Why Do Teens Suffer From Eating Disorders

In the essay “The Globalization of Eating Disorders” by Susan Bordo speaks about eating disorders. In society today appearance is a huge factor. Even though appearance has always been a major thing but now day’s people take it to the extreme when trying to have a certain body image. Now day’s people think beauty is whatever is on the outside, instead of the inside and the outside. Most people go on crazy strict diets, surgery and some go through starvation in order to become a certain body size. Eating disorders are becoming more in effect now and not just in the United States , but happens to be going worldwide and not only with just the women, but now with men as well. Within the essay Bordo’s explains about how the body image, media, and culture influence the standard of the beauty leads to eating disorder. Another factor is family that causes someone to form an eating disorder. Those four factors are the main key roles that play apart on how eating disorders are being used.

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.

She explores the reality of eating disorders, the misconceptions often held behind it, and provides information on various prevailing reasons that lead to them. According to Bordo, eating disorders “have to do not only with new social expectations of women and ambivalence toward their bodies but also with more general anxieties about the body as the source of hungers, needs, and physical vulnerabilities [are] not within our control” (par.5). In addition, as a Professor on Gender and Women’s Studies at the University of Kentucky, Bordo is likely familiar with the causes that push women, and even men, to change aspects and features about themselves based on the changing themes and views of society and culture. In consideration then, some people probably develop eating disorders as a result for their correspondence to the current trends of society. Consumer culture is among one of the aspects of society that frequently undergoes change. Bordo builds on this likely candidate and explains how consumer culture is a likely link to eating disorders. She remarks that consumer culture is “continually encouraging us to binge on our desires at the same time as it glamorizes self-discipline and scorns fat as a symbol of laziness and [a] lack of willpower” (par.5). By tying

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.

Eating disorders effecting American women have been on the rise in recent year. The alarming trend of increasing cases of these psychological disorders has sparked intellectual inquiry into their shared features. The rising amount of societal pressures that many women around the country feel have caused a lot of women to turn to food as a coping mechanism. Whether it is control exhorted over food or eating as a means to feel numb, women look to food to make themselves feel a certain way. Food, in modern culture, represents much more than just as a means of nourishing ones body. How individuals use food as a copping mechanism has in part lead to the exploitation of food. Three major eating disorders; Anorexia, Bulimia, and Binge Eating

In today's society, there is much attention being given to the subject of eating disorders such as anorexia and bulimia; unfortunately it is because these disorders seem to be becoming more and more common. The question that remains is whether eating disorders such as these are simply personal problems of the individuals, or if they have become a social problem that needs to be addressed more aggressively. Having grown up in this society, I see this issue as a definite social problem. To say that these increasingly common eating disorders are personal problems, implies that the causes of them are personal as well, which I believe is not the case. A social problem is something that goes against society's goals and values; it would seem

Before 1995, the island of Fiji had no reported cases of eating disorders. In three years of obtaining American and British television programming, more than two-thirds of the Fijian girls developed eating disorders and three quarters of the girls felt fat (Hall 1-2). Girls and guys are feeling more insecure about their bodies and are trying to cope with smothering feelings that come with being insecure. Some people aren’t well-educated on this topic, and because of that, they don’t see its seriousness. One example, bulimia, has been around for thirty years, and people are still not very familiar with the harm it can do physically and emotionally. Bulimia is when people choose to vomit their food up because they’re unsatisfied with their

Bulimia has cost the lives of many around the world, but it still does not seem to stop spreading its influence. This type of eating disorder shares similar emotional triggers found in those suffering from anorexia and excess fasting. “This illness is associated with premorbid perfectionism, introversion, poor peer relations, and low self-esteem.” (Garfinkel) Of course, these characteristics are a direct result of the person’s environment. As stated by Pigott once she got back home from her trip to Africa, “ I reverted to my natural state: one of yearning to be slimmer and more fit than I was. My freedom had been temporary. I was home, where fat is feared and despised.” (Pigott, C., pg.93) Bulimia, unlike anorexia, is characterized by a person binge-eating, or consuming a large amount of food in a short time lapse, but then “purging” themselves by either “self-inducing vomiting, taking enemas, or abusing laxatives or other medications.” (“The Eating Disorder Foundation”) This eating disorder is known to cause depression, kidney damage, dental damage, and anxiety disorders if left untreated. (“The Eating Disorder Foundation”) Despite its devastating effects, bulimia cases worldwide are increasing rapidly, showing the public’s ignorance in choosing to conform with the norm rather than taking care of themselves.

