Anolexia Nervosa, Anorexia Binga And Binge Eating Disorders?

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In our world today, there isn’t a place you can go without constantly being reminded of your physical appearance. From advertisements all over town such as in magazines and newspapers to late night paid programming, it seems you can’t get away from messages entering your subconscious mind about your appearance. Magazines are full of pictures of beautiful slim women with perfect curves and these images make women strive to get the “perfect body”. But how far do some women actually go to maintain and achieve their goal weight? It is estimated that over ten million women in the United States suffer from anorexia and/or bulimia and a shocking twenty-five million people are affected by binge eating disorder. As of May 2013, The Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-V) recognized the following eating disorders: Anorexia Nervosa, Bulimia Nervosa, and Binge Eating Disorder. The three major eating disorders are now to blame for having the highest mortality rate, killing more people than any other mental illness. Anorexia Nervosa is an eating disorder that affects over 10 million women in the United States alone. Women are most commonly linked to anorexia (95% of people with anorexia are women) with mostly a heavy impact on teenagers. The disorder is a mixture of distorted body perception, an obsession with body weight, and fear of weight gain. A person suffering from anorexia nervosa may exercise excessively and/or eat very small portions. They may experience symptoms such as extreme weight loss, insomnia, dizziness or fainting, constipation, intolerance to cold, low blood pressure, hair thinning, and dry skin. Because of their strong fear of weight gain, a person suffering may refuse to eat, deny or lie about thei... ... middle of paper ... ...ltural causes of it. The media can easily influence people’s perception of the world and create negative or positive ideas that contribute to the formation of thoughts and opinions of what is considered beautiful. Only five percent of the women in the United States have the “ideal body” advertised to the public through the media. When woman learn about these stereotypes of beauty and how they are viewed, they may then see themselves differently and further change their eating habits. They may feel differently about themselves, which will alter their self-confidence. After conducting several studies a shocking eighty-one percent of ten year olds feared of becoming fat! “Of American, elementary school girls who read magazines, 69% say that the pictures influence their concept of the ideal body shape. 47% say the pictures make them want to lose weight.” (Martin, 2010.)

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