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Media influence on body image
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Many young women suffer from eating disorders. Criticized and shamed by the many for their body, weight, and looks, insecurities are abundant in these women. Especially female celebrities, whom are constantly held to unreachable standards by the public. These insecurities can lead to a plethora of psychological problems or disorders, including eating disorders. An eating disorder is defined as “an illness that causes serious disturbances to your everyday diet, such as eating extremely small amounts of food or severely overeating” by the National Institution of Mental Health. In the past few years, many celebrities have come out as suffering from an eating disorder, one of the more recent to be the pop star Kesha. One of the eating disorders that Kesha suffers from is anorexia nervosa. Anorexia Nervosa is defined by the American Psychological Association as having “ a distorted body image that causes them to see themselves as overweight even when they're dangerously thin.” People who suffer from anorexia will usually avoid eating or eat very little and can even have social anxiety about eating in front of others. Genetics, a culture focused around an ideal body type, being criticized for your weight, perfectionism and self-hate can all become a risk for anorexia. And while 85-95 percent of people with anorexia are women, men can also develop the disorder; though it is much less likely. Some symptoms of anorexia are rapid and extreme weight loss, eating very little to nothing at all, taking weight loss pills and supplements, and excessive exercising. Anorexia, along with other eating disorders, can cause or come hand-in-hand with anxiety, depression, heart/brain issues, and substance abuse. Anorexia can cause hair to... ... middle of paper ... ... disorders and though they’ll likely still remain a part of her life, she won’t suffer. However, others are not always as lucky. Sometimes they do not receive or attempt to receive help and their eating disorder(s) can cause many health problems for them. When untreated, eating disorders can become dangerous and even cause death whether through starvation, malnutrition, or depression/suicide. Works Cited www.people.com/people/article/0,,20777153,00.html www.people.com/people/article/0,,20772368,00.html www.people.com/people/article/0,,20795235,00.html www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/ency/article/eople.com/people/article/,,.htm www/nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/ency/article/.html www.womenshealth.gov/publications/our-publications/fact-sheet/anorexia-nervosa.html www.apa.org/helpcenter/eating.aspx www.anad.org/get-information/about-eating-disorders/general-information/
To begin with, Anorexia Nervosa is an on going problem around the world. People with Anorexia need to get treatment because symptoms are bad for their health. Anorexia is mainly seen in women in their late teens to early twenties. According to Mayo Clinic Staff, a group of physicians, scientists, and other medical experts from Arizona, Florida and Minnesota, "...symptoms of anorexia nervosa are related to starvation, but the disorder also includes emotional and behavior issues related to an unrealistic perception of body weight and an extremely strong fear of gaining weight or becoming fat". Physical symptoms are not the only symptoms or damages done to the body. When thinking of anorexia, one typically thinks that physical symptoms are the only symptoms, such as a person so skinny you can see their bones. That is not the case with Anorexia Nervosa. One does not only suffer from, "...Extreme weight loss...Thin appearance...Dehydration...Swelling of arms or legs" but also suffer from emotional and behavioral issues such as, "...Refusal to eat...Fear of
As defined by the National Eating Disorders Association, “Anorexia Nervosa is a serious, potentially life-threatening eating disorder characterized by self-starvation and excessive weight loss.” (NEDA). The term “Anorexia Nervosa” literally means “neurotic loss of appetite”, and could be more generally defined as the result of a prolonged self-starvation and an unhealthy relationship regarding food and self-image. It is characterized by “resistance to maintaining body weight at or above a minimally normal weight for age and height”, “intense fear of weight gain or being “fat”, even though underweight”, “disturbance in the experience of body weight or shape, undue influence of weight or shape on self-evaluation, or denial of the seriousness of low body weight”, and “loss of menstrual periods in girls and women post-puberty.”(NEDA) Among women on a range of 15 to 24 years old, AN has been proved to have 12 times the annual mortality rate of all death causes, and from premature deaths of anorexic patients, 1 in every 5 is caused by suicide, which gives a rise of 20% for suicide probability. (EDV)
The media can impact people’s lives in many ways, whether it’s fashion, movies, literature, or hobbies. One of the impacts is how women view their bodies. Movie stars and models feel pressured to catch attention and to look good in order to have a good career in their respective field. People tend to judge how someone looks based on their body composition. The result of this “judgment” is that Hollywood is getting skinny. Since models and actresses serve as role models for people, people tend to want to look like them. The result of this seemingly harmless model of behavior is in an increase in eating disorders.