eating disorder behaviors have changed. These behaviors have been evident throughout history however, they were not diagnosed as eating disorder., Bulimic behaviors were routinely practiced in in ancient Greek cultures, spiritual fasting was also recorded in the Middle ages (Marky, 2004). Anorexia Nervosa was not recognized by the medical community as an actual medical disorder until 1970, with Bulimia Nervosa not being recognized until 1979 (Miller, 1999.) Prior to this eating disorders were not recognized in culture, and it is culture that establishes eating disorder behaviors abnormal. Today’s culture does recognize eating disorders as the most deadly form of mental illness however, culture also contributes to the stigma against eating

People are often exposed to the media 's ideal body image, whether it 's through magazines, television, toys (e.g. Barbie dolls), or social media, it is almost impossible to avoid it. There are numerous of people who desire to look the way the world defines beauty. And although this may not seem like so much of a bad thing, this can lead to hardships for many people. This type of influence has caused countless individuals to endure an eating disorder in order to get the body they wish to have. Eating disorders are a worldwide problem that are very dangerous due to having many types of disorders and symptoms that occur, the effects that take place in a patient 's mental

Eating disorders have become an increasing public health problem once thought to be an affliction amongst young women, now an epidemic across culture and gender boundaries. Anorexia gives rise to serious socio-economic and bio-psychological circumstances of our ever vast, growing society. Awareness of eating disorders have increased but perhaps only in proportion to its advancement of its research and treatment. That which still leaves us in a position for a much greater demand for education and heightened awareness of this perplexing disease.

With children as early as age 7 showing dissatisfaction with their body, and as young as 9 starting dieting, eating disorders are a serious issue in our society. Taking a look at perceptions, behaviors, and medical issues associated with the disorders of anorexia and bulimia, scholars have tried to categorize and find answers to the problems which certain adolescents suffer. In this paper I focused on the two major eating disorders of anorexia and bulimia.

In longing to reach the norm many people fall victim to these detrimental illnesses. Sadly, women are more subject to these eating disorders than men, the number of men suffering from eating disorders is on the rise. Our culture puts pressure on each of its inhabitants to attain this ideal body type that is unrealistic for most people. The images that pollute television and magazines make us all feel inadequate if we don't meet the credentials of slenderness; therefore, continuing the role of our society in the development of eating disorders.

Since the 1950s the cases of eating disorders have been increasing, especially in westernized countries (Wade, Keski-Rahkonen, & Hudson, 2011). 1950 was the year where having curves was accepted, but this view changed when societal culture started to become more important to the average person. Culture is comprised of how people think, behave, and work in a particular society (Merriam-webster’s collegiate dictionary, 2015). Societal culture is comprised of athletic influence, media, and the fashion industry. All of the societal culture factors are responsible for the rise of eating disorders in young adults. In 2011, it was found that 20 million women and 10 million men suffer from eating disorders at some point in their lives (Wade et. al, 2011). Eating disorders are not always considered an important mental illness, but due to the high number of cases they should be because they can lead to health problems including slow heart rate, low blood pressure, and severe dehydration. These side effects can lead to death if not treated properly which is why eating disorders should be looked at as a clinical disease.

In her essay, “The Globalization of Eating Disorders,” Susan Bordo informs her audience of the growing trends in eating disorders. Through her argument, Bordo illustrates the cruel identity of body-image distortion syndrome while she searches for a solution to the eating-disorder problem by looking to its birthplace in culture. Making use of several examples and scenarios, facts and statistics, and appeals to pathos and logos to construct her argument, Bordo shows a strong intent on eradicating the growing crisis in a reasonably sound argument.