The Detrimental Effects of Anorexia on the Body and Mind

Beauty standards in the media are one of many reasons feeding and eating disorders are a rising problem. The unrealistic body types of being extremely thin, in pop culture, are influential factors for many teens, especially teen girls. According to the Diagnostic Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, fifth edition (DSM-5), anorexia nervosa is a “restriction of energy intake, intense fear of gaining weight, and a disturbance in the perception of one’s body size” (American Psychiatric Association, 2013). Individuals diagnosed with anorexia tend to place a high value on their shape and weight, which can interfere with their daily lives. Individuals diagnosed tend to view of their body shape in a distorted representation. The motivation to become

According to the article entitled, The Fashion Industry May Be Linked to Poor Body Image and Eating Disorders, psychologists and eating disorder experts say the fashion industry has gone too far in pushing thin image ideals on women and young girls. Professor of psychiatry at Rush Medical College in Chicago and Vice President of the American Psychiatric Association states “we know seeing super-thin models can play a role in causing anorexia.” This article argues that the common thin, sexy ideal in our culture and society has caused many women and girls to dislike their bodies and have poor self image, a body dissatisfaction that can lead to unhealthy weight control behaviors and

Then in the 1950's, more voluptuous figures were the ideal. Since that time the ideal body shape for women has become more and more slender (Borzekowski, Robinson, & Killen, 2000). Unfortunately, for many people the ideal thin body is nearly impossible to achieve. This makes women feel dissatisfied with their appearance. Hence the beginning of a negative body image. Recently, researchers have become concerned with the question of how and to what degree advertising involving thin and attractive women is related with chronic dieting, body dissatisfaction, and eating disorders in American females (Stephens & Hill, 1994). The esteemed attention that female thinness culminates began in the United States back in the 1950's (Garner, Garfinkel, & Thompson, 1980). During the last three decades, pageant contestants, fashion models, and famous actresses have grown steadily thinner (Lake, Sweeney, & Wagner, 1999). Twenty years ago the average fashion model weighed only 8 percent less than the average women. Today the average model weighs 23 percent less than the average woman (Dunn, 1992). Surprisingly, as the body standard has continued to thin, the average weight of American women has actually risen. In 1950, mannequins closely resembled the average measurements of a woman. The average hip measurement of mannequins and women was 34 inches. By 1990, the average hip measurement was 37 inches for an average woman, while the average mannequin hip measured only 31 inches

In “The Fashion Industry Should Not Be Held Responsible for Eating Disorders” Lisa Hilton write about how the fashion industry has no impact on eating disorders. Hilton discusses how the fashion industry ultimately does not care about looks, that they care more about profits. She believes that since the models get all their talents from nature and that they make a lot of money, that they don’t get victimized. Hilton believes that anorexia and bulimia, although being bad conditions, are not as prevalent as the barrage of attention it actually attracts. She uses The South Carolina Department of Mental Health to claim that obesity, which affects 34% women in America alone, is much more prevalent than Anorexia which only affects 0.5% of women in

A novel on the causes of eating disorders says, “Typically, media images often portray unrealistic images of both males and females. Those individuals portrayed often represent a statistical minority or are engaged in extraordinary (and potentially harmful) behaviors to achieve this ideal body type” (Selby). Pictures of models and celebrities observed in the media show practically unachievable physiques, but the world seems to define beauty and health based off their thin statures. On the contrary, these physiques are actually rather unhealthy. The UK National Centre For Eating Disorders says, “The ideal body size epitomized by ‘Gerri Halliwell’ ‘Posh Spice’ or ‘Ally Mcbeal’ is unrealistically thin, their body mass index (BMI) is on the borders of what a clinician would regard as anorexic” (Jade). When the people and bodies teens are idealizing are at the level of anorexia, it is no doubt that they will resort to extreme methods to achieve what is an extremely thin, abnormal size. Studies show that exposure to these body standards may lead to eating disorders. Pediatrics and Child Health says, “Body image was significantly more negative after viewing thin media images than after viewing images of either average size models, plus size models, or inanimate objects. This effect was found to be stronger in woman younger than 19 years of age” (Morris). After

Every day there are masses of women that are bombarded with today’s “thin-ideal media” of the so-called “picture-perfect” body. These unrealistic photos portray images in magazines all over the country to entice to our youth; which gives them the indication that they are skinny enough or pretty enough. The term “thin-ideal media” is a term that shows images and films that enclose unrealistically thin females as their centerfolds or lead characters. This is something that occurs habitually in the fashion industry, such as in magazines, clothing catalogs and television shows that appeal mostly to teens. Thin-ideal media gives the idea that being thin is a good thing and something that they should view as desirable and in some cases even strive to be like. Even if it could be potentially hazardous to one’s health by not

Eating disorders have become and extreme issue among women. However, the ignorance to this subjects’ prevalence is common and it is essential that this is compressed immediately. The impact eating disorders currently holds on society is monumental and is defining the current image of beauty. Definitions of beauty have fluctuated extremely throughout time and the unhealthy processes women have put themselves through in order to conform to societies current definition of beauty has remained consistent. From the corset to extremely high heels to severe thinness, achieving the ideal image of beauty is regularly detrimental to woman’s health. Fashion models continue to struggle with eating disorders due to the fashion industry building a pedestal

