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The effects of eating disorders on health
Eating disorders and their effects on the human body
Eating disorders and their effects on the human body
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Anorexia Nervosa is an eating disorder that is most prevalent in adolescent girls and young women. It is distinguished by the loss of at least 15% of the expected body weight (Long). The disease is characterized by the obsessive fear of gaining weight; through this fear, the person engages in dangerous dieting habits that prevent weight gain. According to statistics in 2011 anorexia is categorized as the third most common chronic disease among adolescents, in addition, eating disorders also have the highest mortality rate of any mental illness (Wilkins). Anorexia is a life-threatening disorder that I have only been slightly aware of. I was aware that anorexia was characterized by a serious amount of weight loss however, I never expected two of my best friends’ lives to be ruled by this disorder. In the beginning of my freshman year at college, I found that my friends were losing weight, they were already on the lean side. However they appeared to be getting even smaller. A few months later I was shocked to overhear a phone call from their mother with mine. My two best friends are twins, and their mother noticed their weight loss. She began to worry so she made the difficult decision to take them to the doctor. Things progressed quickly, they began seeing a weight doctor and a psychologist. Because they lived in Florida, I had a difficult time believing that this disease could be so serious. However, when they visited me during fall semester, I was shocked to hug them and find that they were skin and bones. When going to a restaurant with me I was even more shocked by how argumentative and volatile they were at the dinner table, and how they argued with one another. They counted each piece of food on their plate and ate extremely... ... middle of paper ... ...pr 2011. < http://www.anad.org/get-information/about-eating-disorders/bulimia-nervosa/>. Crow, S.J. et al. "Eating Disorders Statistics." ANAD. National Association of Anorexia Nervosa and Associated Disorders, 2009. Web. 20 Apr 2011. . “Eating Disorders Growing More Common." Today’s Science On File: n. pag. Today’s Science. Facts On File News Services, 30 Nov. 1995. Web. 20 Apr. 2011. . "Health Guide: Anorexia Nervosa." The New York Times Health Guide. The New York Times, 07/02/2011. Web. 20 Apr 2011. . Long, M.D, Phillip. "Anorexia Nervosa." Mental Health. World Health Organization, 2011. Web. 20 Apr 2011. .
The National Institute of Mental Health: Eating Disorders: Facts About Eating Disorders and the Search for Solutions. Pub No. 01-4901. Accessed Feb. 2002.
“Fighting Anorexia” and “cookie monster” are two different articles based on research by some group of psychiatrists that focuses on eating disorder, which in psychology is referred to as a mental illness. Anorexia nervosa is a mental condition that describes a person’s obsession with food and the acute anxiety over weight gain (Newsweek cover, 2005). This disorder is categorized by an individual’s phobia on what to eat and what not to eat; as a result, the person begins to starve his or her self just to avoid adding more weight. The article published on the “Cookie Monster” expatiate on a research that describes how food is being used by some individuals to change their mood (McCarthy, 2001). This research shows that individuals especially college students try to subdue their emotions through the use of sweets and cookies. To further understand of these two experimental research in both articles, some important questions will be answered below.
Each year millions of people in the United States develop serious and often fatal eating disorders. More than ninety percent of those are adolescent and young women. The consequences of eating disorders are often severe--one in ten end in death from either starvation, cardiac arrest, or suicide. Due to the recent awareness of this topic, much time and money has been attributed to eating disorders. Many measures have been taken to discover leading causes and eventual treatment for those suffering from anorexia. (http://www.kidsource.com/kidsource ...er.html#Causes of Eating Disorders) )
"Eating Disorder Statistics." 2003 Retraining Grant Program. South Carolina Department of Mental Health, 2006. Web. 24 Oct. 2011. .
As defined by the National Eating Disorders Association, “Anorexia Nervosa is a serious, potentially life-threatening eating disorder characterized by self-starvation and excessive weight loss.” (NEDA). The term “Anorexia Nervosa” literally means “neurotic loss of appetite”, and could be more generally defined as the result of a prolonged self-starvation and an unhealthy relationship regarding food and self-image. It is characterized by “resistance to maintaining body weight at or above a minimally normal weight for age and height”, “intense fear of weight gain or being “fat”, even though underweight”, “disturbance in the experience of body weight or shape, undue influence of weight or shape on self-evaluation, or denial of the seriousness of low body weight”, and “loss of menstrual periods in girls and women post-puberty.”(NEDA) Among women on a range of 15 to 24 years old, AN has been proved to have 12 times the annual mortality rate of all death causes, and from premature deaths of anorexic patients, 1 in every 5 is caused by suicide, which gives a rise of 20% for suicide probability. (EDV)
Bruch, Hilde M.D. The Golden Cage: The Enigma of Anorexia Nervosa. Cambridge, Massachusetts: Harvard University Press, 1978.
van't Hof, Sonja. Anorexia Nervosa: The Historical and Cultural Specificity. Berwyn: Offsetdrukkerij Kanters B.V., 1994.
In 1978, Brunch called anorexia nervosa a 'new disease' and noted that the condition seemed to overtake ?the daughters of the well-to-do, educated and successful families.? Today it is acknowledged and accepted that anorexia affects more than just one gender or socio-economic class; however, much of the current research is focused on the female gender. ?Anorexia nervosa is characterized by extreme dieting, intense fear of gaining weight, and obsessive exercising. The weight loss eventually produces a variety of physical symptoms associated with starvation: sleep disturbance, cessation of menstruation, insensitivity to pain, loss of hair on the head, low blood pressure, a variety of cardiovascular problems and reduced body temperature. Between 10% and 15% of anorexics literally starve themselves to death; others die because of some type of cardiovascular dysfunction (Bee and Boyd, 2001).?
Bruch, Hilde M.D. The Golden Cage: The Enigma of Anorexia Nervosa. Cambridge, Massachusetts: Harvard University Press, 1978.
Long, Phillip W. "Anorexia Nervosa." Internet Mental Health. Jan. 1997. St. Joseph Medical Center. 19 Aug. 1998 .
ANAD. “Eating Disorders Statistics”. National Association of Anorexia Nervosa & Associated Disorders, Inc., 2013.Web. 18 Nov 2013.
The Web. 24 Apr. 2014. The 'Standard' of the 'Standard'. The "Eating Disorders" University Health Center. University of Nebraska, n.d., a.d. Web.
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
The "Anorexia Nervosa" BMJ: British Medical Journal 334.7599 (2007): 894-98. Print. The. Hay, Phillipa J., and Josue Bacaltchuk. The "Bulimia Nervosa" BMJ: British Medical Journal, 323 (2001). Print.
Fotios C. Papadopoulos, A. E. (2009). Excess mortality causes of death and prognostic factors in anorexia nervosa. The British Journal of Psychiatry, 10-17.