Eating Disorder Essay

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Introduction According to the American Eating Disorder Association, approximately half a million teenagers struggle with eating disorders or disordered eating. In this paper, eating disorders and their possible causes were selected for further research. This was a subject of interest because as seen above, statistics show that eating disorders are relatively common among Americans, and yet, it is continues to remain an under funded research area. Unlike some diseases, eating disorders have no correlation with age (including us) or gender, affecting individuals of all age and gender groups for different reasons. With the display of desired appearances in the media, societal pressures on the youth today, to remain thin, remain uncontrolled.This has resulted in an increase in the prevalence of eating disorders within the past several decades. Literature Review A study done by Dingemans, van Rood, de Groot and van Furth in 2012, analyzed patients diagnosed with body dysmorphic disorder (BBD) in relation to the closely related eating disorder in an attempt to distinguish between the two. BBD is a condition in which an afflicted individual has a believed imperfection or complication with his or her appearance which is notably irrational or extreme, which is shared with the clinical features of eating disorders. The study assessed the prevalence of BDD patients with eating disorders and further compared the characteristics of eating disorder patients with and without BBD. Patients were given questionnaires to complete regarding how comfortable they were with different areas of their bodies. It was found that patients that were diagnosed with both an eating disorder and BDD had a higher degree of discomfort with their body-image compared... ... middle of paper ... ...gly relevant today because of the prevalent role of the media in modern society. Shifting exposure of young and impressionable people from unrealistic images of beauty to more positive ones that better reflect what’s healthy and obtainable can ultimately help people form more positive self-images, both physically and mentally. Preventing these insecurities can stop the development of psychological disorders such as body dysmorphic disorder and in turn, depress the emergence of eating disorders later in life. Further research could be done on the impact of eating disorders across different countries, since ideal body images differ among different ethnic groups. It would be useful to see what the implications of eating disorders are on physiological health. This way we could work towards a more healthy living by promoting awareness of the implication of this disorder.

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