Today, nearly ten to fifteen percent of adolescent boys suffer from an eating disorder in today’s population (Ray, 2004), and nearly thirty-five to fifty- seven percent of adolescent girls suffer from one as well (Boutelle, Neumark-Sztainer, Story, &Resnick, 2002; Neumark-Sztainer&Hannan, 2001; Wertheim et al., 2009). One of the most common forms of eating disorders is bulimia nervosa. This is a psychological disorder that has nutritional and physical consequences to someone (Smolin). This disorder consists of an individual consuming an excessive amount of calories in a short amount of time and shortly after consuming, forcing them self to remove the food from their system. ("Bulimia nervosa fact," July). In today’s society young girls, adolescents, and early aged women are structured by society to have this certain look to them. This then leaves a lasting impact on these young women and girls. They feel they need to look a certain way just to be noticed and accepted (Viinamäki, 2013). While most people believe eating disorders are only to be prevalent in women, but in all actuality men suffer from this problem as well. Young boys, adolescents, and early aged men suffer from self-esteem issues and seeking to have that “perfect masculine” body type, that they even conform to seeking eating disorder manners (Ray, 2004). Overall, bulimia nervosa is a much more common disorder than we believe it to be, it impacts many adolescent girls as well as boys. It affects them psychologically, and leaves a lasting impact on them. In 1979, a psychiatrist named Gerald Russel from Britain came up with the name bulimia nervosa. He stated that one partakes in these bulimic manners due to three factors. Having this urge to overeat, an ultimate fear o... ... middle of paper ... ...ncludes excessive amounts of exercise and fasting. Induced vomiting is the most common form of a purge because it is the easiest and fastest way to discard the food from the body. The individual either uses their own finger or a smaller instrument to enhance a gag reflex. By pushing your finger to the back of the throat, this will cause an initial gag feeling and nausea, and will hopefully cause one to throw up (“’How to”’, 2014). Since water is nearly half of our total body weight, bulimics take diuretics to help reduce the water weight in their body. On average, women have about 50% water weight and men have about 60% water weight (Parks, 2013). The last way a bulimic may engage during a purge is taking laxatives. This produces an increase in watery diarrhea and allows the individual to think no nutritional factors of the food were absorbed by the body (Smolin).
Ever since 1979, the world became introduced to a different type of anorexia disorder called bulimia nervosa by Gerald Russell. In the similar attempt to lose weight like anorexia, bulimia nervosa is characterized by having episodes of binge eating, followed by intense efforts to avoid gaining weight. Some of the methods to avoid gaining the weight can be to induce self-vomiting, and consuming laxatives or diuretics. As a result of Russell studying theses eating disorders, he discovered that approximately 1/100 women in Western societies were affected in 1990 (Palmer, 2014). Ever since bulimia nervosa became a known eating disorder, more people have been able to effectively be diagnosed with it, and more useful information about the disorder
Over the years the rise in body image dissatisfaction has grown as both male and female progress to adulthood. This factor can be contributed to societal standards that the media presents to the public daily. These standards continue to rise making the body image more difficult to attain. With these standards comes the push to seek the “perfect body”. This myth of true beauty commonly found in today’s society, is the price that adolescents buy into often sacrificing their health. The perfect body can often present a distorted view of one-self leading to unhealthy methods of weight reduction. The most common methods for weight reduction are the diseases Anorexia and Bulimia. The similarities and differences between Anorexia and Bulimia will be used to prove that the society’s pressure to fit a certain mold contribute to the onset of the disease.
The motivation that has the bulimia population striving for is none other than for the reason of staying thin. Since the 1980s, this has been an increasing dilemma for both the U.S and Europe. There is no direct cause for this mental disorder but rather a combination of factors that increase...
Not surprisingly, Attie and Brooks-Gunn assert that disturbed body image is one of the main precursors for disordered eating and dieting in adolescent and young adult girls (as cited in Serdar, n.d.). Moreover, Striegel-Moore and Franko argue that the prominence of dieting and maladaptive eating patterns has become an increasingly prevalent concern in adolescent and young adult populations; research has shown that around two-thirds of adolescent females report dieting at some point (as cited in Serdar, n.d.). Even more startling is the increasing number of girls who feel pressured to restrict their diet at dangerously young ages when their bodies are still developing. Hoffman claims that “while 42% of first- through third-grade girls wish to be thinner, a staggering 80% of girls have dieted by the time they reach the age of ten” (2004). Concerns with the development of disordered eating are an especially vital issue because such patterns have been found to be a major predictor of clinical eating disorders. “Research suggests that strict dieting to achieve an ideal figure often plays a key role in triggering eating disorders, which affect 5 to 10 million American girls and women” (Hoffmann, 2004). Early signs of bulimia and anorexia nervosa are appearing in girls of surprisingly young ages. “According to the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, as many as 10 out of 100 young women suffer from an eating disorder” (Hoffmann, 2004). Furthermore, approximately 5% of adolescent girls meet the criteria for bulimia nervosa (Morris & Katzman, 2003). The occurrence of eating disorders among college women is even more startling. “One in five college women struggles with an eating disorder, and one in three displays borderline eating disorder behavior” (Hoffmann, 2004). The prevalence of eating disorders in America poses a serious
Eating Disorders are on a rapid rise in the United States today, they sweep the halls of Junior High School, High Schools, College Campuses and even Elementary Schools. These disorders are often referred to by professionals as the “Deadly Diet,” however you may know them as Anorexia or Bulimia. Eating disorder effect more than 20% of young females and males in today’s society. Ranging in age from thirteen to forty. It is very rare for a child of a young age to not know someone who is suffering from an eating disorder or symptoms that are associated with one. Statistically it has been proven that one out of every five young woman suffer from serious issues dealing with eating and or weight. (Bruch, 25)
In addition, 1% of boys and young men suffer from eating disorders, and their cases are becoming more common ("The Secret Language of Eating Disorders," 1). Also, it is a disorder that crosses racial and economical lines, those who succumb to compulsive starving or binge eating are males (Lang, 1). This shows that today’s society has also affected men’s stereo-typical view of their appearance and weight. Thus, eating disorders not only affect women, they also affect men, in which we are seeing more cases of every day.Second, victims of eating disorders such as anorexia and bulimia have many warning signs which help people notice the signs of these eating disorders. For instance, anorexia nervosa has the following symptoms: significant weight loss, excessive dieting and exercising, and constipation ("Anorexia Nervosa", 2). Also, bulimia nervosa has the following symptoms: makes excuses to go to the bathroom after meals, and eats large amounts of food on the spur of the moment ("Bulimia Nervosa", 2).
