Three percent of Americans doesn’t seem like that many, but when you look at it with people who have eating disorders it’s shocking. Ever since the thoughts on being thin came around young women couldn’t get enough on the idea. Pulling the horrifying parts of eating disorders out and making them look trendy and glamorous. Something that could’ve been an inspiration to lose weight and be healthy plummeted and made thinness seem like the necessity. The lovely motivation to be healthy turned into a ton of young girls starving themselves and dying just to be skinny (Zoltan). Young women have found urges to take on eating disorders, which caused the level of women with eating disorders to rise. The eating disorders gained new attention in 1970 after …show more content…
The rate of bulimia has been increasing in Westernized countries since 1950. It is the most common eating disorder in American, and three percent of Americans are bulimic. Of those eighty-five to ninety percent are women. The highest rate of bulimia is in college women, and it is at five to six percent (Davidson). It is uncommon for anyone under fourteen to have the disorder. Most who have bulimia know it’s a problem, but their habit is addictive so they usually are secretive about binging and purging. A positive factor is that bulimia has a much lower hospitalization rate than anorexia. Unfortunately, if bulimia is not treated the patient will die most likely from their stomach or esophagus rupturing …show more content…
It is known that people who have eating disorders come from families where they are constantly teased about their weight. The positive way of handling things will help not only with keeping young adolescents healthy, but also confidant. Another thing that can lead to these disorders is low self-esteem so if positive self-talk is advised then people don’t feel the need to stop eating (Davidson). There are pros when trying to lower the rate of young women with eating disorders. When practicing healthy and normal eating habits the family is together in working to stay healthy and not under eat or over eat, and there is not desire to want to not eat. Eating alone can cause eating habits to change since no one is watching so if everyone is together children know to eat and not just avoid it. Another pro, people who are practicing positive self-habits are happier and less likely to want to be ultra thin
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Shapiro, C. M. (2012). Eating disorders: Causes, diagnosis, and treatments [Ebrary version]. Retrieved from http://libproxy.utdallas.edu/login?url=http://site.ebrary.com/lib/utdallas/Doc?id=10683384&ppg=3
Smith, M. Segal, R. Segal, J. ((2012, February) 2014, February). Binge eating disorder. Retrieved from http://www.helpguide.org/mental/binge_eating_disorder.htm
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.
Eating Disorders." Current Issues: Macmillian Social Science Library. Detroit: Gale, 2010. Gale Opposing Viewpoints In Context. Web. 20 Oct. 2015.
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The complications that accompany body image have long been an issue in society. Body image is the sense of how an individual views his or her own body as compared to others in society, or what is considered to be the ideal body image. There are many different factors that effect ones body image, but a major influence is the media. The media has long been associated with eating disorders such as anorexia nervosa and bulimia. Anorexia nervosa is an eating disorder where an individual participates in self-starvation, and bulimia is an eating disorder where an individual will eat as much as he or she wishes and then purges the previously eaten food. These are two destructive eating disorders that are associated with a negative body image. This comes to question, does media have an influence on creating a negative body image, which may inherently lead to eating disorders like anorexia nervosa and bulimia? Anorexia nervosa and bulimia affect various age groups but is extremely common in adolescence and emerging adulthood. During this stage in an individual’s lifespan there is a lot going on with ones psychological development as well as body. How an adolescent views his or her body image be highly impacted by how the media portrays what the ideal body image is. According to Berger (2015), “as might be expected from a developmental perspective, healthy eating begins with childhood habits and family routines” (p.415). If proper eating habits are not implemented negative body image and eating disorders that are associated with media becomes further predominant in adolescence and emerging adulthood.
Beauty is in the eye of the beholder. In our society today, people would rather see what celebrities are up to than what is going on with our health plan. Watching the news makes us aware of the latest trend, new gadget, who’s in rehab, or who has an eating disorder. In the eyes of society, women like Eva Longoria, Kim Kardashian, and Megan Fox are the epitome of perfection. What girl wouldn’t want to look like them? Unfortunately, this includes most of the girls in the US. Through TV shows, commercials, magazines or any form of advertising, the media enforces a certain body type which women emulate. The media has created a puissant social system where everyone must obtain a thin waist and large breasts. As a society, we are so image obsessed with the approval of being thin and disapproval of being overweight, that it is affecting the health of most women. Women much rather try to fit the social acceptance of being thin by focusing on unrealistic body images which causes them to have lower self esteem and are more likely to fall prey to eating disorders, The media has a dangerous influence on the women’s health in the United States.
Eating disorders have the highest mortality rate of any mental illness; 24 million people of all ages and genders suffer from eating disorders and only 1 in 10 of those 24 million are treated (ANAD). Eating disorders do not discriminate; all ages, genders, ethnicities and races can be victim to this mental illness. It’s important to be aware of the impact eating disorders have on societies across the globe and how the media plays a role if we want to fight the source and promote prevention and/or rehabilitation. I’ve known many people in my life who have some sort of eating disorder, whether it’s anorexia(not eating enough), binge eating(eating large amounts of food rapidly), bulimia (throwing up their food) or just struggling with an unsatisfying self-image. Becoming aware of eating disorders and how they are developed is important to me because in a perfect world, I would like to see this illness become less common or diminished completely among those that I love and anyone else in today’s society. Eating disorders hit home for many people, including myself. Raising awareness may decrease the rate of eating disorders by informing the population of the harm this illness causes and hopefully promote prevention and/or rehabilitation. With the 3 theoretical approaches used by sociologists, Eating disorders can be understood which will better inform society on how to raise awareness, prevent this illness and help those who suffer from eating disorders.
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