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Teens with Eating Disorders In our society today, we are constantly hearing about more and more teenagers, mostly girls, who are suffering from an eating disorder. For reasons that are unclear, these young women are developing potentially life-threatening eating disorders as a way of achieving a perfect model body. There are many different types and classifications of eating disorders, but the two most common ones in which teens suffer from and are diagnosed with are called bulimia nervosa and anorexia nervosa. People with bulimia, known as bulimics, indulge in bingeing, which are episodes of eating large amounts of food to satisfy their hunger and craving for food. Then there is purging, this happens after bingeing and it is a means of getting rid of the food by vomiting or using laxatives. Anorexia Nervosa is a disorder in which preoccupation with dieting and thinness leads to excessive weight loss. Anorexics have an intense fear of fat.(American Anorexia Bulimia Association, INC). People with anorexia, whom doctors sometimes call anorectics, severely limit their food intake. About half of them also have bulimia symptoms. A lot of the time a person suffering from anorexia doesn’t realize that they have an eating problem, they are more concerned with their image than food. In this report I want to primarily focus on teens with eating disorders and why they have resorted to this way of life. There are a lot of unclear reasoning of why people are inflicting pain, in a sense, upon themselves, but it mostly has to do with these teens self image and confidence, and the dire need to like one of those magazine models. To them thin=pretty+happiness. First, I researched and found to some degree why these teens are... ... middle of paper ... .../www.wcsu.edu/~wiss/400/killea.htm Kuehnel, Deborah. Eating Disorders. Aug. 1998. http://wwwaddictions.net/info.htm Levine & Smolak. 2000. 10 Things Parents Can Do to Help Prevent Eating Disorders. http://www.edap.org/10things.html LQS Programs, 2000. http://laquesabe.com/lqswww/Programs.htm The Media, Body Image, and Eating Disorders. 1997 Mintle, Linda Ph.D. Risk Factors of Eating Disorders. 2000. http://admin.christianity.com Shiltz, Tom. Men and Eating Disorders: The Latest Facts. http://www.edap.org/men.html What Causes Eating Disorders? 2001. http://webmd.lycos.com/content/article/1680.50413 Zastrow, Charles. Understanding Human Behavior and the Social Environment, Fifth Edition. 2001, pg. 246-47 & 324-29. Zinn, Janet. Dieting, could it be the problem rather than the solution? http://caringonline.com/eatdis/editorials/zinn/zinn/htm
Zastrow, C., & Kirst-Ashman, K. K. (2007). Understanding human behavior and the social environment. Australia; U.S.A.: Thomson Brooks/Cole.
Zastrow, C. H., & Krist-Ashman, K. K. (2013). Understanding Human Behavior and the Social Environment (9 ed.). Belmont:
Anorexia Nervosa may be described directly as an eating disease classified by a deficit in weight, not being able to maintain weight appropriate for one’s height. Anorexia means loss of appetite while Anorexia Nervosa means a lack of appetite from nervous causes. Before the 1970s, most people never heard of Anorexia Nervosa. It was identified and named in the 1870s, before then people lived with this mental illness, not knowing what it was, or that they were even sick. It is a mental disorder, which distorts an individual’s perception of how they look. Looking in the mirror, they may see someone overweight
Kirst-Ashman, K. (2011). Human behavior in the macro social environment. (3rd ed., pp. 68-77). Belmont, CA: Brookes/Cole.
The. Zastrow, Charles, and Karen Kay Ashman. Understanding human behavior and the social environment. 2nd ed. of the book.
Many citizens in the United States and other parts of the world fight with weight and body image issues. Most exercise and eat healthy to help their problems. Some take a more unhealthy and sometimes deadly route. An estimated five million people are affected by eating disorders each year (Alters & Schiff, 2003, p.36). Eating disorders are more common among females. At least three percent of women have some type of an eating disorder (Alters & Schiff, 2003, p.36). Eating disorders are classified as persistent, abnormal eating patterns that can threaten a person?s health and well being. There are three major types of eating disorders: anorexia nervosa, bulimia nervosa, and compulsive overeating.
Eating Disorders." Current Issues: Macmillian Social Science Library. Detroit: Gale, 2010. Gale Opposing Viewpoints In Context. Web. 20 Oct. 2015.
Zastrow, C. H., & Krist-Ashman, K.K. (2007). Understanding Human Behavior and the Social Environment (7th Edition.) Belmont, CA: Thompson-Brooks/Cole.
Eating disorders are described as an illness involving eating habits that are irregular and an extreme concern with body image or weight. Eating disorders tend to appear during teenage years, but can develop at any age. Although more common in women, eating disorders can affect any age, gender or race. In the United States, over 20 million women and 10 million men are personally affected by eating disorders. There are many different causes of eating disorders such as low self esteem, societal pressures, sexual abuse and the victims perception of food. Eating disorders are unique to the sufferer and often, their perception of themselves is so skewed, they may not be aware they have an eating disorder. Media, for quite some time now, has played a significant part in eating disorders. Magazines with headlines ‘Summer Body’, or ‘Drop LB’s Fast!’ attract the attention of girls who may be insecure with themselves. Television productions such as the Victoria’s Secret Fashion Show or American’s Next Top Model, show airbrushed and photoshopped women who have body types that may be unachievable. Those who are suffering from eating disorders can suffer dangerous consequences, and it is important to seek help.
The stage of adolescence contains major changes which can bring stress, confusion, and anxiety. Feelings of self-consciousness, low self esteem and comparison with peers start occurring during this time. Along with the physical changes there is also hormonal and brain changes that affect the adolescent physically, mentally, emotionally, and psychologically. During this time a person can feel tremendous pressure to find their place in the world among a great deal of confusion (“Eating Disorders and Adolescence,” 2013). Body image concerns and peer pressure are heightened during the period of adolescence, and are potential risk factors in the development of an eating disorder. While eating disorders can affects males and females of all ages, the average age of onset for Anorexia Nervosa, Bulimia Nervosa, and disordered eating takes place during adolescence. These disorders are often a coping mechanism for people to attempt to gain control of their situation when they feel helpless among other aspects of life (“Eating Disorders and Adolescence,” 2013). Eating disorders in children and teens can lead to a number of serious physical problems and even death (Kam, n.d.).
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).
According to Laura Shapiro, a notable researcher on eating disorders, the medical condition of anorexia consists of several elements. By definition, anorexia nervosa is a condition characterized by intense fear of gaining weight or becoming obese, as well as a distorted body image, and a feeling of loss of control (Shapiro 69).
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
Bulimia is marked by significant cycles in eating habits. Bulimics will often starve themselves (calorie/food/fat intake restriction -- sometimes with the help of diet pills or supplements) for extended periods of time prior to a massive binge, during which they consume abnormal amounts of food in a short period of time. These binges are followed by purging, which generally is constituted by self-induced vomiting. Other methods of purging the body include the use of diuretics, laxatives, and excessive exercising. Bulimics are generally within what is considered to be a "normal" weight range, but see themselves as being overly fat, or suffer from an intense fear of gaining weight. They often do realize that they have a problem, but by that point the cycle has become an obsession. Bulimics usually weigh themselves frequently, even several times daily.
Zastrow, C., & Kirst-Ashman, K. K. (2013). Understanding human behavior and the social environment. Australia: Brooks/Cole, Cengage Learning.