Anorexia nervosa (AN) is an disorder that has been most commonly diagnosed in adolescence with the highest at-risk group being women between ages 15 and 22 years old (Hodes, et al., 2000). In the United States, the occurrence of anorexia nervosa is estimated between 0.5% and 2% of the general population, and 0.8 million of the juvenile population (Fisherman, 2006). AN is an illness that has been around for quite some time but has recently become progressively more relevant in society today. This increase could be due to social factors such as the pressure to fit into society’s ideal body image, environmental, psychological, or other social factors may be contributing to the more rapidly development of AN. The exact causes of this disorder are unknown but anorexia has become the third most common chronic illness among adolescents and currently the incidents of AN are increasing in western countries (ANAD, 2014).
Bulimia is one of the major eating disorders among teens. Bulimia is when someone binges− eats a lot of food in a short period of time− and then purges, ...
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.
Bulimia nervosa is a slightly less serious version of anorexia, but can lead to some of the same horrible results. Bulimia involves an intense concern about weight (which is generally inaccurate) combined with frequent cycles of binge eating followed by purging, through self-induced vomiting, unwarranted use of laxatives, or excessive exercising. Most bulimics are of normal body weight, but they are preoccupied with their weight, feel extreme shame about their abnormal behavior, and often experience significant depression. The occurrence of bulimia has increased in many Western countries over the past few decades. Numbers are difficult to establish due to the shame of reporting incidences to health care providers (Bee and Boyd, 2001).
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.).
An eating disorder is a disturbance in a person’s eating habits, it can be from eating extremely to having a strict diet where one consumes tiny amounts of food. People with eating disorders are not satisfied with their body shape or size. They use food to try to control the way they look by overeating or not eating at all. Studies have shown that females are affected by eating disorders more often than males, but there still is a 10-15% of men that are affected by these disorders. (Eating Disorder Statistics, 2014)
Eating disorders are an increasing health issue among not only females but males as well. Over the years the percentage of females with eating disorders has risen from 65 percent to 85-95 percent of the population (Anorexia Nervosa fact sheet, 2009). The percentage of males with eating disorders has increased from about 0.2 percent to 5-15 percent of the population (Boodman 2007). As the days go on, about half of the men and women with eating disorders do misdiagnosed. This is a major problem in the United States and not being diagnosed means no treatment, therefore no treatment means more health deterioration and more health deterioration leads many fatal complications. 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.
Bulimia nervosa, more commonly known simply as bulimia or binge and purge disorder, is an eating disorder that affects 1 in 4 college-aged women in America, or 1 in 10,000 Americans. The most common misconception concerning bulimia is that it is simply a physical or mental problem. Many people do not understand that bulimia is a disease that affects both the mind and the body, and in its course can destroy both aspects of the diseased individual.
In a society that discriminates against people, particularly women, who do not look slender, many people find they cannot - or think they cannot - meet society's standards through normal, healthy eating habits and often fall victim to eating disorders. Bulimia Nervosa, an example of an eating disorder that is characterized by a cycle of binge eating and purging, has become very common in our society. Although it generally affects women, men too are now coming to clinics with this kind of disease. This is not a new disorder. It can be brought on by a complex interplay of factors, which may include emotional, and personality disorders, family pressures, a possible genetic or biologic susceptibility, and a culture in which there is an overabundance of food and an obsession with thinness. Common signs of this problem are pre-occupation with the body, a need for control and perfection, difficult interpersonal relationships, and a low self-esteem. It seems that irrespective of the initial triggers, bulimia can become a rigid pattern, which is difficult to change. The purpose of this paper is to reason out why bulimia is detrimental to our society. It focuses on its bad effect to the health of an individual and to the society. Perhaps you do not have this kind of eating disorder but you are definitely affected by it.