Emma Wilderom Mr. Butterfeild English IO
11 January 2017
Is force feeding Ethical?
Is force feeding the anorexic ethical? Anorexia is defined as a lack or loss of appetite by false body image. (dictionary) Often anorexic patients are treated by tubal or artificial feeding. This works by putting a tube through the patients nose, directly into the stomach or through an IV placing the nutrients directly into the places they are most needed (eatingdisorders) This type of feeding is known as refeeding. Refeeding can lead to refeeding syndrome. This occurs when patients that have been starved switch from catabolic state to anabolic state. The change in metabolism leads to the secretion of many hormones which contributes to a change of salts and fluids in the body causing: heart failure, repertory failure, muscle
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It was a choice I made out of fear not logic." (Miss America Kristen Hauglund, cnn) extreme and needless weight loss, illogical fear of weight gain, a fixation with a thin figure and an abnormal eating pattern are all things the ten million women and men that are diagnosed with anorexia suffer with. (eatingdissorders) I believe it is okay to force feed when there is a realistic potential to substantially improve their life. The majority of patients don't care about the harmful effects their actions are having on their body. Voluntarily starving to death has links with he rational suicide debate and attracts largely disapproving attention from ethical, legal groups.(theconversation) In the cases of minors the fate of the patient is left up to the parent or guardian but if they are classified as an adult they have the ability to chose their path unless the doctor or hospital board chooses to take it to court and have it appealed. (theconversation) Medical ethics say that the doctor has a responsibility to keep the patient alive to administer treatment.(tutor
In this article “Fighting Anorexia: No One to Blame” it discusses the struggles and challenges children face as young as 8 years old and teens from 13 to 18 years of age when dealing with the eating disorder “Anorexia Nervosa.” Which is defined in our text as an “eating disorder characterized by self-starvation” (Bee, pg. 384). The staff of “Newsweek” also discuss who or what is to blame for anorexia nervosa in the past parents have been blamed when their children have shown signs in regards to this disorder. Research has shifted from blaming the parents to the possibility anorexia might have some links to mental disorder, genetics or even environmental factors which can influence the disorder. Lastly, the article discusses various
Ethos is Haines credibility about this topic; and nearly this entire article is about her experiences and a run-down of her and her sister’s adolescent years. techniques was that she used personal stories. She describes how girls in junior high girls would go on extreme and strict diets, that nearly restricted any type of food that they could eat. Haines is generalizing that most of the popular girls are the girls who are beautiful, thin and starving themselves. In this case, Haines sister does fall into the stereotypical category. Her sister would starve herself to nearly anorexic (171). Then later on her sister became ill because she wasn’t eating. Girls who starve themselves are hurting themselves more that helping. Anorexic is a very concerning eating disorder that can lead to long term mental and physical
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
A single father watched his daughter, 17 years old, dwindle down to 72 pounds. He begged her to eat, but she would cry and push the plate away. He was irritated and turned to his friends at work complaining his daughter was taking dieting way too far. He would scream at her “Stop! This is nonsense, just eat!”. This father, like many other Americans, did not understand that his daughter could not just stop being Anorexic. The common misconception is that Anorexia Nervosa is just someone obsessed with losing weight. Many people believe that Anorexics look in the mirror and smile at their thinness and progress. This is so untrue, they look in the mirror and wish for a way out.
‘A psychiatric disorder characterized by an unrealistic fear of weight gain, self-starvation, and conspicuous distortion of body image. The individual is obsessed with becoming increasingly thinner and limits food intake to the point where health is compromised. The disorder may be fatal. The name comes from two Latin words that mean nervous inability to eat.’ Therefore due the physical and medical implications that anorexia nervosa presents, for an individual who experiences the condition, compulsory treatment is often deemed necessary. However this is often grounds for serious ethical debate between many, including medical professionals, those who experience anorexia nervosa and indeed social work practitioners. Thus the following essay will seek to explore the ethical issues that may pertain should the compulsory treatment of anorexia nervosa be utilised. By discussing the principles of ethical treatment, including the rights of the individual and also considering the benefits of allowing the individual to choose their course of treatment, view on the compulsory treatment of anorexia nervosa.
