Eating Disorders : The Forgotten Issue

Many people are unaware of the background of eating disorders. Women are more likely than men to develop an eating disorder and they usually develop in childhood before the age of 20 (Ross-Flanigan 1). Women as well as men can develop an eating disorder; it is just more likely for a woman to develop one. Eating disorders are usually developed in adolescent or childhood years when a person is influenced the most. Also “Eating disorders are psychological conditions that involve overeating, voluntary starvation, or both. Anorexia nervosa, anorexic bulimia, and binge eating are the most well-known types of eating disorders” (Ross-Flanigan 1). Many people assume that an eating disorder is when a person staves themselves; they do not realize that it can involve overeating as well. Some eating disorders also involve purging, but not all. People with an eating disorder fear gaining weight even when they are severely underweight. They do not lack an appetite (Ross-Flanigan 1). These people are

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.

Around 10-15% of all Americans suffer from an eating disorder. “More than 7 million women suffer from an eating disorder whereas only one million men suffer from an eating disorder” (Mirasol). In modern society, we are surrounded by media and images. Both men and women struggle to meet the expectations set forth in magazines, websites, and on television. The pressure to imitate the ideal body can lead many down unhealthy paths. Teens today face a lot more challenges which leads them to illnesses like Anorexia, Bulimia, and Binge eating. Although there are a lot of similarities in this disease, the differences can also affect people differently, which means different treatments are required.

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.

It has been found that eating disorders are most common in the western and industrialized culture where food is abundant. This is because these individuals attach a lot of importance to their physical appearance and are willing to do anything to get the dream figure. An eating disorder is not just watching what one eats and exercising on a daily basis but is rather an illness that causes serious disturbances in eating behaviour, such as great and harmful cutback of the consumption of food as well as feelings of serious anxiety about their body shape or mass. They would start to stop themselves to go out anywhere just so that they could work out and burn all of the calories of a meal or snack that they had scoffed earlier. Two of the most common eating disorders are anorexia nervosa and bulimia nervosa. The regular description of a patient with either disease would be a youthful white female, with an upper social standing in a predictably socially competitive environment.

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

The two most common eating disorders are bulimia nervosa and anorexia nervosa. Both disorders, primarily affect young women, therefore the majority of the research on eating disorders has been done with women subjects. The onset of bulimia is between adolescence and early adulthood while the onset of anorexia is between early and late adolescence. Not only is the onset different but the disorders are unique. Bulimia nervosa is characterized by loss of control over eating which leads to food binges. These episodes are interspersed with episodes of purging, such as vomiting or laxative abuse, to keep weight down. The goal of anorexia is also to keep weight down , but to a

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

An eating disorder is an illness that involves an unhealthy feeling about the food we eat. “Eating disorders affect 5-10 millions Americans and 70 million individuals worldwide” (www.eatingdisorderinfo.org 1). They also affect many people from women, men, children, from all ages and different races. People who have eating disorders usually see themselves as being fat when they really aren’t. This usually deals with women or teenage girls mostly. They watch television, movies, read articles in magazines, and see pictures of the celebrities whom they want to be like because they have the “ideal body” that everyone wants and craves for. The media makes us all think we need those types of bodies to be happy with ourselves, be more successful

Eating disorders are subjective to each individual’s personal experiences, with that said; there are common influences which may contribute to the disorder. The transition into adolescents can be a confusing time for the individual, both physically and mentally. As the adolescent’s body begins to rapidly change during puberty, this physical transformation can lower self-esteem and raise self-consciousness. Adding to this confusing time for the adolescent is pressure from society. Adolescents are exposed to various media outlets where the ideal body image is promoted and often times reflect a thin or smaller appearance. This exposure leads to the adolescent comparing their changing physically appearance to the standard set in the media.

Eating disorders are a sickness that can come from psychological issues and it can disrupt the everyday diet. “A person with an eating disorder may have started out just eating smaller or larger amounts of food, but at some point, the urge to eat less or more spiraled out of control.” The common eating disorders are anorexia nervosa and bulimia nervosa. Anorexia nervosa is when someone see’s themselves as an overweight person, so they watch what they eat since, they have a fear of becoming overweight. The disorder takes over them and their focus is to avoid becoming overweight. Bulimia nervosa is when someone eats large amounts of food at one time and not being able to control how much they take in. “Researchers are finding that eating disorders are caused by a complex interaction of genetic, biological, behavioral, psychological, and social factors.”

Eating disorders are a growing problem in todays’ society. Nearly eight million people in the United States suffer from some sort of eating disorder. Eight million people equals out to be about three percent of the total population. With eating disorders on the rise, it is important that people become aware of such disorders.

Eating disorders involve disruption in eating behaviors, which can be classified within the three major eating disorders, anorexia nervosa, bulimia nervosa and binge-eating disorder, that can result in death. Eating disorder’s have had an increasing prevalence since the 1960s and “have spread insidiously over the ensuing decades” (Barlow, 269). Research shows that adolescent girls are more likely to encounter eating disorders than adolescent males (Santrock, 371).

“No one is perfect.”, “Your body is beautiful as the way it is.”, “It is the problem of the way you think of yourself”. These are the words that you might associate with eating disorders. Many people come up with an extremely skinny individual seems like under 80lbs when it comes to eating disorder. Today, I would like to inform you of the importance of eating disorder. This is not about simply people with underweight, rather it is about one of the highest ranked mortality rate among psychological disorders. First, you need to know what exactly eating disorders are in order to begin this long journey. I would like to cite a reliable source for its definition for a clear comprehension.

Imagine finding your sister passed out on the floor. Imagine being told that your sister was going to be sent away to a “special hospital.” Imagine missing your sister so much that you didn’t want to wake up on your own birthday. This is what happened to eight year old Emily Moore. It is estimated that a whopping eight million Americans have an eating disorder- seven million women and one million men (Stern). An eating disorder is an obsession with food and weight that harms the person’s well being (Ciotola). Eating disorders aren’t just going on a diet and losing a few pounds, it’s an illness. Some of the most common eating disorders are anorexia nervosa and bulimia nervosa. A solution to eating disorders is to educate students about