According to the DSM-IV anorexia nervosa is characterized by a refusal to maintain body weight, an intense fear of gaining weight, a distorted body image, and amenorrhea (Polivy). According to the Renfrew Center Foundation for Eating Disorders, “up to 24 million people of all ages and genders suffer from an eating disorder in the United States” (Siber 331). Anorexia is seen to affect girls in their adolescence and is rarely seen to affect men. A person suffering from anorexia has a fear of being overweight and weighs 15% less than her ideal weight. Those suffering from anorexia will pursue in extreme dieting, exercise and use of laxatives. They will skip meals and even starve themselves. They will binge and purge whenever they do decide to eat (Post). This will result in them to be very moody and affect their cognitive functions (Brockmeyera). Anorexia can be fatal to one’s health and can result in suicide (Silber). Anorexia nervosa can be caused due to peer pressure from ones family and friends, teasing and bullying done in school therefore resulting in psychological problems and can result in one inflicting pain on herself and can lead to extreme health illness. In this paper, I am going to prove that Anorexia Nervosa, which is an eating disorder in teens, can have harmful effect to one’s health which can cause psychological, physical, emotional damage.
Anorexia appears to affect girls in many cultures; however, it is often found in industrialized societies, where being thin corresponds with being attractive (Post). It is not clear as to what directly causes an eating disorder to start, but there are some risk factors than can contribute. Many things can drive a person over the edge and make her turn into something she would ...
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Anorexia Nervosa has been a problematic disease many women suffer from. The article “The Slender Trap” was composed by Trina Rys who is a stay at home mother with a husband and one daughter. Rys writes the main reasons a woman may develop anorexia from. She states that the psychological pressures, expectations of friends and family and influences of the media all are factors when a woman is inflicted with the disease. I strongly agree with Rys persuading argument that anorexia could be caused by an unknown identity and the overall main focus of the ideal image of a woman. Although, I believe Rys requires a stronger argument on whether food restrictions executed by parents are a major step to developing the harmful illness. She seems to put emphasize on mainly women but does not shine any light on men.
The National Institute of Mental Health: Eating Disorders: Facts About Eating Disorders and the Search for Solutions. Pub No. 01-4901. Accessed Feb. 2002.
Anorexia nervosa is a psychosociological disease which affects young women. Anorexia is mainly a female's disease which has been evident for centuries-however, in the past twenty years, the incidence of this disorder has risen to horrifying proportions. It is characterized by the refusal to maintain body wight over a minimal normal weight for age and height; intense fear of gaining weight; a distorted body image; and, amenorrhea. (http://www.pgi.edu/hagopian.htm) This disorder becomes a disease when the mind starts to cause problems with one's physical well-being. A connection has been found between sociocultural pressures to achieve, familial characteristics, and individual personality traits.
"Anorexia Nervosa--Part I." Harvard Mental Health Letter. Feb. 2003: 1-4. SIRS Issues Researcher. Web. 06 Mar. 2014.
Out of all mental illnesses found throughout the world, eating disorders have the highest mortality rate. Anorexia nervosa is one of the more common eating disorders found in society, along with bulimia nervosa. Despite having many definitions, anorexia nervosa is simply defined as the refusal to maintain a normal body weight (Michel, 2003). Anorexia nervosa is derived from two Latin words meaning “nervous inability to eat” (Frey, 2002). Although anorexics, those suffering from anorexia, have this “nervous inability to eat,” it does not mean that they do not have an appetite—anorexics literally starve themselves. They feel that they cannot trust or believe their perceptions of hunger and satiation (Abraham, 2008). Anorexics lose at least 15 percent of normal weight for height (Michel, 2003). This amount of weight loss is significant enough to cause malnutrition with impairment of normal bodily functions and rational thinking (Lucas, 2004). Anorexics have an unrealistic view of their bodies—they believe that they are overweight, even if the mirror and friends or family say otherwise. They often weigh themselves because they possess an irrational fear of gaining weight or becoming obese (Abraham, 2008). Many anorexics derive their own self-esteem and self-worth from body weight, size, and shape (“Body Image and Disordered Eating,” 2000). Obsession with becoming increasingly thinner and limiting food intake compromises the health of individuals suffering from anorexia. No matter the amount of weight they lose or how much their health is in jeopardy, anorexics will never be satisfied with their body and will continue to lose more weight.
