Professional Documents
Culture Documents
Brittany D. Jackson
Abstract
There is an unspoken secret amongst many family and friends, it’s eating disorders. Eating
disorders affect every race, gender, sexual orientation, country, and age group. Nobody is exempt
from this sickness whether you are suffering from it or know someone who is. An eating disorder
is a disorder of food ingestion, regurgitation, or attitude that affect health and wellbeing, such as
anorexia, bulimia, or binge eating. This paper will focus on the most common types of eating
disorders and the signs and symptoms of someone suffering from this disorder in order to
prevent it. It will also touch bases on the causes, prevalence and treatment of those disorders.
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Growing up we are taught by our parents the importance of our appearance. As we age
we are judged and pressured by our peers to conform to a certain image or body type. With social
media dominance the influence and pressure to be perfect increases dramatically as our number
of likes and followers becomes our daily report card. Anorexia nervosa and bulimia nervosa has
become a common disorder taking over our world one victim at a time. This is not a culturally
limited disorder which a common misconception along with the assumption that its limited to the
elite or famous. There are just as many people of various races and social classes suffering from
this disorder. Bulimia nervosa is the regular occurrence of binge eating and repeated unsuitable
actions such as purging or disproportionate exercise to prevent from gaining weight. With
bulimia there is a high level of guilt because of their lack of control when eating so they punish
themselves with more unhealthy acts such as extreme fasting, extreme use of laxatives and
diuretics. Both types of eating disorders are very dangerous and common.
There is no individual source for eating disorders, it’s a mash up of biological and
sociocultural factors. Magazines, social media, movies, and all mass media contribute to the
pressures of being thin. Moreover, social pressures towards thinness may be particularly
powerful in higher economic backgrounds, from which the majority of girls and women with
anorexia nervosa appear to come (McClelland & Crisp, 2001). Thin is perceived to be the ideal
body type and when someone cannot obtain this idealistic thinness it causes negative body
perceptions. Mass media has consistently made the association of thinness with wealth and
health which only increases body dissatisfaction and the odd of having an eating disorder.
Genetics and biology are correspondingly major contributors to this disorder. If someone has
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family member with eating disorders in the past there is a chance they can be genetically
predisposed. That factor can also make them more susceptible to that disorder. Cyber bullying
has been a major environmental factor that contributes to eating disorders. The way a family
values or expresses their values towards body weight and appearance can also contribute to
someone having an eating disorder. Any negative life event, for example losing a family member
or a job can be a cause. Now that you know the causes its best to move on to the symptoms.
The best way to treat eating disorders is to know the signs so you can help prevent them.
With bulimia the symptoms are sometimes hard to identify because people suffering with it do
their best to hide it. The physical signs are very hard to catch because their weight is usually the
same, but in some extreme cases you can see the fluctuation. Odd behavioral patterns such as
going to the bathroom after consuming any type of food is a sign. Signs of anorexia are extreme
weight loss, being underweight, social isolation, compulsive behavior and hyper activity. The
physical signs are much easier to identify with anorexia because of the extreme weigh loss.
Paying attention to the signs within yourself and those around you is imperative. Anorexia is a
very deadly disorder with one of the highest fatality rates of any mental illness.
Knowing the prevalence of eating disorders can only bring more awareness to people
which will help with prevention and lower the numbers. Bulimia is estimated to be a more
prevalent illness because it is a binge eating disorder. Worldwide, and based on the most recent
data, the lifetime prevalence of binge eating disorders is around 2 percent (Kessler et al., 2013).
There has been a decrease in the prevalence of bulimia in prior years, yet a lot of young adults
and adolescents are still suffering from distressed eating habits and distorted self-perceptions.
For example, in a sample of 4,746 middle and high school students, 41.5 percent of girls and
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24.9 percent of boys reported problems with body image (Ackard et al., 2007). The numbers
have decreased but people are still suffering. Questionnaire studies further suggest that up to 19
percent of students report some bulimic symptoms (Hock, 2002). The prevalence and bearing of
Anyone can be diagnosed with an eating disorder, and many will go undiagnosed and
suffer in silence. It is my hope that after reading this paper you have gained some awareness in
order to help yourself and others. There are so many things that can be a trigger to push someone
into negative habits and contribute to them having an eating disorder. We don’t pay attention to
our own actions on the daily basis or even our family history to know the risk. There is no cure
for eating disorders but being knowledgeable and preventing it is the next best thing. Getting
more patients to commit to completing treatment would help make great strides for research
purposes in order to get more clarity and effective treatment procedures. Promoting acceptance
of all body types and positive body visual representation can help prevent someone from
suffering from eating disorders. Even though it is over looked eating disorders are plaguing our
References
Hooley, J. M., Butcher, J. N., Nock, M. K., & Mineka, S. (2016). Abnormal psychology
(Seventeenth ed.). Place of publication not identified: Prentice Hall.
Carmosino, A. (2017). Bulimia Nervosa Causes. Psych Central. Retrieved on September 25,
2018, from https://psychcentral.com/disorders/eating-disorders/bulimia-nervosa-causes/
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Zodda, J. J. (2003, November). Eating Disorders: More to Them Than Meets The Mouth.
Retrieved September 29, 2018, from
http://www.personalityresearch.org/papers/zodda.html