Biological Causes of Anorexia Nervosa and Bulimia Nervosa
Anorexia nervosa and bulimia nervosa affect millions of people each year in the United States (1). Popular thought holds that these disorders are caused by women trying to fulfill a culturally imposed ideal body image which stresses thinness. As anorexia and bulimia have proven difficult to treat solely with a psychological-based treatment plan it is likely that there are many factors contributing to these disorders. Research has shown, however, that there is a significant biological component which leads to a manifestation of these disorders (2). Current ideas on the biological origins of anorexia and bulimia will be explored in this paper. These include areas ranging from genetic factors to neurotransmitter and hormone imbalances. Genetics appears to play a significant role in predisposing a person to developing an eating disorder. Abnormal neurotransmitter levels have been shown to exist in people with both bulimia and anorexia. Hormone functioning and levels are also atypical in people with eating disorders. While most studies focus on one area, and usually on just one neurotransmitter or hormone, the different biological causes of eating disorders seem to be related to one another. How these possible biological causes influences the I-function (which is the term for the components of the nervous system which give a sense of being oneself) will be examined as well in this paper. Anorexia nervosa is described as a disorder in which women and men intentionally starve themselves, losing at least fifteen percent of their normal body weight. This self imposed emaciation usually begins during puberty and is most common among middle to upper class Caucasian women, affecti...
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...nclusion, however was very useful.
http://www.ama-assn.org/sci-pubs/journal/archive/psyc/vol_54/no_6/oa5354a.htm
9. Research Re: Treatment of Bulimia Nervosa.
This page is a list of absrtacts from research articles centered on the treatment of bulimia. It is good for a quick overview on what is being done currently in this field. The anstracts were generally easy to understand and follow.
http://www.mentalhealth.com/dis-rs2/p25-et02.html
10. Scientific American: Explorations.
This page, from Scientific American, is an article from that journal. It focuses on the discovery of two new hormones related to weight control.
http://www.sciam.com/missing.cfm
11. Eating Disorders.
This is an extensive web site on eating disorders from The Harvard Mental Health Letter. It is well written and very complete.
http://www.mentalhealth.com/mag1/p5h-et03.html
Biological Explanation for Anorexia Nervosa Evidence for a faulty gene. AIMS: to see if concordance rates for anorexia are higher in MZ twins compared to DZ twins. This would provide evidence for a faulty gene causing the disorder because if one MZ twin develops anorexia, there should be 100% concordance (agreement) with the second MZ twin also suffering from it, since they share the same genes. The rates for DZ twins should be much lower because they share only 50% same genes. PROCEDURE: · Natural experiment: because the IV (genetic relatedness) occurs naturally and cannot be changed by the investigator.
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
Anorexia nervosa is a psychosociological disease which affects young women. Anorexia is mainly a female's disease which has been evident for centuries-however, in the past twenty years, the incidence of this disorder has risen to horrifying proportions. It is characterized by the refusal to maintain body wight over a minimal normal weight for age and height; intense fear of gaining weight; a distorted body image; and, amenorrhea. (http://www.pgi.edu/hagopian.htm) This disorder becomes a disease when the mind starts to cause problems with one's physical well-being. A connection has been found between sociocultural pressures to achieve, familial characteristics, and individual personality traits.
Bulimia nervosa is an eating disorder with psychological, physiological, developmental, and cultural components. The disorder is commonly characterized by binge eating followed by inappropriate compensatory behaviors, such as self-induced vomiting, excessive exercise, fasting, and the misuse of diuretics, laxatives or enemas. Patients properly diagnosed with bulimia nervosa endure many psychological and physiological problems. In order to alleviate these problems for the patient, usually some type of intervention is required. Considering the financial costs to the patient who seeks treatment, it is important to identify effective and efficient treatment programs. Due to the wide variety of individual patient differences, it would be unwise to proclaim one treatment method as the universal cure for bulimia nervosa. However, identifying what methods work under particular conditions may help therapists tailor an individualized treatment program after a careful assessment of the client. Having this knowledge would potentially save both the client and the therapist a lot of time and frustration; not to mention, the patient would be on the path to recovery sooner. Kaye et al (1999) stress the importance of making progress towards the understanding and treatment of anorexia and bulimia nervosa, in order to generate more specific and effective psychotherapies and pharmacologic interventions.