This notion, however, has been viewed as more antiquated in recent years, and the etiological perception of the disorder has become a lot more nuanced. An individual’s environment and social status are perhaps more revealing risk factors than race and gender themselves. Social communities that value thinness, such as career fields like modeling and wrestling, are specific causal factors. Peer and family influences also contribute a great deal to disordered eating patterns. A mother obsessed with beauty can enforce a social expectation for thinness even more completely. Changing standards of beauty, from a Rubenesque Venus to a waifish Twiggy, have also been cited as causal factors. The idea that society “causes” anorexia is powerful, but much to simplistic to fully explain the steady increase in cases of anorexia throughout the 20th

Fashion Industries all over the world are the cause of so many deaths and eating disorders of models with their force of having to be skinny. Many anorexic models are often found on the catwalks are pressurized to be below average size and weight with around 40% of models are found with some type of eating disorder. Many even have been told by their managers that they are too ‘fat’ and need to lose weight if they are to keep their jobs.

In the 1950s around the time Marilyn Monroe was living, models were curvier. Everyone desired Marilyn Monroe’s hourglass figure, but now the hourglass figure is no longer in. The 20th century fashion world is obsessed with the idea of being thin. Models are dying because they are trying to reach that “perfection” that the fashion industry wants them to be. Self-starvation to achieve a thin physique has resulted in the common occurrence of anorexia nervosa within the model world. Anorexia nervosa has affected well-known models such as Isabelle Caro, Ana Carolina Reston, and Luisel

In America eating disorders are a pressing issue and are growing in popularity among women of all ages. These eating disorders are caused by many factors including one 's body image which is influenced by a person environment. A big influence on women 's body image today is fashion and media, many women look to magazines, television, and celebrities to get tips on beauty and the perfect body. The one problem with media is the size of models has declined immensely over the years to a very slim size. Many women become dissatisfied with their bodies when they see that they do not fit the ideal body shape that these women in the media have. Although it was not always ideal to be slim the growing use of slender models in fashion and media has impacted women 's body image caused women to become more dissatisfied with their bodies and develop eating disorders. Women are impacted by the women they see on television and movies which in most cases are very slim. Along with television, slender women are seen in advertisements are seen in magazines and billboards which reach women every day. Fashion is also known to commonly use very slender models since the turn of the century. Slender models are used in all aspects of fashion from runway shows to online shopping. All of these different media outlets make a big impression on women, and many feel pressured to fit the ideal body type media has brought forward. When

Being skinny has been America’s greatest beauty ideal for decades, a societal standard pressured upon women. In our current society, the media expects women to look a certain way. However, the media’s interpretation of an ideal body is so warped and distorted that many women are attempting to attain an unrealistic physical appearance that will never be possible. Most models within the fashion industry are thinner than 98% of American women (Lippey). When models are photoshopped and put in magazines, completely unachievable body goals are displayed everywhere. Even models suffer from substantial expectations-- 64.1% of models have been asked to lose weight by their agencies (“Model Scouts”). Models can be perceived as perfect, epitomes of beauty, and yet they too are unable to reach their own agency’s demanding requirements. These unhealthy and toxic standards have been placed upon a tall pedestal that no one can achieve. According to the NEDA (National Eating Disorders Association), there has been “a rise in incidence of anorexia in young women ages 15 to 19 in each decade since 1930” (“Get The Facts”). Damaging and negative concepts are established during childhood, forcing adolescent girls to believe that if they can’t fit into

The author continues to argue that “ the ethology of anorexia is triggered by the cultural imagery of consumerism and that ‘the cult of thinnes’ plays a crucial role in the onset of anorexia”’ (Gooldin 2008, 276). In other terms, it is being embedded in people’s minds that they are not good enough as they are, they must abide by the set standards. As (Gooldin 2008, 276-277) states in his article, the message that is being set up there is that appearances are what matter most, and that a woman’ s body is like an object that is not necessarily

According to the National Eating Disorder Association the media has a major influence on what a woman’s body should look like. Every print and television advertisement suggests that the ideal body is extremely thin. However, most women cannot achieve having a super-thin body that the media favors. The resulting failure leads to negative feelings about one’s self and can begin a downward spiral toward an eating disorder (National Eating Disorders Association).

A large contributing factor to this problem is that many people in the fashion world encourage the use of overly thin models in editorials and fashion shows. For example, as Kathryn Shattuck, What's On Today: [The Arts/Cultural Desk], mentions that Kelly Cutrone, world renowned fashion publicist, encourages, “Clothes look better on thin people. The fabric hangs better” (1). The fashion industry’s emphasis on being thin and its use of extremely underweight models in unacceptable. Many people would agree that the fashion industry plays the majority role in eating disorders, but Lisa Hilton, British Vogue writer, disagrees. Hilton argues, “Its objective is selling clothes, and the consensus remains that in order to achieve this, models need to be thin . . . Fashion is about fantasy, about impossibility, about, dare we say it, art. Most women can’t tell the difference” (1). Hilton condescendingly continues to refute the criticisms that models are too thin and the fashion industry encourages eating disorders.