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How does the media play a role in the prevalence of eating disorders
Eating disorders and culture
How does the media play a role in the prevalence of eating disorders
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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. There are three main eating disorders; anorexia nervosa, binge eating disorder and bulimia nervosa. All three do not discriminate against age, gender or race. They can affect anyone at any size, many people do not know they are even suffering from one of the diseases. Anorexia nervosa is described as limiting food intake immensely, fear of gaining weight and self-esteem correlates with weight. Binge eating disorder is consumption of large amounts of food, without trying to get rid of it, feeling out of control and shame when binging. B... ... middle of paper ... ...ng disorders. Overall, eating disorders are a very sensitive topic and can be suffered by anyone no matter their background, weight, age or gender. Anyone has the ability to be diagnosed with an eating disorder. It is important to teach children young healthy habits with eating and exercise. Different forms of treatment are available such as in patient treatments, cell phone apps and therapy to teach how to overcome an eating disorder. Each eating disorder, anorexia nervous, binge eating disorder and bulimia nervosa may respond better to different forms of treatment and each patient is different in what will work best for them to overcome. Support from family and friends is necessary in working with treatment and being strong enough to face an eating disorder once treatment is done. Eating disorders are easy to gain, but with the right treatment can be defeated.
Eating disorders are a nondiscriminatory disease that takes the lives of millions of people each year. As of 2014, the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders 5 (5th ed.; DSM–5; American Psychiatric Association, 2013) changed the criteria for eating disorders and included binge eating disorder as its own category instead of group it as an eating disorder not otherwise specified. The three main eating disorders include anorexia nervosa, bulimia nervosa, and binge eating disorder and without intervention and proper treatment, individuals suffering from an eating disorder are faced with years of struggling, which may end in death.
Eating disorders are serious and there have been many kinds reported and well known around the world. The most important types of eating disorders are anorexia nervosa, bulimia nervosa, pica, and body dysmorphic disorder because these specific disorders are the most common and widely known and are the most widely diagnosed. Anorexia Nervosa One of the worlds most popular and most often diagnosed eating disorders is anorexia nervosa. Anorexia nervosa is a psychiatric disorder characterized by abnormal eating behavior, distorted body image, and an unrealistic fear of gaining weight (Ehrlich 2010). People who have been diagnosed with anorexia nervosa tend to obsess about their weight and what they eat.
Eating disorders are a group of conditions characterized by severe disturbances in eating behavior with either an extreme reduction or an extreme increase of food intake, which negatively affects the individual's mental and physical health. There are two main types of eating disorders – anorexia nervosa and bulimia nervosa. There is a third category of eating disorders called “eating disorders not otherwise specified”. Binge eating disorder is categorized under this. Eating disorders mainly appear during adolescence and early adulthood and affect women and girls much more than males. Eating disorders are not self-inflicted diseases, but real illnesses with biological and psychological causes. They often co-exist with other disorders such as depression and substance abuse and can lead to a number of other health complications such as kidney failure, heart problems and even death.
Eating disorders are characterized into three different forms- Anorexia Nervosa, and Bulimia Nervosa. Anorexia is restricting the intake of calories on a day to day basis in order to lose or maintain a specific weight. Bulimia is consuming large amounts of food in short periods of time, called binges. Afterwards, Bulimics attempt to eradicate the body of the food eaten, typically by purging, vomiting, taking laxatives, or exercising for long periods. (Engel, Reiss, and Dombeck) “She was gagging, finger shoved down her throat. Most everything she had eaten was splashed on the mulch: a bag of potato chips, most of a carton of onion dip, two fudge brownies, and a slice of strawberry shortcake,” shows the activities of a bulimic (Anderson 146).
Since 1960 the amount of cases of eating disorders has risen drastically. Since 1960 technology has increased as well. With this new technology social media has become increasingly popular leading to overstimulation of pictures portraying emaciated young women as “perfection” (Salter). Eating disorders are especially prominent in young females; and young minds are often easily influenced by what is normalized to them (Park). When a young brain is opened up to ideas and words that idolize “skinny”, it will undoubtedly become similarly obsessed with “skinny”. Harvard Medical school recently did a study on media’s effects on eating disorders: “Scientists…studying the social influences contributing to eating disorders focuse...
In the United States alone, an estimate of 24 million people suffers from an eating disorder, whether its anorexia, bulimia, binge eating, or some type of atypical eating habits. Eating disorders are a global problem that affects millions, mainly affecting young middle school girls. Those who suffer from an eating disorder battle against their own body on a daily basis, putting their mental and physical health at risk. 1 in 10 people men and women with an eating disorder do not seek help.
Psychotherapy or psychological counseling is an integral part of comprehensive eating disorder treatments. With a trained counselor, the patient can develop ways to cope with the issues that led to the disorder. This is especially important in anorexia nervosa treatments because of the overwhelming fear of becoming overweight. Hopefully a psychotherapist can get to the root of these fears and develop effective measures to take for recovery. Anorexia is considered to be a lifelong illness, and counseling may continue indefinitely. There are no medicines for anorexia, but antidepressants are often prescribed in conjunction with other treatments.