I did my research on eating disorders, specifically, Anorexia Nervosa (anorexia) and Bulimia Nervosa (bulimia). I chose anorexia and bulimia as my topic because eating disorders are common in today’s society and I often hear about girls suffering from it. I also have friends that have suffered from eating disorders and it makes me worry. I have even noticed that my little eight year old sister is concerned about her body. She asks me questions like “What do you think my butt looks like? Does it have the right shape?” Even at a young age girls have the impression of needing to look perfect. I think one of the biggest factors is how much pressure teenagers are under but especially how girls are getting the wrong impression from the media of what “perfect” is. Girls get this image of how they have to look from celebrities and also from magazines. Today almost every picture is photo shopped and it is impossible to look like girls that have been photo shopped to what society calls “perfect”. I have even seen a video on how an image of a girl on a magazine is made up of four different images of girls to make one “perfect” girl. I feel it is very sad how girls are judged on their bodies. I am hoping to learn about these eating disorders and understand better how to help my family and friends and also how to prevent them.
Obvious -the word that perhaps succinctly defines the way Kant saw the truths of the world around him. Not so obvious are the arguments that lie within his writings. As he emphasizes the importance, yet confusing nature of reason in his Grounding for the Metaphysics of Morals, he proves his own point by his reasoning processes. However, in this work he systematically develops his argument for a universal good- the good will, in which inclination, duty, and reason play crucial roles. In this essay I will explain Kant's reasoning behind his statement that the only true good, without qualification, is the good will, and consequentially determine whether his idea of good varies from the Platonic ideal of goodness.
"Eating Disorders." Doctors, Patient Care, Health Education, Medical Research. N.p., n.d. Web. 20 Jan. 2014.
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).
Let’s start by defining what eating disorders are and who has them. Eating disorders are problems that are psychological in nature that result in inadequate or excessive food intake (Martini, Nath, Bartholomew, 2012). Eating disorders are a group of very serious conditions that leaves the affected so completely preoccupied with food and weight that they can focus on hardly anything else (Mayo Clinic Staff, 2014). Examples of the main types of eating disorders are anorexia nervosa, bulimia nervosa, and binge-eating disorder. The majority of people suffering from eating disorders are female; however males can also be affected. Males are the exception to the rule when it comes to binge-eating disorder; it appears almost as many males as females are affected (Mayo Clinic Staff, 2014). Eating disorders are usually diagnosed in adolescence (Newman & Newman 2012). Eating disorder detection has a broad age range, however most are between ages eleven and twenty (Mayo Clinic Staff, 2014).
... names are popular and well known. Charlotte Krapp points out in her paper “Brand Recognition and Confusion during Brand Placement” that the “risk of consumer brand confusion increases when the brand name is only presented for a few seconds or the advertising message is unclear” (4). Product placement is a win-win for both the company and movie studio, but makes more sense to show items the public is already familiar with.
The modern day practice of product placement is the advertising practice of strategically placing products in movies and TV shows so the products appear as part of the scene, and seem to be integrated into story. This subtly calls attention to the object, and relates that brand name to something the consumer enjoys. It has become such a highly practiced process that it was a $3.8 billion dollar industry in film and television alone in 2005 (Malek, 2005). It has evolved to the point where almost every show contains product placement, and some even contain staggering amounts of incidences per episode. For example, the FOX network show American Idol featured over 4,600 instances of product placement
...l, D. M., & Willard, S. G. (2003). When dieting becomes dangerous: A guide to understanding and treating anorexia and bulimia [Ebrary version]. Retrieved from http://libproxy.utdallas.edu/login?url=http://site.ebrary.com/lib/utdallas/Doc?id=10170079&ppg=4
Immanuel Kant developed a moral theory on the sole perspective of a person’s motive or intent of their action. Kant does not believe that the consequences and outcomes of a person’s action define how morally right it is. He focuses only on the reasoning and puts these intentions into a duty and good will definition. The studying and emphasis on morality being based on duty is why we call Kant’s theory deontological. When a person does an action out of duty, it is because the duty is something a person is ought to do, deeming the action to be morally worthy. This goes the same for the intention of good will. When a person does an action out of good will, it is because the action is simply the right thing to do or good thing to do (85). Kant goes to the ...
Overall, Kantian ethics are based on duty, and the duty is to perform universally good actions. For this form of ethics, good will is defined as the good. Kant highlights that “a good will is good…[because]
Does branded product placement in film enhance realism and product recognition by consumers? (DLR van der Waldt, May 2007) : Product placement in films receives renewed focus in integrated marketing communication (IMC). One of the main concerns with regard to product placement as a marketing communication tool is that marketers have little knowledge if consumers are aware of product placements or recognise products that are deliberately placed in feature films by markerters and advertisers. The following specific research objectives are put forward in this paper to determine; if product placements in film...