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)
Anorexia Nervosa (AN) is an eating disorder with the highest mortality rate of any other mental disorder. The National Association of Anorexia Nervosa and Associated Disorders characterizes the disorder as “a relentless pursuit of thinness and unwillingness to maintain a normal or healthy body weight”. (2014) Individuals also experience a “distortion of body image, intense fear of gaining weight and extremely disturbed eating behavior.” (National Association of Anorexia Nervosa and Related Disorders, 2014) As a result, they experience complications physically, mentally and socially. About 80% of individuals with eating disorders suffer from cardiac complications with death due to arrhythmias being the most common cause. This paper will focus on the connection between AN and cardiovascular rhythm disturbances. Individuals with this disorder have an increased chance of sudden death due to cardiovascular abnormalities like bradycardia, myocardial modification including atrophy and refeeding syndrome. (Casiero & Frishman, 2006)
Family focused treatments for anorexia nervosa have been developed based on accounts in family therapy literature of the "typical" anorexic or "psychosomatic" family (Weme & Yalom, 1996). Anorexic families may appear to have a perfect or ideal environment on the surface, but upon close observation little expression of affection or warmth is seen. Members of these families seldom take specific stands on issues, and conflict is avoided at all costs. Underlying dissatisfaction and tension is often present within the parental dyad. It has been suggested that parents of anorexic offspring put high expectations on their children to over-com...
The “Deadly Diet” seems to be a problem that is mostly common in females however in today’s day and age it is becoming a rising epidemic for our male population as well. Society is giving us standard that we think we have to live up to and many individuals are trying to accomplish this by fitting into that perfect category. Eating disorders are more common in middle to upper class families and less common in lower class families. Eating disorders can begin at any age however they seem to be more common in females ranging from ages ten to thirty. Peak ages seem to range from eleven to fifteen for females and fifteen to eighteen for males. (Bauer, 89)
Anorexia Nervosa is an eating disorder characterized by severe restriction of food, an intense fear of gaining weight, a distorted body image and a body mass index of less than 18.5 (Kring, Johnson, Davison, Neale, 2013). There are two subtypes of anorexia, Restricting and Binge Eating/Purging. An individual who falls under the Restricting subtype severely restricts food intake, while an individual who falls under the Bing Eating/Purging subtype regularly engages in binge eating and purging. Anorexia typically begins in adolescence and primarily affects women. The disorder is more common in women than in men mainly because of the cultural emphasis that is placed on women’s beauty. Individuals with anorexia generally have a low self-esteem, a very critical self-evaluation and a belief that they can never be too thin. Due to the seriousness of the disorder, the issue of whether or not an individual should have the right the refuse life-sustaining treatment is highly debated.
intro- Ninety percent of teenage girls have been on a diet. Some take it too far and starve themselves to be thin. Over one million people in just the US are afflicted with anorexia. If what is on the inside matters, then why are does society and the media constantly promote being thin? The influence of society’s promotion of a thin body plays a significant role in the development of such eating disorders as anorexia.
The biological underpinnings are only part of anorexia the mechanics is careful not to dismiss the point of the studies to culture and psychological issues of and catalysts for eating disorders. (“Case”) The studies are put together. This teenage girl in Fijian caused bad eating disorders in just three years. Anne Becker showed us the introduction of a television into the population of Fijian.(“Case”) The media has contributed to eating disorders in America’s teens.
The stage of adolescence contains major changes which can bring stress, confusion, and anxiety. Feelings of self-consciousness, low self esteem and comparison with peers start occurring during this time. Along with the physical changes there is also hormonal and brain changes that affect the adolescent physically, mentally, emotionally, and psychologically. During this time a person can feel tremendous pressure to find their place in the world among a great deal of confusion (“Eating Disorders and Adolescence,” 2013). Body image concerns and peer pressure are heightened during the period of adolescence, and are potential risk factors in the development of an eating disorder. While eating disorders can affects males and females of all ages, the average age of onset for Anorexia Nervosa, Bulimia Nervosa, and disordered eating takes place during adolescence. These disorders are often a coping mechanism for people to attempt to gain control of their situation when they feel helpless among other aspects of life (“Eating Disorders and Adolescence,” 2013). Eating disorders in children and teens can lead to a number of serious physical problems and even death (Kam, n.d.).
In 1978, Brunch called anorexia nervosa a 'new disease' and noted that the condition seemed to overtake ?the daughters of the well-to-do, educated and successful families.? Today it is acknowledged and accepted that anorexia affects more than just one gender or socio-economic class; however, much of the current research is focused on the female gender. ?Anorexia nervosa is characterized by extreme dieting, intense fear of gaining weight, and obsessive exercising. The weight loss eventually produces a variety of physical symptoms associated with starvation: sleep disturbance, cessation of menstruation, insensitivity to pain, loss of hair on the head, low blood pressure, a variety of cardiovascular problems and reduced body temperature. Between 10% and 15% of anorexics literally starve themselves to death; others die because of some type of cardiovascular dysfunction (Bee and Boyd, 2001).?
Long, Phillip W. "Anorexia Nervosa." Internet Mental Health. Jan. 1997. St. Joseph Medical Center. 19 Aug. 1998 .