Wait a second!
More handpicked essays just for you.
More handpicked essays just for you.
The strongest contributions to etiology of eating disorders seem to begenetic.psychological.somatogenic.sociocultural
Eating disorders and their effects on the human body
Essays on the causes of eating disorders
Don’t take our word for it - see why 10 million students trust us with their essay needs.
Recommended: The strongest contributions to etiology of eating disorders seem to begenetic.psychological.somatogenic.sociocultural
There was a young boy that loved how he looked. When he entered high school that changed. He got picked on at school because he was big, so he decided to stop eating. This made the boy really sick. Eventually, he had to go to the hospital, where he was diagnosed with an eating disorder. There are many reasons why eating disorders are bad; a lot of people are affected, and there are a lot of illnesses caused by eating disorders, but some people don’t think it is a big deal. There are two major disorders, anorexia nervosa and bulimia nervosa. The first disorder, anorexia nervosa, happens when someone decides to stop eating. “People with anorexia nervosa often also limit or restrict other parts of their lives besides food, including relationships, social activities” (McConnell). These self-imposed limits lead to anorexia. The second disorder, bulimia nervosa, is another disorder, where someone eats but then gets rid of the food. “People who have bulimia nervosa routinely ‘binge,’ consuming large amounts of food in a very short period of time, and immediately ‘purge,’ ridding their bodies of the just-eaten food by self-inducing vomiting, taking enemas, or abusing laxatives or other medications” (McConnell). These actions can be fatal if they are not treated. “Eating disorders are illnesses, not character flaws or choices. Genetics have a significant contribution and may predispose individuals to eating disorders,” (Why do young). “Your environment can also play a major role in developing an eating disorder. Dieting, body dissatisfaction and wanting to be thin are all factors that increase the risk for an eating disorder,” (Why do young). Whatever the reason for having anorexia or bulimia these disorders can have diffe... ... middle of paper ... ...ildren, and adults are being affected by eating disorders, and the numbers are not growing. People should understand that this is a big problem. Because they can cause illnesses (physical or emotional) and affect many people, eating disorders are harmful. If you have anorexia or bulimia, you should get help. Eating disorders are a big deal. Everyone should try and be happy with how they look and feel. Works Cited “About Eating Disorders.” The Eating Disorder Foundation. NP, 2013. Web. 13 Mar. 2014. Doctorcanning, Andrea. “Parental Alert.” Good Morning America (ABC) (2010). Newspaper Source Plus. Web. 13 Mar. 2014. McConnell, Camille. “Low Self Esteem: Fueling The Eating Disorder.” Basil & Spice. 2010. Newspaper Source Plus. 03 May. Web. 13 Mar. 2014. “Why Do Young Adults Develop Eating Disorders?” Ulifeline. The Jed Foundation, 2014. Web. 13 Mar. 2014.
There is no known exact cause of either anorexia nervosa or bulimia nervosa, but many factors play a role in the initial onset, such as: personality traits, low self-esteem, and social and cultural influences (Costin, 21). Many anorexics have specific personality traits that urge them to refrain from eating. Many are perfectionists that will diet and exercise and not eat until their bodies are perfect. Unfortunately, however, he or she never thinks their body is perfect, and continues their destructive cycle. Anorexics that are perfectionists also tend to want to be in control at all times. Often , they feel as though others are trying to force them to do
(Thesis Statement)Eating disorders are something that are very common among all people. However, they are not often talked about or understood and this is something we need to fix as a society.
Look in the mirror. Do you like what you see? Most of us have come to appreciate ourselves for who we are. While other’s struggle to achieve the perfect body. They strive to be what is depicted in fashion magazines and movies. The never ending obsession to be the perfect size zero. This inevitably can lead to eating disorders. Eating disorders can cause someone to have an unhealthy image of themselves and food is the enemy. In a national survey at the Mclean Hospital in Massachusetts it was estimated that over 9 million people suffer with eating disorders. They can struggle with anorexia, bulimia or binge eating. A study conducted by the National Association of Anorexia Nervosa and Associated Disorders states that most of these diseases start before the age of twenty. Another growing problem in the United States is obesity. Over 60 million Americans suffer from this disease, this according to the American Obesity Association (gale opposing viewpoints: eating disorders 2010).
“Many kids — particularly adolescents — are concerned about how they look and can feel self-conscious about their bodies.” Eating disorders have the power to affect everyday life. Not only in just teens but all ages. They are able to cause extreme weight changes. As well as, it could affect your health for the rest of your life. (Source 1) By having an eating disorder everything becomes based off of that, if it isn’t helped or stopped it could become serious and damage your health permanently.
Overall, eating disorders are a very sensitive topic and can be suffered by anyone no matter their background, weight, age or gender. Anyone has the ability to be diagnosed with an eating disorder. It is important to teach children young healthy habits with eating and exercise.
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).
