Eating Disorders in the Untied States

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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) The “Deadly Diet” seems to be a problem that is mostly common in females however in today’s day and age it is becoming a rising epidemic for our male population as well. Society is giving us standard that we think we have to live up to and many individuals are trying to accomplish this by fitting into that perfect category. Eating disorders are more common in middle to upper class families and less common in lower class families. Eating disorders can begin at any age however they seem to be more common in females ranging from ages ten to thirty. Peak ages seem to range from eleven to fifteen for females and fifteen to eighteen for males. (Bauer, 89) Most information says that eating disorders are a common problem for girls in their teenage years; however clinics have found that most people who seek treatment or therapy for an eating disorder are in there early twenties to early thirties. This is believed to because younger generations of women are less likely to want to seek help, in fact in most cases if help is se... ... middle of paper ... ... they are perfect in God’s eyes and those are the only eyes that they need to be perfect in. References Ardell, Maureen and Corry-Ann Ardell. Portrait of an Anorexic; A Mother Daughter's Story. Vancouver, B.C., Canada: Flight Press, 1985. Bauer, Barbara G. Ph.D., Wayne Anderson, Ph.D., and Robert W. Hyatt, M.D. Bulimia, Book for Therapist and Client. Indianapolis: Accelerated Development Inc., 1986. Bruch, Hilde M.D. The Golden Cage: The Enigma of Anorexia Nervosa. Cambridge, Massachusetts: Harvard University Press, 1978. Claude-Pierre. The Secret Language of Eating Disorders. New York: Random House, 1997. Simpson, Carolyn. Coping with Compulsive Eating. New York: Rosen Publishing Group, 1997. Trum, Beatrice. "Bulimia." Homer's Consumer's Research Magazine. September 1997: p.10. http://www.ulifeline.org/articles/400-eating-disorders-why-do-they-happen

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