Eating Disorders And Body Image Issues

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?

Beauty standards in the media are one of many reasons feeding and eating disorders are a rising problem. The unrealistic body types of being extremely thin, in pop culture, are influential factors for many teens, especially teen girls. According to the Diagnostic Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, fifth edition (DSM-5), anorexia nervosa is a “restriction of energy intake, intense fear of gaining weight, and a disturbance in the perception of one’s body size” (American Psychiatric Association, 2013). Individuals diagnosed with anorexia tend to place a high value on their shape and weight, which can interfere with their daily lives. Individuals diagnosed tend to view of their body shape in a distorted representation. The motivation to become

Bulimia has cost the lives of many around the world, but it still does not seem to stop spreading its influence. This type of eating disorder shares similar emotional triggers found in those suffering from anorexia and excess fasting. “This illness is associated with premorbid perfectionism, introversion, poor peer relations, and low self-esteem.” (Garfinkel) Of course, these characteristics are a direct result of the person’s environment. As stated by Pigott once she got back home from her trip to Africa, “ I reverted to my natural state: one of yearning to be slimmer and more fit than I was. My freedom had been temporary. I was home, where fat is feared and despised.” (Pigott, C., pg.93) Bulimia, unlike anorexia, is characterized by a person binge-eating, or consuming a large amount of food in a short time lapse, but then “purging” themselves by either “self-inducing vomiting, taking enemas, or abusing laxatives or other medications.” (“The Eating Disorder Foundation”) This eating disorder is known to cause depression, kidney damage, dental damage, and anxiety disorders if left untreated. (“The Eating Disorder Foundation”) Despite its devastating effects, bulimia cases worldwide are increasing rapidly, showing the public’s ignorance in choosing to conform with the norm rather than taking care of themselves.

In longing to reach the norm many people fall victim to these detrimental illnesses. Sadly, women are more subject to these eating disorders than men, the number of men suffering from eating disorders is on the rise. Our culture puts pressure on each of its inhabitants to attain this ideal body type that is unrealistic for most people. The images that pollute television and magazines make us all feel inadequate if we don't meet the credentials of slenderness; therefore, continuing the role of our society in the development of eating disorders.

In the words of American psychologist Mary Pipher, “When unnatural thinness became attractive, girls did unnatural things to be thin”(“A Quote by Mary Pipher”). There are three main types of eating disorders: anorexia nervosa, bulimia nervosa, and binge eating disorder. An eating disorder is a mental illness that affects at least 30 million people of all ages and genders in the U.S. every year (“Eating Disorder Statistics”). Of the number of factors that may lead to an eating disorder, the media is an extremely prevalent causative. It portrays an ideal body image that is unrealistic for most people, acts as a trigger for eating disorders in people who may have been prone, and although positive measures are being taken, the overall impact of

Girls and guys both face certain social pressures and expectations. All over social media, it says the “ideal weight to be beautiful”, and there are many accounts who post thinspiration (inspiration to be thin), So many girls feel pressured to be that body size (“Prevention” nedic.ca). “Health” pg.49 says, Guys eating disorders are very unknown and and often people assume only girls can have eating disorders, but that's not true. It affects guys too, they're often similar to girls, with low self esteem, but many more guys will use greater effort to hide and ignore it, when sometimes there disorders can be even more intense. Adults and teens are also both at risk, it's not one certain age range, more often than not it is teens, but not always. LGBTQ and different race people are also at no less of a high risk, sometimes they are the ones treated with negativity and will begin to judge themselves harshly (“Types”). And lastly athletes have a very high chance, especially in sports like gymnastics, skating, dance, running, wrestling, rowing,and boxing (“Health” pg 47-48). Many coaches or parents put too much pressure on athletes to succeed at their sports, and athletes often become perfectionists with dedication to compete at high

Eating disorders: noun. A group of psychological ailments characterized by intense fear of becoming obese, distorted body image, and prolonged food refusal (anorexia nervosa) and/or binge eating followed by purging through induced vomiting, heavy exercise, or use of laxatives (bulimia nervosa).These ailments are not pretty. In this society, where only the fit and thin bodies are accepted and appreciated, eating disorders are more common than they should be. Children, starting at a young age, see skinny people on television and in magazines. They hear comments on how their bodies look, then hear the same people turn around and make nasty comments on someone else’s figure. This is not okay, because it is teaching young people that anything

Today, people seem to be judged on outward appearance more than ever. The people who face this judgement the most are young women. With the constant bombardment of beauty standards that must be met, many young women turn towards the advice of magazines. However, most of us don’t recognize the perfect girl on the cover, she’s supposedly the product of listening to the magazine’s advice. However, to the dismay of many young women, she is pure fiction, edited beyond realistic expectation, and yet our young women are expected to emulate this image. The result of such pressures can prove to be too much to handle and young women often resort to pathogenic dieting and experience body image and eating disorders. The increase in mental health disorders associated with body image in teen girls attributed to the unrealistic standards set in magazines targeted toward young women, therefore magazines need to use images that reflect the realities of the target audience and should not be heavily edited.