Eating disorders are characterized into three different forms- Anorexia Nervosa, and Bulimia Nervosa. Anorexia is restricting the intake of calories on a day to day basis in order to lose or maintain a specific weight. Bulimia is consuming large amounts of food in short periods of time, called binges. Afterwards, Bulimics attempt to eradicate the body of the food eaten, typically by purging, vomiting, taking laxatives, or exercising for long periods. (Engel, Reiss, and Dombeck) “She was gagging, finger shoved down her throat. Most everything she had eaten was splashed on the mulch: a bag of potato chips, most of a carton of onion dip, two fudge brownies, and a slice of strawberry shortcake,” shows the activities of a bulimic (Anderson 146).
Eating disorders are complex and devastating, they are so common that 1 or 2 out of every 100 students struggle with one. (“Eating disorder,n.d.”) Anorexia and bulimia are not lifestyle choices, they are serious disorder with possible life threatening consequences. Both eating disorders include extreme attitudes toward weight and food issues. Most people believe they are one in the same although they do have similarities their differences are quite remarkable. Anorexics have an intense fear of gaining weight. They deprive themselves of food resulting in extreme weight loss. Anorexics have an inability to see the severity of their eating disorder. They look in the mirror and do not see a skinny person, they see an overweight person. Their body perception is distorted. On the contrary, bulimics consume large amounts of food and induce vomiting to expel it. They have an “out of control” feeling when they are eating. They often feel guilty about overeating. They to have issues with body image and will exercise excessively and use laxatives to reduce their weight. Most people that suffer from bulimia recognize their problem they just have that out of control feeling during binge episodes.
An eating disorder is both a signal of distress (I wish to die, I feel so bad, somebody help me) and a message: "I think I lost control. I am very afraid of losing control. I will control my food intake and out-take. This way I control at least ONE aspect of my life".
Eating disorders are quite serious and can often lead to extreme disruption of normal eating behaviors. It wasn’t considered an illness till 1980, when a singer named Karen Carpenter died from complications due to anorexia. If left untreated a person can put significant stress on their body; causing the body to begin to shut down. Often the organs will begin to fail, the persons hair will start to fall out and the person whom you once knew will become completely unrecognizable. Researchers have found many reasons that can be the cause of eating disorders. If we consider Demi Lovato a once happy go lucky Disney star who started acting different from her usual self. We can see that she was struggling from some kind of internal complex. When
Eating disorders are a big issue in society these days. Young adults and adults are starting to have body images that are likely not reachable. More than 8 million people suffer from an eating disorder in America itself. Eating disorders are mental disorders about abnormal eating or not eating enough a day. There many eating disorders including Anorexia nervosa, Bulimia, Binge eating disorders and lots more. All these and more eating disorders is a way people thinking that they can escape their problems.
Eating disorders have the highest mortality rate than any other mental illness, with anorexia being 12 times higher than any other causes of death in women between the ages of 15 and 24, according to the National Institute of Mental Health. Teenagers and adolescents are growing up in a world full of mass media production: television, magazine, internet, movies, advertisement, etc. My best friend and I: both healthy girls-fell for societies ridiculous and awful standards of beauty. My friend (whom shall remain nameless) was a chubby girl-who was always made fun off about her weight; me, on the other hand slim, athletic never had any issues with my weight, but never thought I was pretty or beautiful. Being best friends: it was not out of the ordinary to experiment with eating disorders. Mind you, we were two naïve 12 and 13 year old girls. She wanted to stop getting made fun of I was obliged to help. This is when I say: advertising and magazine know how to target girls with low self-esteem. According to CQ researcher, about 35 million Americans have or will experience an eating disorders.
Anorexia nervosa and Bulimia nervosa are described as psychological eating disorders (Keel and Levitt, 1). They are both characterized by an over-evaluation of weight. Despite being primarily an eating disorder, the manifestations of bulimia and anorexia are different. They both present a very conspicuous example of dangerous psychological disorders, as according to the South Carolina Department of Health, “Eating disorders have the highest mortality rate of any mental illness” (Eating Order Statistics, 1). While Bulimia and anorexia are both psychological disorders primarily prevalent in women, anorexia tends to have different diagnostic complexities, symptoms and physiological effects as compared to bulimia.
In closing, Anorexia Nervosa and Bulimia Nervosa both have severe repercussions on the affected individual’s health and psychological well being. These two eating disorders not only affect their physical health, but also have severe, long-term psychological effects. If individuals that are suffering from either eating disorder go without treatment, the disease can become detrimental to their health.
Eating disorders are a serious health problem. Personal Counseling & Resources says that eating disorders "are characterized by a focus on body shape, weight, fat, food, and perfectionism and by feelings of powerlessness and low self-esteem." Three of the most common eating disorders are anorexia nervosa, bulimia nervosa, and binge eating or compulsive eating disorder. According to Anorexia Nervosa and Related Eating Disorders, a person with anorexia "refuses to maintain normal body weight for age and height" and "weighs 85 percent or less than what is what is expected for age and height." A person diagnosed with bulimia has several ways of getting rid of the calories such as binge eating, vomiting, laxative misuse, exercising, or fasting. The person might have a normal weight for their age and height unless anorexia is present. The signs of a compulsive eater include eating meals frequently, rapidly, and secretly. This person might also snack and nibble all day long. The compulsive eater tends to have a history of diet failures and may be depressed or obese (Anred.com).