Media's Role in Anorexia

According to the internet, 10 million American women suffer from eating disorders? Eating disorders are serious illnesses which are caused by irregular eating habits and concerns about body weight. As a result, eating disorders are caused psychological and environmental behavior which can often result in a fatal illness. This is what Kathryn Arnett experiences in her life. She explains how she developed an eating disorder in her essay, “Media and Advertisement: The New Peer Pressure.” The factors that contributed to Arnett’s eating disorder was media idolizing and portraying fake body images, teens developing and having low self-esteem, and parents not being present in their children's’s life.

It is apparent that with the increasing popularity of social media today, there has been a shift in dietary changes within our society. Individuals are subconsciously changing how and what they eat. The question arises, why are so many young women dissatisfied with their bodies, despite their size? Although there are several forces believed to play a role in this dissatisfaction such as peer criticism and parental influences, the thin-ideal body is dominating the media (Grabe, Ward, & Hyde, 2008). Thinness is largely emphasized and praised for women in magazines, television shows, movies and commercials (Stice & Shaw, 1992). Anorexia Nervosa is an eating disorder that stems from this ubiquitous obsession to be thin and is often associated with a pathological fear of gaining weight, distorted self-body image and emaciation (The American Heritage® Science Dictionary).

In the video Dying to be Thin there are many factors, biological (such as brain chemicals) and non-biological (such as modern media), which are mentioned as contributors to why and how people develop eating disorders such as anorexia and bulimia. In any society there are views, such as the want and need to be thin, which are subtly forced onto the public through media; specifically in the modern society that humans currently live in, the media and advertising which are constantly shown to the public have a profound effect on viewers as the media creates unrealistic expectations of what our bodies are supposed to look like and therefore body dissatisfaction (Smolak & Levine, 1996). Most forms of media also sell idealistic transformation ideas by making the viewer’s believe that they can turn into their role model if they change their eating behaviour by eating less, dieting more, etc. (Ritsko, 2000).

As of the year 2013, an estimated 805 million people worldwide suffer from Hunger. This number represents a group of people who suffer from food insecurity. This means they have inadequate access to food and don’t know when their next meal will be. This being said, an estimated 70 million people worldwide suffer from some sort of eating disorders as of 2015 with 30 million being made up of Americans. Eating Disorders can be defined as any eating habit that negatively affects ones overall health. Media has had a large impact on how both males and females see their bodies.

A study was recently done to determine how body image was viewed in society several years ago and how it is viewed in today’s society. When comparing the average model and the American woman, it is stated by Dr. Jonathon Rader, PhD, chief executive and clinical officer of Rader Programs that “twenty years ago, the average fashion model weighed 8% less than the average woman. Today, she weighs 23% less” (Rader). Twenty to thirty years ago, full figured women were accepted and also admired. Being voluptuous was a sign of wealth and beauty. Women were not obsessed with diet fads, or trying to look a certain way, but were more concerned with eating healthy and were comfortable with the

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

Scholars have continuously tried to understand why people develop eating disorders. Many have tested and proven one prerequisite for certain: having a damaging, negative, self-image (Fisher et. al., 2003; Button, Loan, Davies & Barke 1997; Cervera et. al., 2002; Thomas, James & Bachmann, 2000; O’Dea & Abraham, 2000). Other scholars have looked at how media interacts with these feelings of negative body image to produce females who harm their bodies in order to be thin (Berel & Irving, 2001; Busselle, 2001; Gettman & Roberts, 2004; Hargreaves & Tiggemann, 2003; Hendriks, 2002; Kilbourne, 2000; Leung Kwork Yan, Prendergast, & Prendergast, 2002; Posavac, Posavac, & Weigel, 2001; Slater & Tiggemann, 2004; Strice & Thompson, 2001; Thomsen, 2002).

Media gives girls an ideal body type and this causes eating disorders. Media often shows girls the perfect body type which leads to them dieting, the first step for people who have anorexia (Graves,2000) making the anorexia rate go up.

Do I believe the media causes eating disorders? No, but I do believe it helps create a dangerous environment/ society for people with other dispositions (cognitive, behavioral, societal, etc.) for those disorders. Media can influence a person’s personal perception of what they believe to be “fit” or “beautiful,” even though, people who develop eating disorders usually already hold some sort of distortion when viewing themselves in terms of “fit” or “beautiful.” This unrealistic message from the media and advertisements, unrealistic because the most recent ads utilize photo-shop, creates a false definition of beauty that many try to attain, but fail.

Anorexia and Bulimia are formed by a melting pot of factors. These include, but are not limited to; genetics, hormones, biology, psychological and sociocultural factors. But which factor carries the most weight, and how heavy does it weigh on an individual? Those who are at risk are aready especially vulnerable to the effects of media. The media alone cannot be responsible for eating disorders, but can certainly be a factor in the severity and timing of its manifestation. It can lead to the internalization of societal pressures and add stress to a person already concerned with their weight and

Strasburger supports her argument that the media is to blame by using a study that was done in Fiji. A natural field experiment in Fiji revealed that the eating disorder rate increased dramatically after American television shows, which show excessively thin female lead characters, were introduced. There are also now over 100 pro-anorexia Web sites on the Internet that not only encourage disordered eating but also offer specific advice on purging, severely restricting caloric intake, and exercising excessively (Strasburger). Recent studies have shown that adolescent girls describe the “ideal girl” as being 5’7”, 100 pounds, size 5, with long blonde hair and blue eyes (Developmental…Eating Disorders, Section 2, Chapter 10, Pg. 235). Girls related this “ideal girl” look to being

Many people can relate to media being the blame for eating disorders because they’ve either dealt with this or know someone who has had an eating disorder due to what the media says you should look like.

The Media affects body image perceptions Anorexia and the effects the media has on body image. The Media affects body image perceptions for girls and boys. The media has affected many people and how they deal with it which could be very dangerous.

We seem to point our fingers at the media and society for a lot of the social issues in the world today. But is the media really to blame for disturbed eating behaviors that lead to eating disorders such as anorexia nervosa and bulimia nervosa? There has been quite a bit of research done in the psychology field relating several social, mental and psychographic characteristics to disturbed eating behaviors. It seems that the media as well as society, social identity, psychographic characteristics and mental illness all contribute to the development of disturbed eating habits from suppressing food to binge eating, especially in college-aged young adults.

“The attention-grabbing pictures of various high-flying supermodels and actors on different magazine covers and advertisements go a long way in influencing our choices” (Bagley). The media is highly affective to everyone, although they promote an improper image of living. Research proved says those with low self-esteem are most influenced by media. Media is not the only culprit behind eating disorders. However, that does not mean that they have no part in eating disorders. Media is omnipresent and challenging it can halt the constant pressure on people to be perfect (Bagley). Socio-cultural influences, like the false images of thin women have been researched to distort eating and cause un-satisfaction of an individual’s body. However, it