All Eating Disorders lead to various health complications and may ultimately result in the death of the sufferer. For instance, Anorexia Nervosa has the highest mortality rate of all psychiatric disorders, as 5 to 9% of Anorexics will die from it (Nolen-Hoeksema, Susan. (2013). Abnormal psychology (6th ed.). New York, NY: McGraw-Hill Education.). Anorexia Nervosa and Eating Disorder Not Otherwise Specified (EDNOS) in its restrictive/subtreshold Anorexia subtype may cause severe organ dysfunction due to extreme malnourishment. These problems include, but are not limited to, cardiac, hepatic, renal, and neurological failure.
Eating disorders are one of society’s most debilitating physical and psychological problems faced today. In the 1950s Marilyn Monroe was society’s role model, but would now be considered a plus-sized model and somewhat unattractive in society’s eyes (Steinem 5). Now in 2013, Demi Lovato, a pop singer, plays a huge role as a role model for young people, but has recently told the media that she suffers from anorexia nervosa and embraces it, ultimately showing adolescents that eating disorders are socially acceptable and even often encouraged (Cotliar 80). The psychological effects that eating disorders have on a patient can be very detrimental to themselves and often push the patient farther into the disorder than she could ever have imagined ("Prevalence vs. Funding" 3). The physical effects that an eating disorder can have on the body could be as minor as feeling faint to something as major as an organ shut down, or even resulting in death (“Physical Dangers” 2). Eating disorders affect a wide variety of people, particularly adolescent girls, and may ultimately lead to many destructive physical and psychological results.
There are countless health problems that an eating disorder can lead to. However; if caught in time, professional assistance can help a person to overcome a disorder. I personally feel invested in this topic because my best friend developed an eating disorder. It was hard for me to see how much she hated the way she looked. I watched her weight drop to an unhealthy size in a matter of months. Thankfully, with the help of therapy, she has since moved past it. Learning the signs and characteristics of an eating disorder can aid in identifying individuals at risk. If you are suspicious that someone you know could have an eating disorder, it is important you talk to them about it. The results of eating disorders being caught early on could be the difference between life and death.
Eating disorders are described as an illness involving eating habits that are irregular and an extreme concern with body image or weight. Eating disorders tend to appear during teenage years, but can develop at any age. Although more common in women, eating disorders can affect any age, gender or race. In the United States, over 20 million women and 10 million men are personally affected by eating disorders. There are many different causes of eating disorders such as low self esteem, societal pressures, sexual abuse and the victims perception of food. Eating disorders are unique to the sufferer and often, their perception of themselves is so skewed, they may not be aware they have an eating disorder. Media, for quite some time now, has played a significant part in eating disorders. Magazines with headlines ‘Summer Body’, or ‘Drop LB’s Fast!’ attract the attention of girls who may be insecure with themselves. Television productions such as the Victoria’s Secret Fashion Show or American’s Next Top Model, show airbrushed and photoshopped women who have body types that may be unachievable. Those who are suffering from eating disorders can suffer dangerous consequences, and it is important to seek help.
An eating disorder is characterized when eating, exercise and body image become an obsession that preoccupies someone’s life. There are a variety of eating disorders that can affect a person and are associated with different characteristics and causes. Most cases can be linked to low self esteem and an attempt to, “deal with underlying psychological issues through an unhealthy relationship with food” (“Eating Disorders and Adolescence,” 2013). Eating disorders typically develop during adolescence or early adulthood, with females being most vulner...
