Eating Disorders Program Analysis

There are many challenges for young girls and boys that lead to major issues like problems with self-image and eating disorders. In numerous studies done, it is easy to see that eating disorders do not have to be permanent. The studies done show that there are many ways to help people struggling with this disorder. Although there is always a change of relapse, bulimia nervosa and anorexia nervosa are two eating disorders that with time, the desire to get better, and the proper treatment, can be eliminated from a person’s life. Therefore, it is important that on college campuses, there is an organization ran by students for students to help build up self-confidence and decrease the rate of eating disorders.

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:

Nowadays, when people emphasis more and more on healthy lifestyles, both exercise and food intake have become a big part of the consideration. With the goals of being fit and losing weight, some people eat irregularly or do not eat at all. As a result, eating disorders seem more often on news and reports. However, some people still view it as a joke. With the increasing number of people diagnosed with eating disorders, people should raise awareness on the effects of eating disorders and treat them seriously.

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

In a recent survey done by the National institute on Media and the Family, fifth graders, ten year old boys and girls told researchers they were dissatisfied with their own bodies after watching a music video by Britney Spears or a clip from the TV show “Friends.”(4) If this isn’t shocking enough, the research group reported that at the age of thirteen, fifty-three percent of American girls are “unhappy with their bodies.” This grows to seventy-eight percent by the time the girls reach seventeen. Also, eating disorders are beginning to start at an alarming young age. Statistics show that girls are developing eating disorders at the age of six.(1) Young girls that are exposed to appearance focused television programs, and magazine shows feel that they need to look like the models that they see. Most of these girls are not even have fully developed bodies yet and are already trying to perfect themselves. One girl had even shared how one of her best friends discovered that her fifth grade cousin was bulimic. Girls at that age should not even be concerned with their bodies yet and eating disorders being developed is a harsh wake up call as to how young girls everywhere are being effected by the media each and everyday.

The best way to get rid of eating disorders is to shut them down before they can surface. Some major causes of eating disorders include sociocultural, mental, and family factors such as the media, peer influences, negativity, criticism, low self-esteem and body dissatisfaction (Polivy et.al. n.p.). This means that almost every eating disorder will spawn in a person who does not feel good enough, or believes that his or her body is not satisfactory. This can occur as a result of a mental illness, or because of one’s peers, family, or pressure from the media. Showing compassion to friends and family is a great way to take part in preventing eating disorders, just as Compassion Focused Therapy for Eating Disorders is being developed in order to help people who are currently struggling with an eating disorder (Goss et. al. n.p.). The Everything Parent’s Guide to Eating Disorders says that a great way to prevent eating disorders is to never put a child on a diet (Best-Boss 42). Rather, the focus should really be on overall healthy eating habits. While diets can be a healthy change for someone mature, they can put pressure on children to stick to strict eating habits and schedules. A no-diet prevention technique could drastically lessen the chances of a person getting Anorexia Nervosa, which starts developing in early-to-mid adolescents who take part in extreme dieting and food rituals (Hill n.p.).

Eating disorders are sweeping this country and are rampant on junior high, high school, and college campuses. These disorders are often referred to as the Deadly Diet, but are often known by their more popular names: anorexia or bulimia. They affect more than 20% of females between the age of thirteen and forty. It is very rare for a young female not to know of someone with an eating disorder. Statistics show that at least one in five young women have a serious problem with eating and weight (Bruch, 25).

I will discuss what I will do as a group leader and what is expected of them as members. I will also let group members know that this is a positive group environment and we are here to lift each other up and not tear each other down. We will also discuss self-esteem and why it is important to have a positive self-image perception. The next session will be spent explaining the Invisible Self Model of Wellness to the girls. I will show them the diagram while explaining the different components of the model. The IS model is intended for the development of wellness programs to facilitate positive growth and change across the life span (Myers, Sweeney, & Witmer, 2000). Exploring and examining this model will help the girls realize that an improved sense of self-esteem will affect different aspects of their life. The next few sessions will focus on identifying positive attributes within themselves. Using the wellness wheel, they will identify strengths in different aspects of their life. They will develop strategies on using their strengths to overcome the weaker factors on their wellness wheels. We will also discuss self-doubt and how it can affect our self-esteem. We will discuss negative

