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Eating disorders and its effects
Eating disorders and its effects
The impact of eating disorders on society
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According to Merriam-Webster dictionary an eating disorder is defined as any several psychological disorders characterized by serious disturbances of eating behavior. One type of eating disorder is Anorexia nervosa. This is when some people have a small food intake, which leads to a weight that is too low. Bulimia nervosa is a condition that causes people to binge eat, then take steps to avoid weight gain. Most commonly the vomiting Binge-eating disorder is eating large quantities of food, which is from a feeling of loss of control during the binge, then experiencing shame, distress or guilt afterwards Purging disorder is a control weight or shape in the absence of binge eating episodes that occurs in people with normal or near-normal weight. Night eating syndrome eating disorder is characterized by a delayed circadian pattern of food intake. There are many sign to notice if One has an eating disorder “People with anorexia nervosa have an extreme fear of gaining weight. They often diet and exercise relentlessly, sometimes to the point of starvation. About one-third to one-half of anorexics also binge and purge by vomiting or misusing laxatives. People with anorexia have a distorted body image, thinking they are overweight when in fact they are underweight. They may count calories obsessively and only allow themselves tiny portions of certain specific foods.” (webmd.com) Eating disorders are caused due to depression that may be triggered by the image the person has in mind of how they feel they should look like. The media has had a massive effect on people’s body image. The media has models that look too tall, and thin and are a size zero. This is what they define as beautiful. Many girls look at the models and feel depressed, es... ... middle of paper ... ...ing medication, going to see a therapist or a counselor and talking about their disorder and how to overcome it. In order to overcome it we need to better understand how to target the disorder. Ever case is different because it can be a behavior that developed or a genetic factor. Others have to get be admitted in the hospital and be motored to make sure they are eating the exact amount needed to survive. In conclusion, people have all sort have medical problems, some worse than others. Patients who suffer from disorder should seek treatment no matter what others say about them because people will talk badly no matter what. If the patient doesn’t seek treatment people will say they’re careless about themselves, and if they do seek treatment they talk about bad the patient life is. Others talking about them shouldn’t stop the person from talking care of themselves.
Eating disorders are not caused by a single source, such as control, but are due to an accumulation of factors including genetics, upbringing, culture, and personality.
The DSM-IV definition of anorexia nervosa has four conditions. The definition states: "I) Refusal to maintain body weight for age and height; 2) intense fear of gaining weight or becoming fat, even though underweight; 3) disturbance in the way in one's body weight, size, or shape is experienced, undue influence of body weight or shape on self-evaluation, or denial of the seriousness of the current low body weight; and 4) in females, ammenorrhea" (1). There remain two kinds of an nervosa as well the restricting ": "the person has not regularly engaged in binge-eating or purging behavior-" and the binge-eating/purging type.- "in which the person has regularly engaged in these behaviors" (1). Anorexia nervosa usually occurs during adolescence and in females. This definition becomes important in understanding the relationship between anorexia nervosa and obsessivecompulsive disorder.
Anorexia nervosa is an eating disorder that involves extreme weight loss, restricted food intake, and an intense fear of becoming fat. The American Psychiatric Association outlines four diagnostic criteria for anorexia. The first is refusal to maintain body weight. The second is intense fear of gaining weight or becoming fat, even though underweight. The third is denial of the seriousness of low body weight. The fourth is in postmenarcheal females, amenorrhea, for example the absence of at least three consecutive menstrual cycles.
The rising frequency of teen Internet and social media use, in particular Facebook, has cause parents to lose sight of these websites harmful attributes that lead to eating disorders and extreme dieting. Michele Foster, author of “Internet Marketing Through Facebook: Influencing Body Image in Teens and Young Adults”, published October 2008 in Self Help Magazine, argues Facebook has become the leading social network for teens and young adults aging 17 to 25 years of age, and is also the age range that has significant increases in Anorexia and Bulimia Nervosa in women. Foster accomplishes her purpose, which is to draw the parents of teen’s attention to the loosely regulated advertisements on Facebook and Facebook’s reluctance to ban negative body image ads. Foster creates a logos appeal by using examples and persona, pathos appeal by using diction, and ethos appeal by using examples and persona.
