Eating Disorders : A Social Problem Essay

What is a feminist approach to understanding eating disorders? Not all feminists have the same understanding of eating disorders. There are many different theories that are prevalent in feminist literature today. This web page will explore some of the different feminist perspectives about the cause of eating disorders in our culture.

In the United States, 20 million women and 10 million men suffer from a clinically significant eating disorder at some time in their life (“Get The Facts on Eating Disorders,” NEDA). This is in the United States alone. Imagine how many people are affected by eating disorders in the world. Even Though there is a plethora of people with eating disorders, many people don’t speak out and if they ever do it may be too late. Eating disorders can kill you and affect other factors of your health so it is important to find help. Although eating disorders are crucial, scientists, school, etc are trying to help people suffering and prevent others from having an eating disorder.

There are so many statistics regarding eating disorders. In general, there are about 30 million men and women who have some type of eating disorder and only about 1 out of 10 men and women will receive some treatment for their disorder. Because of this, it is no surprise that eating disorders have the highest mortality rate out of all the mental illnesses (National Association of Anorexia Nervosa and Associated Disorders, 2015). The National Association of Anorexia Nervosa and

In conclusion, If NEDA promotes good nutrition and exercise, not only treatment against eating disorders, it will help thousands of people. The problems caused by eating disorders could be devastating, and the solution is not as difficult as people think it is. It is only a matter of eliminating some kinds of aliments that could be harmful for a person’s health, and be more active during the week. Changing little by little could be the first step. With a little willpower individuals could have all the benefits mentioned above. With that in mind, people will improve their life no only physical, but also mental and social.

Food. It is essential for survival. Without it, people die. However, oddly enough, many struggle to live without it to accomplish the standards that our culture has created for us. We are taught that being thin is perfection and will lead to a happier life. However, lurking are the health risks that one pays for obtaining the “perfect body”. Still, along with a distorted body image, others struggle with keeping weight down and fall into the diet fads that the world parades. From movies, magazines, and television, the media also sends us messages that being fat is bad and unhealthy while being thin and beautiful is acceptable. The impact of such influences has increased eating disorders in America. These disorders do not

In today's society, there is much attention being given to the subject of eating disorders such as anorexia and bulimia; unfortunately it is because these disorders seem to be becoming more and more common. The question that remains is whether eating disorders such as these are simply personal problems of the individuals, or if they have become a social problem that needs to be addressed more aggressively. Having grown up in this society, I see this issue as a definite social problem. To say that these increasingly common eating disorders are personal problems, implies that the causes of them are personal as well, which I believe is not the case. A social problem is something that goes against society's goals and values; it would seem

A combination of genetic, physical, social, and psychological factors may contribute to the development of an eating disorder, such as Anorexia. Anorexia is an emotional disorder characterized by an obsessive desire to lose weight by refusing to eat. Eating disorders effect ten million females and one million males in the United States. Also 0.3 percent of the eating disorders occur in teenage children.

Males and females around the world struggle with the idea of loving themselves. Through trials and trials of helping thousands of people NEDA has finally figured out how to ultimately assist these people with success. The organization campaigns for prevention of the issue, improved quality treatment to their patients, and increases research funding to better understand and treat eating disorders ("Charity"). People who suffer from eating disorders do not see the wrong that they are doing to their bodies. As someone may see themselves as large as 300 lbs, in reality they may only be 110 lbs. This is very common in males and females who start to severely suffer from one of the very many eating disorders. They see their body image differently than everyone else. NEDA is here to show those people they are beautiful and there is no need for them to see themselves the way they do. Everyone is beautiful in their own way and the first step in beating these disorders is to realize that.

According to the National eating disorders (NEDC) website: Every 60 minutes someone dies of an eating disorder related death. Over 30 million people in the United States are struggling with an eating disorder, and 5 in 200 people are struggling with just Bulimia or Anorexia alone, says Pearl, on people.com. People need to understand Eating Disorders are not a choice, and they are not to be glamorized, NEDC says, they are deadly mental disorders, that can affect anyone. Singer Demi Lovato has become an advocate for eating disorder help and even said herself, “Eating disorders are serious mental illnesses, not lifestyle choices”. If more people were correctly educated about eating disorders, they could be at

There is an epidemic spreading amongst humans of all ages, genders, ethnicities, and backgrounds; this silent invader often remaining unrecognized until significant damage has already taken place. According to Mirror Mirror Eating Disorders, an estimated 75 million people worldwide are affected by eating disorders of all types. There are five eating disorders classified by The National Eating Disorder Association (NEDA), each defined by various unnatural eating habits which result in an inability to maintain proper mental and physical health. These tendencies can yield irreversible physical damage; even death. One key solution to reducing the number of victims of eating disorders is through education. Despite the abundance of individuals facing eating disorders, its components are exceedingly

Psychological illnesses in which a person has abnormal eating habits such as eating too much or eating too little are called eating disorders. There are three main types of eating disorders. The types or eating disorders are bulimia nervosa, anorexia nervosa and binge eating disorder. There are many causes of eating disorders. Eating disorders are most commonly caused by the way genetic vulnerability, psychological factors, and socio-cultural influences (Eating Disorders Risk Factors). Eating disorders can be very harmful or even deadly.

As humans on this planet we often think about what others think about our appearance. We often, in this society, look at a person through their characteristics such as: looks, height, clarity of skin, and by how fat or thin one appears to be. In the article, The Diet Zone: A Dangerous Place, by Natascha Pocek, she states the fact that, in this society, we put a lot of emphasis on diets and appearing thin. From when we are children we tend to change our views according to the ways of man, and find ways to stay fit or to lose weight. With this constant loss of weight we tend to get into a hole of wanting to be thinner, and in my opinion that want leads to the attempts of so many girls developing some

Although eating disorders have been known since the early 70s, they have become such a major health issue in today’s generation. There are three different types of eating disorders, Anorexia nervosa which is the act of self-starvation, Bulimia Nervosa which is a binge and purge process where one would eat an abnormal amount of food in one sitting the throw it back up or using laxatives to rid the body of food. Lastly there is Binge eating which is the hardest to detect because those who binge eat still look decently healthy they usually workout a lot, but when they are alone they consume large amounts of food. This disease can be found in men and women of all ages.

“Eating disorders have the highest mortality rate of any psychiatric disorder,” according to the National Institute of Mental Health, “… anorexia nervosa has a higher mortality rate than any other cause of death among females between ages 15 and 24” (Zhao, Encinosa 1). An eating disorder is a psychological illness distinguished by a disturbance in eating habits. Along with having a physical and mental effect on an individual, some cases of eating disorders end fatally. The well-known eating disorders include anorexia nervosa- self-starvation to achieve thinness; bulimia nervosa- vomiting to prevent weight gain; and binge eating disorder- uncontrollable eating habits leading to weight gain. According to the National Institute of Mental Health,

attractive and the media reinforces this statement." Young adolescent girls buy into this sensation and through doing so, set themselves up for failure. When these predisposing factors are combined with stressors and pressures, the cycle is begun and an eating disorder is formed.