Anorexia Nervosa Research Paper

Many people hope for the “perfect” body, the one they see in all the magazines. When dieting and exercise do not give these people the results they want, many times these individuals turn to eating disorders. In the United States eating disorders have become a reoccurring problem. Anorexia and bulimia make up the two most common eating disorders among all age groups. Anorexia and bulimia threaten the lives of many people in the United States.

Though these concerns are good, excessive concern for thinness is also a major problem (like Bulimia “a fear of obesity”.) June Engel (1993) illustrated that once you have an eating disorder sadly many remain eating – disordered and dissatisfied with themselves for life. Bulimics share the anorexic’s fear of losing control, being depressed, and obsessed with weight loss. Bulimics start on restricted diets but can never stick to them, and occupy their time in cycles of restricted eating, binging and self-inflicting vomiting and purging. They use a lot of laxatives, diuretics and sometimes even ipecac syrup (to force themselves to vomit.)

Eating disorders are hard concepts to grasp. They are not only a mystery to those who do not suffer from their pain, but also to those who have lived with them for many years. These disorders have affected countless amounts of young women throughout the world and they continue to ruins lives, ruin families, and ruin souls everywhere. Many bystanders to these diseases wonder this: “What in this world is preposterous enough to tear women apart so completely that they feel like turning to eating disorders is their only way to escape?” Every single day, we are unknowingly exposed to one of the main causes of eating disorders. Media.

Anorexia Nervosa: Anorexia Nervosa is an eating disorder that causes you to be obsessed with losing weight, so much so that you starve yourself. It is one of the most common psychiatric diagnoses in young women and it has one of the highest death rates of any mental illness. 5-20% of people who suffer from anorexia will die. It can be a life- threatening disease when not treated correctly so it is important to notice the warning signs as well as the symptoms. Warning Signs/Symptoms: 1.

These individuals workout excessively and usually go for the method of starvation, with a few purging tendencies. There are many negative drawbacks of being anorexic because the average anorexic loses 30 percent of their average body weight. Many individuals that do not have eating disorders often cannot control their body weight so there is not specific weight that is associated with these eating disorders, but is generally assumed that being less than 85 percent or an average’s expected body weight is being “too skinny”. Bulimic patients on the other hand, have more of a binging then purging process. The individuals refuse to maintain a normal body weight.

For these reasons, the connection between media and body image is very important because low body image will lead to eating disorders and potentially death. Many women are very sensitive about the way they look, which makes them depend on media products more. The media culture sends mixed messages about what is sexy, which causes women to face similar unrealistic expectations when exposed to media images. Some mes... ... middle of paper ... ...hat is unrealistic and unattainable for a majority of women in society. Models shown in all forms of popular media are often under what is considered healthy body weight, which sends a powerful message that women must sacrifice their health to be considered attractive by societal standards.

Clinically, an anorexic is diagnosed by having a body weight 20% below the expected body weight of a healthy person at the same age and height of the eating disorder patient. The anorexic often becomes frightened of gaining weight and even of food itself. The patient may feel fat, even though their body weight is well below the normal weight for their height. Some also feel they do not deserve pleasure out of life and will deprive themselves of situations offe... ... middle of paper ... ...ily, friends, and the reasons she may have fallen into a pattern of self-starvation. As a patient learns more about her condition, she is often more willing to try to help herself recover.

People across the world, even those without televisions, have heard or seen anorexia. Anorexia is a common eating disorder in which someone does not eat because they have a loss of appetite and want to lose weight. Anorexia can lead to thinning of the body, but the rapid loss of weight includes a multitude of health problems. Models are seen on the television, on magazines, on posters, and on billboards. Do these models know that they may be affecting the minds of younger girls?

Eating disorders affect many people every day. Overcoming eating disorders can be a very difficult task for the people it affects. Anorexia Nervosa is a serious, deadly eating disorder that several people are diagnosed with every year, especially females. Women are seven to ten times more likely to develop an eating disorder than men. What would make someone want to go to the extent to starve themselves to lose weight?

This shows that you lack self-esteem and only want to see what other people see in life. This may impinge on people who are alone and want to get attention and by doing this they want to be thin. There are many different kinds of eating disorders that people are affected with. For example, there is Anorexia Nervosa, which deals with not eating regularly or eats little amounts of food or not eating at all. There is also Bulimia Nervosa, which is when a person eats a large amount of food and then binges or purges after to get rid of the food they just put into the body.