Eating disorders have become a major social problem in America, especially for woman. Our society pushes a fantasy of the idealized body through advertising, magazines, television, and social networks. It has become the cultural norm for women to be materialized out of the delusional thought process centered on the perfect body. From a very young age, women are given the message that in order to be happy and pretty, they must look like a Barbie doll. Women need to become aware that society’s ideal body image is not feasible. Your body is merely a vessel that contains the beautiful mind and soul that makes who you are. Our society has created unattainable standards of perfection in body image, and it is causing the rate of eating disorders to keep increasing. Over time, I have learned the most important aspect in life: perfection does not exist.

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.

Millions of people struggle daily to maintain a perfect physical body image in hopes of receiving approval, love, and happiness. The need to maintain this perfect image is supported by society and the media with a mirage of messages that you can be happy if you obtain this perfect image. Society 's ideals of what the human body should look like have caused numerous people to develop abnormal eating patterns in a contempt to conform and seek society 's approval of their body image.

Typically when covering the topic of eating disorders and body image dissatisfaction athletes and young women are the center of research and are stereotyped to be the only groups of people who suffer from self-image issues. In “The Hidden Faces of Eating Disorders and Body Image,” authors Justine Reels and Katherine Beals look to breakdown the stereotypes and dig deeper into the issues that cross over the borders of ethnicity, age and gender. The book also looks into how religion, sexual orientation, and certain disabilities such as those who have suffered from a stroke affect how a person perceives themselves. Reels and Beals urge their readers to become educators and voice the “need for diverse treatment and prevention” (Reel 5). Not only does the book cover instabilities across social categories it also looks at the various ways of assessment, treatment and prevention (Reel 178,194,210).

Anorexia victims suffer, at the least, dry skin, brittle hair and bones, yellow nails and skin and swollen joints, and the dangers gradually increase the longer they deprive their bodies of vital nutrients. More severe complications would be a drop in body temperature, breathing, and thyroid function, as well as heart and brain damage and death. Bulimics may suffer from mineral deficiency, swollen cheeks ,an inflamed esophagus, scarring on hands and worn down yellow teeth due to stomach acid, and even worse, stomach ruptures and heart failure. Other eating disorders can cause any wide range of complication. Eating disorders stem from a distorted body image and low self esteem. Modern societies in westernized countries are the

In today’s society, where physical characteristics are used to measure beauty and success, people are willing to push their bodies to extremes to achieve physical perfection. As an overweight woman, I may be considered a failure of society’s beauty test. However, my high self-esteem and acceptance of my body allows me to not be disturbed by what, to some, may seem as a sign of failure. Unfortunately, there are people whose desire to be accepted by society causes them to develop eating disorders. The two most common are called anorexia and bulimia (WebMD.Com Eating 1). The Anorexia Nervosa and Related Eating Disorders, association (ANRED), states “Anorexia and bulimia affect primarily people in their teens and

Ultimately, though, these behaviors will damage a person’s physical and emotional health, self- esteem and sense of competence and control (Factors That May Contribute to Eating Disorders 1). A Glamour magazine survey showed that sixty-one percent of respondents felt ashamed of their hips, sixty-four percent felt embarrassed by their stomachs, while seventy-two percent were ashamed of their thighs (Media Influence 1). A recent study in the United States showed that in reality only twenty-five percent of women are overweight, but seventy-five percent of the women in the United States consider themselves overweight when they are not. Four out of five women that live in the United States feel unhappy with their appearance (Media Influence 1). Adolescent girls have taken the fear of being overweight to the extreme, in which they are more terrified of gaining weight then losing their parents or even being diagnosed with cancer. Roughly one have of the girls in the fourth grade are on diets, and more than half of nine and ten year old girls admitted that they felt better about themselves when dieting (Media Influence 1). Children are taught early-on by society that what they should look like and even dress like matters. “It is reasonable to say that exposure could be a factor in the development of eating disorders,” Palmer continued. “But has a causal link been established? No (Pearson, Catherine 2).” Yes magazines are made for the people to look