There are several bio-medical definitions of anorexia; The NHS refers to an anorexic as someone who tries to keep their weight as low as possible, by restricting diet, often over exercising and in some cases through the use of laxatives and diuretics (NHS, 2014). The DSM-V definition similarly suggests that anorexia is characterised by a refusal to maintain body weight at or above the minimally normal weight for age and height (DSM-V, 2014). Both definitions highlight an intense fear of gaining weight and a hugely distorted perception
Anorexia is an emotional and physical illness in which a person refuses to eat. This can be a fatal disorder. The word anorexia means without appetite; nervosa means nervous. Hence, anorexia nervosa is best translated as a nervous loss of appetite. Anorexics are extremely hungry most of the time and extremely underweight, but they refuse to eat because of their fear of gaining weight (Anorexia Nervosa, Wuhl 483). This disorder often includes depression, irritability, withdrawal, and peculiar behaviors such as compulsive rituals, strange eating habits, and division of foods into "good/bad" and "safe/dangerous" categories (Anorexia Nervosa and Related Eating Disorders Inc., Mitchell 11). Dieting may represent avoidance of, or ineffective attempts to cope with the demands of a new life stage such as adolescence (American Academy). For dancers, this eating disorder can be brought on if a dancer changes studios and needs to reestablish her place in the hierarchy. If a
In a troubling 2012 UK case, for instance, a hospital was ordered to cease a palliative care program consented to by a 32-year-old woman with anorexia nervosa and to forcibly re-feed her despite her deep distress at the prospect. The woman had consistently refused re-feeding over the past several years, experiencing it as a violent assault.
The treatment for anorexia has usually been counseling. Sometimes the starvation is so bad that the patients must be hospitalized and fed intravenously or through a nasogastric tube. When they are well enough, counseling is begun. This may be individual or family therapy. The treatment process usually spans several months to several years.
Hygiene at the University of Minnesota included strict dietary controls during the three stages of
Despite having looked up some information about force feeding anorexic patients, there is still more information that I need to know to effectively take a stance and back it up. Some of these questions that I need to research and learn more about include: Do ethical standards dictate what
Eating disorders are severe disturbances in eating behaviors, such as eating too little or eating too much. “Anorexia nervosa affects nearly one in 200 Americans in their lives (three-quarters of them female)” (Treating anorexia nervosa). Anorexia, when translated into Greek means “without appetite” which is not true for all suffering from anorexia most people with this disorder have not lost their appetite they simply have to ignore it. People with anorexia have an intense fear of gaining weight and have convinced themselves that they are overweight even if they are the opposite of overweight. Since the way that they view themselves is in a negative light they starve themselves and put their lives at risk. “In the most severe
Anorexia Nervosa is an emotional disorder that causes its victims to have an obsessive desire to lose weight by refusing to eat. It is known to be the third most common eating disorder among adolescents. Many who suffer from the disorder have a strong fear of gaining weight and they 're very determined to prevent any weight gain. AN patients are also incapable of recognizing the severity of their condition. In the article entitled, "A Factor Analysis of the Meanings of Anorexia Nervosa: Intrapsychic, Relational, and Avoidant Dimensions and Their Clinical Correlates", Enrica Marzola explains, "AN sufferers often refuse treatments, show poor compliance with therapy leading to high dropout rates, relapse, and high mortality" (Marzola 2). Marzola examines how many patients become very attached to their illness and do not wish to be recovered from it. In addition, Not only do many AN patients believe that the disorder has help them gain their ideal body image, but they 've also described their starvation as a way to escape from any negative emotions, strengthen their identity, and reveals their distress. Enrica Marzola also addresses, "These instruments confirmed that AN sufferers experience a
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
When I think of anorexia, a few things come to mind. I think of really bad episodes of Beverly Hills 90210 and Baywatch in which females, ususally teenagers, starve themselves and take diet pills. The eating problem is always resolved within the timespan of one 30 minute episode. From the research I've done thus far on anorexia, I now know that this is a very unrealistic representation of what is actually a very serious disease.