In my research, I explored the world of eating disorders. I wanted to see if there was anything specifically encouraging eating disorders and if there was a way to stop it. Eating disorders affect the community greatly because often times, they go unchecked or unrecognized. As a recovered anorexic, I feel it’s very important to address this issue. It’s a very big problem that is often not addressed at all, or is seen as normal, like counting calories. I hoped to find a way to improve the way that eating disorders are viewed and explain to people about what defines an eating disorder, because many people will never know if it is not explicitly explained to them. My study’s purpose is to bring light into the dark world of eating disorders

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

In today’s society social media, movies, magazines, and television have negatively impacted young adults self image by showing pictures that are digitally enhanced. Therefore, the pictures are not a true representation of the individual.

For this paper, I chose to focus on eating disorders looking mainly at their causes. Based on personal experience, I feel that these disorders are stereotyped very heavily in our society, and that public awareness of their causes lacking. Growing up I was always very thin, due to a high metabolism and a small bone structure; traits which ran in my family. Many times, people would make fun of me and even call me anorexic. However, I was not anorexic or bulimic, I was just a thin child, and am still a thin young woman. These trials taught me a very valuable lesson about labeling people, and how much that can hurt them. This is one of the reasons I chose to write about this topic. I also chose to focus on the causes of these disorders because

Eating disorders are serious disorders that have a negative impact on both the psychological and the physiological well-being of the afflicted (Welch, Ghader, & Swenne, 2015). Studies concerning eating disorders are showing more and more frequency in younger age groups and especially in those who are athletes, diabetics, and obese adolescents (Martin & Golden, 2014). This tells us that symptoms of eating disorders can be caught and treated during adolescence. Today, many schools have very little class time dedicated to educating students about healthy lifestyles. Little, to no information is given about what eating disorders are or how to avoid the development of one. If information is provided about the prevention of eating disorders, it is usually in the form of a video or discussed briefly in a textbook. Schools are not doing enough in the fight against the development of eating disorders. Many studies have shed some light on the issue of eating disorders by conducting surveys and developing new programs to use in schools. The primary prevention of eating and body image problems among young people, and in particular, adolescents, is emerging as one of the most desirable achievements in contemporary health and nutrition (O 'Dea J. , 2000). Primary prevention programs, and better education in general, for the prevention of eating disorders and promotion of healthy lifestyles needs to be established in schools. The purpose of this paper is to propose more education

Two of the most common eating disorders are anorexia nervosa and bulimia nervosa and they have a prospective to effect on the person experiencing this disorder on lasting physical health, social, emotional, and cognitive development. These disorders can sometimes prove to be a great threat to life. Many adolescents are forced to postpone their schooling even as they search for treatment. Therefore this amplifies the likely harmful effects of their situation on their social and cognitive development. It is very much possible that with the passage of time the condition of eating disorder will aggravate and it will become more obvious and will ultimately affect their moods and physical health (Hoek & Hoeken, 2003). The imbalanced and inadequate diet affects the adolescent's brains and cognitive function

Attracting young people has always been more a challenge for campaigns and organizations. Capturing the focus of these young people to communicate a message effectively has always been a priority of campaigns and organizations. Sometimes however, instead of communicating a message the priority is addressing a social problem. A social problem such as young girl’s lack of self-esteem. With the power of Dove’s Self Esteem Workshop they are helping young females to love their look and to feel comfortable in their own skin. Dan Savage and Urvashi Vaid are founders of It Gets Better and Action Makes It Better for lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people. Better meaning life in general and feeling more comfortable with who they are. We use Savage and Vaid’s strategies to benefit Dove’s Self Esteem Workshop to help young girls to improve their confidence and like the way they look, and by improving their self-confidence they will not miss out on events while growing up or suffer believing the cruel words from others.