 2012). The problem of eating disorders is largely prevalent in women affecting near about 3% of Canadian women during some period of their life whereas, it has increased among females between the ages 15 and 24 (Weiten & Doug, 2012, p. 424). Bulimia Nervosa involves the person vomiting, fasting and exercising or using laxatives after consumption of a certain number of calories. In addition, Anorexic Nervosa results in dieting or starving even after the victim has lost equal to or more than 15% of their weight (Weiten & Doug, 2012). A number of factors have been implicated in the incidence of eating disorders such as biological, developmental, psychological and social factors which are implemented through the idea of a being thin in society which then results into young boys and girls seeing themselves as fat when they are not (Weiten & Doug, 2012).

The primary goal of treatment is to improve energy availability, restore regular menstrual functioning and enhance bone mineral density. Modification of the diet and exercise regimens can help to improve overall energy availability by reducing energy expenditure and maximizing energy intake, which will have positive effects in restoring menstruation and strengthening bone health (Manore et al., 2007). However, this change is not immediate and is in fact, small, short-lived, and sometimes insignificant. Many athletes are also often resistant to reductions in training or alterations in their diet rendering ineffective treatment, which emphasizes the need to explore other methods of treatment (Manore et al., 2007).

Men with anorexia sometimes display other psychological problems. While affected women tend to be more perfectionistic and displeased with their body. Children and adolescents who suffer from anorexia are at risk for a slow growth and development.“Anorexia tends to affect the middle and upper socioeconomic classes and Caucasians more often than less advantaged classes and ethnic minorities in the United States” (Stockwell, 1990). “People with anorexia lean towards compulsive behaviors, obsession with food, and or addiction characteristics in efforts to overly control their food intake and weight” (Harries, 1992). According to ANAD, statistics show that “0.9% of American women suffer from anorexia in their lifetime.1 in 5 anorexia deaths is by suicide”. (Carney, 2009)

Thirty million eating disorders exist in the United States (Get The, 2013). Thirty million people manipulate their caloric intake and exacerbate their workout regimens. However, this number fails to include the number of people who simply are at fault with their bodies. It does not encompass the number of women who hate their wide hips and the way their thighs gently brush as they climb through life. The statistic disregards the number of women who look in a mirror and are nauseated by what stares back at them. It forgets the number of women who simply do not honor their body as the temple that it is. The twenty-first century brought sweeping waves of technology and the construction of social media, but it brought edited photos, unrealistic

The rise of clinically diagnosed cases of anorexia nervosa nervosa and bulimia nervosa nervosa are increasing over the decades. According to Barlow,Durand and Stewart(2012), eating disorders are found to be more prevalent among women, specifically between the ages of 12 and 25 years of age. Prior to modern research, researchers saw eating disorders as a Western phenomenon due to the fact that non western countries did not have such a wide variety of food available to them. This perspective is now changing. Individuals in other countries (non-western) have been diagnosed with eating disorders as well, however it is not as frequent as the United States or Canada for example(Barlow et al., 2012).

Eating disorders are complex disorders, which affect physical and mental health, productivity, and relationships. In the United States, 20 million females and 10 million males are suffering from eating disorders sometimes in their life such as anorexia nervosa, bulimia nervosa; binge eating disorders (Wade et al., 2011). Eating disorders are more common in teenager and college girls as they are more concerned about their body weight. Literature has shown that these concerns go through the life but more common in young age group (Smolak, 2011).

Anorexia Nervosa is an aggressive eating disorder inflicting people indiscriminately around the globe. It occurs primarily among females with onset generally occurring in early to late adolescence, often resulting in death. Anorexia nervosa is characterised by an individuals refusal to maintain a healthy weight, intense fear of weight gain and a distorted body image. The major risk factors contributing to the development of anorexia are Genetics, Psychological Traits, Cultural and Media Ideals and an unhealthy family environment.

In this generation teenagers fight the everyday struggle of wanting to be perfect. Perfection sells in modern society, with perfection being plastered everywhere, people feel the pressure of having to change their appearance. When looking at television and movies women and men see the ideal model of what the world believes they should look like. This long term process of seeing what you are expected to look like can cause emotional and physical problems such as eating disorders. When looking at such a large amount of people that have to cope with either Anorexia or Bulimia, about forty percent of the females with Anorexia are between the ages of fifteen and nineteen years old ("Eating Disorders Statistics"). About another forty-two percent of girls that are in the first and third grade are wanting to be thinner ("Eating Disorders Statistics"). Teenagers living with eating disorders experience many life-altering emotional, mental and physical changes.