Look in the mirror. Do you like what you see? Most of us have come to appreciate ourselves for who we are. While other’s struggle to achieve the perfect body. They strive to be what is depicted in fashion magazines and movies. The never ending obsession to be the perfect size zero. This inevitably can lead to eating disorders. Eating disorders can cause someone to have an unhealthy image of themselves and food is the enemy. In a national survey at the Mclean Hospital in Massachusetts it was estimated that over 9 million people suffer with eating disorders. They can struggle with anorexia, bulimia or binge eating. A study conducted by the National Association of Anorexia Nervosa and Associated Disorders states that most of these diseases start before the age of twenty. Another growing problem in the United States is obesity. Over 60 million Americans suffer from this disease, this according to the American Obesity Association (gale opposing viewpoints: eating disorders 2010).
Eating Disorders (EDs) are a series of often life-threatening mental health disorders which are commonly used as coping mechanisms or as ways to mask one’s problems. The causes of these illnesses are still being researched, and the effects they have on a person’s physical, mental, and emotional wellbeing can often be as long as the sufferer’s life.
Eating disorders are characterized by gross disturbances in eating behavior and include anorexia nervosa, bulimia nervosa, eating disorders not otherwise specified(NOS), and binge eating disorder. Also, several researchers have coined the term anorexia athletics.
An eating disorder is a life-threatening mental illness where someone has an abnormal or dangerous eating habit, which is brought on by past and present body views, family, or mental off-balances. There are many different options for someone with an eating disorder: (Engel) nutritional rehabilitation, individual psychotherapy, group inpatient or outpatient therapy, and family therapy (Miller). Eating disorders are not abnormal in todays society….(add more here) (Engel).
Anorexia nervosa, more commonly known as anorexia- an emotional and medical disorder, generally is the lack of food consumption due to a constant fear of gaining weight, an objection to preserve or control a healthy body weight, and a mentally distorted body image. This primarily begins with ones misery with their body. You start to block out everything in your life (school, work, friends, and hobbies) and mainly focus on meals and what should or shouldn’t be consumed. The thing that mainly diagnoses one as anorexic is the simple fact that "... No matter how skinny you become, it's never enough." People diagnosed with this eating order are often in denial and see no wrong doings when they could potentially reach a state of health the body cannot maintain and die.
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.
Despite the fact that many people think of an eating disorder as being an unhealthy quest for a perfect body, eating disorders are not about vanity and not really about weight. The causes of eating disorders are not known with precision but are thought to be a combination of genetic, neuro-chemical, psycho-developmental, and socio-cultural factors. Eating disorders are complex, psychological illnesses where people try to control conflict and stress in their lives by controlling food. The food, weight, and body image issues are identifiable symptoms of deep-rooted, often difficult-to-identify problems.
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).
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.
Eating disorders can be altered by many things including bullying. One way that an eating disorder can come about into someone's life if is low self-esteem. Negative body images can make someone want to become skinnier. When someone has a low self-esteem it means a person who has a very low image of themselves. They think that they are nothing and aren’t worthy of life. When someone thinks this they could exercise excessively thinking that it will make them skinnier.
Eating disorders are a serious health problem. Personal Counseling & Resources says that eating disorders "are characterized by a focus on body shape, weight, fat, food, and perfectionism and by feelings of powerlessness and low self-esteem." Three of the most common eating disorders are anorexia nervosa, bulimia nervosa, and binge eating or compulsive eating disorder. According to Anorexia Nervosa and Related Eating Disorders, a person with anorexia "refuses to maintain normal body weight for age and height" and "weighs 85 percent or less than what is what is expected for age and height." A person diagnosed with bulimia has several ways of getting rid of the calories such as binge eating, vomiting, laxative misuse, exercising, or fasting. The person might have a normal weight for their age and height unless anorexia is present. The signs of a compulsive eater include eating meals frequently, rapidly, and secretly. This person might also snack and nibble all day long. The compulsive eater tends to have a history of diet failures and may be depressed or obese (Anred.com).