Why Women Need To Be Thin

For many the term “Anorexia” conjures up memories of bone thin, weight obsessed teenage girls, models, and actresses. However, as the spotlight has been shined on Anorexia bringing this secretive and quiet disorder to a wider public perception, many still suffer in silence: either too ashamed to seek treatment, or because of an improper diagnosis.

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.

Incidences of Anorexia Nervosa have appeared to increase sharply in the USA, UK and western European countries since the beginning of the 60s (Gordon, 2001). The increasing prevalence of the disease has led the World Health Organisation to declare eating disorders a global priority area within adolescent mental health (Becker et al. 2011). Anorexia has in many ways become a modern epidemic (Gordon, 2000) and with a mortality rate of 10% per decade (Gorwood et al. 2003), the highest of any mental disorder (Bulik et al. 2006), it is an epidemic that social and biological scientists have been working tirelessly to understand.

The film “Killing Us Softly 4,” by Jean Kilbourne elaborates on the fact that women and the female physique are over-analyzed, objectified, scrutinized, and treated as a means for financial profit by advertisements in our current society. Ironically enough, there are about 3000 ads shown to an individual on a daily basis (Kilbourne 2010). As stated in the film, editors use multiple photos of women to devise an impossible body type, implementing an image of who and what women are in our current society, and this is all done with the aid of Photoshop; the images are constructed, they are not real (Kilbourne 2010). It has been noted that 75% of women have an eating disorder; this seems to be an unfortunate pattern within groups of young

With Anorexia Nervosa, there is a strong fear of weight gain and a preoccupation with body image. Those diagnosed may show a resistance in maintaining body weight or denial of their illness. Additionally, anorexics may deny their hunger, have eating rituals such as excessive chewing and arranging food on a plate, and seek privacy when they are eating. For women, they go through immediate body changes from abnormal to no menstruation periods and develop lanugo all over their bodies. Characteristics of an anorexic individual also consist of extreme exercise patterns, loosely worn clothing, and maintain very private lives. Socially, to avoid criticism or concern from others, they may distant themselves from friends and activities they once enjoyed. Instead, their primary concerns revolve around weight loss, calorie intake, and dieting. In regards to health, many will have an abnormal slow heart rate and low blood pressure, some can develop osteoporosis, severe dehydration which can result in kidney failure, and overall feel weak (Robbins, 27-29). It has been reported that Anorexia Nervosa has one of the highest death rates in any mental health condition in America (www.NationalEatingDisorders.org).

     Studies have shown that over one million males are affected with anorexia nervosa yearly. (Crosscope-Happel, Hutchins, & Hayes, 2000) Some have suggested that these numbers are on the rise as the media continues to assert a more and more unattainable goal of beauty on the public.

About two thirds of women have disordered eating. Yes you read that right, most of the women you know have unhealthy eating patterns. Unhealthy eating patterns don’t just include anorexia, bulimia, binge eating, or any of the other EDNOS. Disordered eating presents itself in many ways, including: not eating

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

Television make it clear to see that if one is not thin, he hardly can be noticed. Iт many films, there are scenes, where the girl eats at first, but later vomits. This disorder is called bulimia. As a reason, many of girls consider this way as the best one in order to lose weight. Moreover, television and magazines present a lot of ways and medicines for people to be thin. As a reason, people are ready to buy anything to be thin, that, in further, may destroy their health. Furthermore, magazines with thin stars on the cover page do not encourage young people to love themselves in the way they are. Eating disorder as anorexia may in further lead to a number of medical conditions, including dangerously low blood pressure, damage of the kidneys and liver. In conclusion, any of eating disorders request a long treatment, support of the family of the patient and a great desire of the patient to recover. That is needed in order to start a new life and take a fresh look at the problem without a need to be loved by other people, but to be loved by oneself at

Nowadays, anorexia nervosa has become more common, especially in the western countries such as the United States. The reason of increment in the prevalence rate is believed to be influenced by the fashion and media industries (Rader,

Anorexia can be caused by a variety of factors, such as social media, movies, and television shows. Dieting, body dissatisfaction, and wanting to be thin are all factors which increase the risk for an eating disorder, and unfortunately, our society encourages all three. One cannot simply walk by a cash register without seeing a magazine encouraging rapid weight loss, calorie counting, or feeling guilty after a meal. Instagram and Snapchat are two of the most image driven platforms on social media which cause low self-esteem amongst young

Anorexia nervosa (AN) is a visible, psychological illness that is detrimental to both the physical and mental well-being of an individual (Bulik et al., 2005). It is an eating disorder that is characterized by not only an unwillingness to gain weight, but a fear of gaining weight. Individuals suffering from anorexia are often perfectionists, who are neurotic, obsessive, and retain a low sense of self-esteem (Kaye et al., 2008; Bulik et al., 2005). These individuals tend to prioritize their physical image over their health, and as a result, AN has retained the highest mortality rate over any other psychiatric illness, occurring at a prevalence of 5% per

How many of you have ever battled an eating disorder or known someone with an eating disorder? One or two of every 100 students will struggle or have struggled with an eating disorder. An anonymous quote from someone who struggled an eating disorder once said “Nothing matters when I’m thin”. Anyone of us in this room is at risk of an eating disorder. Females have to maintain that ‘normal’ look to fit in with society. More guys are seeking help for eating disorders as well. Guys with eating disorders tend to focus more on athletic appearance or success than just on looking thin. I’m going to inform you today about anorexia; what it is, signs, causes, effects, and possible treatments to help it.

With sixty percent of Americans being obese, it is startling to find that an outrageous one to three percent suffer from anorexia nervosa or bulimia nervosa (National Institute of Mental Health). These are the people who actually work to maintain their weight. It is an extremely hazardous way to do so, but at least they are trying. Being anorexic is unsafe, but that does not always mean they are bulimic too. Anorexic people can also be the gym junkies who do nothing but work out. Hard to imagine but it is true. These are the people who are greatly influenced by the media the one to three percent of all America’s population, an incredible three million compared to the 182 million who are overweight and the ninety million who are obese.

     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.