Researchers study eating disorders to try to understand their many complexities. “Eating disorders are complicated psychiatric illnesses in which food is used to deal with unsettling emotions and difficult life issues” (Michel & Willard, 2003, p. 2). To help those with eating disorders, one must understand the causes, effects and treatments associated with the disorders. Anorexia Nervosa, Bulimia Nervosa and Compulsive Overeating are three common eating disorders found in society today. “No one knows exactly what causes eating disorders. However, all socioeconomic, ethnic and cultural groups are at risk” (Matthews, 2001, p.3). Eating disorders are difficult to diagnose but can be deadly if left untreated.
Eating Disorders have been a huge problem all over the world. People have anorexia disorders or obesity disorders which can be very dangerous and life threatening. Women are more likely to be anorexic than men, and a lot has to do with how a woman sees herself , and compares herself to other women. Obesity is a huge problem in the United states over one hundred overweight surgeries are performed by surgeons per year.
An eating disorder is established by an unhealthy relationship with food and weight preferences that interfere with ones personal life. As of May 2013, The Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders classified anorexia, bulimia, and binge eating as the three main eating disorders. Anorexia is classified as having an intense fear of gaining weight and a typical unhealthy practices of intense starvation for long periods of time. Bulimia involves repetitive cycles of binge eating followed by self induced vomiting, also known as purging. Binge Eating is associated with cycles of consuming colossal amounts of food in a rapid manner. People who binge eat also cannot control how much they as well as when to stop. Eating disorders do not just appear out of out of the blue, people tend to use food as a coping mechanism to deal with pain emotions or to have some sort of control in their lives, with the short rush of fulfillment, eating disorder victims are inclined to skim over the severe and fatal repercussions of their actions.
When things seem out of control in one’s life, they may find the control that they seek through extreme dieting. Some factors that contribute to eating disorders can be quite personal. Having a difficult and troubled past is not uncommon in eating disorder sufferers. History of being bullied and abuse is also not uncommon (NEDA, Factors That May Contribute to Eating Disorders).
Eating disorders are real, complicated, and horrible conditions that have extreme consequences for life in general, including productivity, family matters, and relationships. Anorexia nervosa is a serious, potentially life-threatening problem that affect a person’s health on multiple levels. People who struggle with this problem absolutely need to seek professional aid. The earlier a person with an eating disorder seeks treatment, the greater the chances of that person's recovery.
Eating disorders can be described as any abnormal eating habits and can range from minor to life threatening. They result in people making very unhealthy decisions and causes harmful effects on the mind and body. It is important to bring attention to this topic because more and more people are being diagnosed with eating disorders every day. Without proper help, people who fall victim to these disorders continue to get sicker. Not only does eating disorders harm one’s body physically, but they can also cause mental or emotional pain. There needs to be more of a focus on educating society about eating disorders and how to attempt to avoid them. There also needs to be a push to treat the victim’s disorders so that they can continue to live a
An eating disorder is a serious emotional and physical problem that can cause many difficulties, mild and severe, to those who have one. People with an eating disorder tend to eat a large amount of food, or do completely the opposite and basically starve themselves. There are many eating disorders. The main ones are anorexia, binge, and bulimia. Anorexia is when the person is very concerned about their weight and body image so they eat hardly anything to keep from adding more weight. Bulimia is when the person eats a huge portion of food and they follow by getting it to come back up, also known as binge eating. Sometimes, they will also fast or do extreme exercising after binging. Other eating disorders that are less common are atypical anorexia nervosa, which is basically the opposite of normal anorexia; night eating syndrome, which is when you eat lots of food at nighttime; and purging disorder, which is when you purge without binge eating. (“Types & Symptoms of Eating Disorders”)
Anorexia nervosa is an eating disorder that makes people lose more weight than is considered healthy for their height or age. Anorexia isn’t really about food it is more of an unhealthy way to try to manage with emotional problems. Anorexia nervosa has one of the highest death rates of any mental health condition. Studies have proven that 5-20% of individuals under pressure with anorexia nervosa will die. The chance of death increases with the amount of time having this condition. Anorexia is also very difficult to overcome. Bulimia nervosa is an illness is which a person binges on food or has normal episodes of overeating and feels less over control. There are a couple of different methods, which contain vomiting or the abuse of laxatives to avoid weight gain. Someone who is Bulimic every so often knows they have a problem but are frightened of their ineffectiveness to stop eating. Bulimia nervosa is commonly connected with symptoms of depression and even changes in social adjustment. Just like Anorexia nervosa there is no certain way to overcome Bulimia nervosa. Binge-Eating is a severe disorder where someone frequently consumes an unusual large amount of food. This can occur on its...