Eating disorders are quite serious and can often lead to extreme disruption of normal eating behaviors. It wasn’t considered an illness till 1980, when a singer named Karen Carpenter died from complications due to anorexia. If left untreated a person can put significant stress on their body; causing the body to begin to shut down. Often the organs will begin to fail, the persons hair will start to fall out and the person whom you once knew will become completely unrecognizable. Researchers have found many reasons that can be the cause of eating disorders. If we consider Demi Lovato a once happy go lucky Disney star who started acting different from her usual self. We can see that she was struggling from some kind of internal complex. When
Anorexic: this word is an adjective, a label, and to some, a lifestyle. Medically speaking, it is someone who suffers from the deadly and heartbreaking disease, Anorexia Nervosa. This term translates to “nervous loss of appetite”, but anyone who has battled through this sickness is aware how that is anything but true. Eating disorder patients do not, in fact, lose their appetite; there is more to it than that. Many perceive eating disorders as a choice to be thin, a diet, or a cry for attention; they do not see the mental destruction going on inside of the mind. Eating disorders have the highest mortality rate of any mental illness, yet only 30% of people fully recover (ANAD). The general mindset that society has about eating disorders walks hand in hand with these statistics, slowing down any advances patients may be able to make. Eating disorder patients are not getting proper treatment because of ignorant misconceptions about the illness.
Work or school can become hard to go to or even to participate in it. The fear of being fat can overtake someone’s head and can make their social life hard. This can also lead to depression with the eating disorder still at hand. Muscle weakness is another complication in eating disorders because of lack of vitamins. This will follow with pain all around the body because of the muscle weakness. With all this complication the worst one is dead because of all the loss of vitamins and minerals that are the need in your body. The body will eventually give out go into cardiac
Anorexia nervosa and Bulimia nervosa are described as psychological eating disorders (Keel and Levitt, 1). They are both characterized by an over evaluation of weight. Despite being primarily eating disorders, the manifestations of bulimia and anorexia are different. They both present a very conspicuous example of dangerous psychological disorders, as according to the South Carolina Department of Health, “Eating disorders have the highest mortality rate of any mental illness” (Eating Order Statistics, 1). While Bulimia and anorexia both psychological disorders primarily prevalent in women, anorexia tend to have different diagnostic complexities, symptoms and physiological effects as compared to bulimia.
Anorexia may not be noticed in early stages. The Anorexic usually chooses to wear layered and baggy clothes to hide the “ugly fat body” .An Anorexic may have ritualistic eating patterns such as cutting food into little tiny pieces and weighing themselves. These can be found in people who are on a healthy diet, but in Anorexics these behaviors are extremely exaggerated. Other warnings are deliberate self-starvation with weight loss, fear of gaining weight, refusal to eat, denial of hunger, constant exercising, sensitivity to cold, absent or irregular periods, loss of scalp perception of being fat when the person is really to this. Some other associated features are depressed mood, somatic sexual dysfunction, and ...
A tall, glamorous runway model is every girl’s dream. Long beautiful legs, lean body, and beautiful shiny hair is what an average young woman views as an ideal image for a female. If you don’t resemble the images of those stunning Victoria Secret models and Fashion Week models, you suddenly become ashamed of your own body. It is a great life to have with the high pay, fame, drinking champagne on a yacht with famous celebrities and even being on the Vogue cover page. Fashion Modeling Industry has been the most influential source in our young women’s lives. Young girls and young women are seen eating as little as they can, even starving themselves at times to resemble those models. What they don’t realize is that they are contributing to the 2.7 percentage of 13- 18 year olds suffering from anorexia and bulimia. Susan Albers, a psychologist at the Cleveland Clinic said exposure to thin models is a great trigger in maintaining an eating disorder. When watching America’s Next Top Model or flipping through a Fashion magazine, these young women don’t apprehend that those models are either naturally slim or they are suffering from an eating disorder themselves, in other words, hostages in the dark hell hid behind those runway curtains. The growing number of young anorexia and bulimia patients, and the number of websites such as thinspiration, where girls put up pictures of their thin bodies clearly suggest that the fashion modeling industry do not at all bear any responsibility in providing healthy, realistic physical role models for young women.
...ldwide. Thousands of people die every year from eating disorders. Most eating disorders start at a young age. Due to nutritional problems associated with not eating properly, all eating disorders are serious they can also be deadly since it is hard to control them. People with eating disorders may need several years to recover, to recover they must see a therapist, nutritionist and a doctor. (Wilson)