How Do you Identify and Battle Eating Disorders?

Topic: What is causing young adults and teens to develop eating disorders and how can we help them?

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.

Eating disorders are a very serious psychological condition that affects your mind so that you are more focused on your food and weight than you are on everything else. The most known and most commonly diagnosed eating disorders are anorexia, bulimia, and binge eating disorder; however, these are not the only eating disorders. Eating disorders cause psychical and psychological problems, which at their worst can even become life threating. Statistics show that more women are affected by eating disorders, but men none the less can still be affected. “Age (most common from teens to early twenties), Family history (hereditary), emotional disorders (people with anxiety disorders and obsessive-compulsive disorder are at a great chance), transitions (moving, heading to college, or anything that can bring emotional distress), and sports (ballerinas, gymnasts, runners, and wrestlers are at a higher risk) also can play a role in who is being affected by an eating disorder” (Eating Disorders).

Eating disorders have become a major problem throughout the world, specifically in the United States. The key factor that has an influence on eating disorders is the media. Including people of all ages and genders, up to twenty-four million people suffer from an eating disorder in the United States (ANAD np). This is a huge problem in the world today but what makes it so much worse is the fact that it can be prevented and it is in our control to change it. Young adults look to these celebrities, which are often their role models, and try to look just like them. What they fail to remember is the fact that celebrities have a lot of money, money that can afford nutritionists and personal trainers. They also fail to remember the extensive measures the celebrities may have to go through to look the way they do. An example of extensive measures can be considered plastic surgery. Ultimately, this creates a false goal that is almost unattainable for the “average” or “regular” person. Overall, the media has overtaken a huge impact on what the “ideal” body image has become today. Eating disorders are still on the rise and it is proven that an eating disorder such as anorexia affects up to 5 percent of women from ages 15-30 years old ("Media, Body Image, and Eating Disorders | National Eating Disorders Association np"). This may not seem that significant but it is also not considering other eating disorders such as bulimia. All in all, eating disorders

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

People harassing them, and commenting on their appearance have a large effect on them. Some celebrities, would never be assumed that they dealt with such issues; for example, Demi Lovato, Lady Gaga, Lindsay Lohan, Kelly Clarkson, Lucy Hale, Troian Bellisario, Mary-Kate Olsen, Hilary Duff, Kesha, Shawn Johnson, and Zayn Malik, all have struggled with eating disorders, and many with other mental illnesses too (“People”). But for the most part their disorders went unnoticed, like millions of others. But there is help out there, and many need help, but most parents, or adults in general, don't know how to get themselves or their child help, because they don't understand eating disorders, hardly few do. Nationaleatingdisorders.org (or “General”) says, it is because it is a hard topic, and it is very underfunded and under recognized, but it shouldn't be considering it is a life threatening disorder. There are places to go for eating disorders, Treatment facilities if necessary, or therapy and seeing a nutritionist to establish correct food patterns. People with the disorders might not be as willing to recover, and only a few will make it fully through recovery without slipping up and regretting it (“Types”), because recovery is extremely hard, it puts you faced to face with your problems and makes you confront the issues you have in order to recover, and move passed

consume unusually large amounts without being able to stop. 1. Individuals with this problem may have extreme feelings of embarrassment

This issue needs to be addressed because eight million Americans suffer from an eating disorder. That statistic means that each person who suffers from an eating disorder has changed mentally and physically. From a mental perspective, the person has a difficult time focusing and controlling their emotions. A person also feels unmotivated and feels no interest in any activity. Their attitudes change and most likely become depressed. Once a person’s mood changes, family members and friends take a stance and are guaranteed to get that person some help from professionals. Physical

Christianity shares that our body is the temple of the Holy Spirit. Scripture reminds us that, “Do you know that you are God’s temple and that God’s Spirit dwells in you? If anyone destroys God’s temple, God will destroy him. For God’s temple is holy, and you are that temple” (1 Corinthians 6:19-20, ESV). Our bodies belong to the Lord; therefore, we shall honor and love our

According to the National Eating Disorders Organization “Over five million American men and women suffer from eating disorders. 42% of 1st-3rd grade girls want to be thinner and over one-half of teenage girls and nearly one-third of teenage boys use unhealthy weight control behaviors such as skipping meals, fasting, smoking cigarettes, vomiting, and taking laxatives.” (National Eating Disorders.org) Dieting and striving for thinness has become a new obsession in our culture over the years. While there is nothing wrong with maintaining a healthy lifestyle and losing a few extra pounds, there is

Eating disorders are one of the most common psychiatric illnesses in today’s world, yet they receive the least amount of attention. In the United States alone, “approximately 8 million people” have currently been diagnosed with a clinically significant eating disorder while it is estimated that over “20 million women and 10 million men have suffered from a clinically significant eating disorder at some point in their lives”(Crash Course). There is a huge disparity between the amount of people who suffer from eating disorders and those that have actually been diagnosed and treated for eating disorders. Why? Because despite being serious, and often deadly, mental disorders, these psychiatric illnesses are often overlooked and unrecognized due to the lack of accurate information available about them. Eating disorders are complex psychological disorders that severely affect a person’s physical and mental health and require intense, personalized treatment.

I chose this topic because it is a very prevalent issue in our society today, and a close friend of mine is suffering from an eating disorder.

Eating disorders are the last mental illness that is not being recognized as much as other mental illnesses. It is also unfunded as the other illnesses are being funded these days. The sickness is controlling the person that has the disease and not controlled by the person. The longer a person goes without getting treatment the harder it will be for them to overcome this sickness. If the disorder is caught early in the beginning then it is easier to overcome and the patient will be less likely to have a relapse. It is very important for anyone who believes that they may have an eating disorder to seek help immediately.

Now the most common eating disorder in the United States is binge eating disorder (BED). This disorder slightly differs from bulimia. It’s where people binge but without the purging behavior afterwards. A binge can be triggered by stress, dieting, anger, or sadness. Typically, many people binge on junk food such as ice cream and candy. After eating these foods, people often feel a sense of guilt and shame about themselves. It’s because they tend to eat when they are not hungry or are extremely full. In that time food gives them a sense of comfort and eases all the stress. This can lead many adults on the road to heart disease and high cholesterol. Social pressures, biological abnormalities, and depression are heavily linked with binge eating disorder.

Each year millions of people in the United States are affected by serious and sometimes life-threatening eating disorders. The vast majorities are adolescents and young adult women. Approximately one percent of adolescent girls develops anorexia nervosa, a dangerous condition in which they can literally starve themselves to death. Another two to three percent develop bulimia nervosa, a destructive pattern of excessive overeating followed by vomiting or other " purging " behaviors to control their weight. These eating disorders also occur in men and older women, but much less frequently. The consequences of eating disorders can be severe. For example, one in ten anorexia nervosa leads to death from starvation, cardiac arrest, or