Anorexia Nervosa in Children and Adolescents
Anorexia Nervosa In Children and Adolescents 1
Anorexia Nervosa is a rapidly growing issue in today’s society. The disease is identified by the refusal to maintain a healthy weight, an irrational fear of gaining weight despite weighing too little, loss of the menstrual cycle in women, and an inaccurate view of one’s body, often referred to as dysmorphia. At one point in time, this illness was mainly associated with adolescents. Now, children as young as five years old are being treated for Anorexia (Borland). The DSM criteria for children are slightly altered, and consist of “determined weight loss…abnormal cognitions regarding weight,” and a “morbid preoccupation with weight” (Khan). It is shocking to find children so young focusing on their weight, counting calories and deliberately exercising with the goal of ridding themselves of fat. I believe that the media, biology, and a child’s experiences and personality all play a role in the development of Anorexia Nervosa.
Children are exposed to so much more these days. Rather than playing outside, they tend to park themselves in front of the television or a laptop. Stick thin models, poorly proportioned dolls, and other such things seem so normal in our time that many parents don’t think twice about what their children might be absorbing. In the case of Dana, an anorexic eight-year-old girl, media was most likely not the cause, but rather a trigger for her disease. Her mother claimed that one of the programs her daughter would often watch was “The Biggest Loser,” a show that revolves around dramatic weight loss, diet and exercise. Dana began 2 falling victim to the illness by simply cutting out sweets, and then junk food. After some time, she eliminated more and more foods from her diet and began exercising excessively. She would work herself to the point where she would cry to her mother out of exhaustion, while expressing her wish to continue working out (Dana).
Anorexia Nervosa is a rapidly growing issue in today’s society. The disease is identified by the refusal to maintain a healthy weight, an irrational fear of gaining weight despite weighing too little, loss of the menstrual cycle in women, and an inaccurate view of one’s body, often referred to as dysmorphia. At one point in time, this illness was mainly associated with adolescents. Now, children as young as five years old are being treated for Anorexia (Borland). The DSM criteria for children are slightly altered, and consist of “determined weight loss…abnormal cognitions regarding weight,” and a “morbid preoccupation with weight” (Khan). It is shocking to find children so young focusing on their weight, counting calories and deliberately exercising with the goal of ridding themselves of fat. I believe that the media, biology, and a child’s experiences and personality all play a role in the development of Anorexia Nervosa.
Children are exposed to so much more these days. Rather than playing outside, they tend to park themselves in front of the television or a laptop. Stick thin models, poorly proportioned dolls, and other such things seem so normal in our time that many parents don’t think twice about what their children might be absorbing. In the case of Dana, an anorexic eight-year-old girl, media was most likely not the cause, but rather a trigger for her disease. Her mother claimed that one of the programs her daughter would often watch was “The Biggest Loser,” a show that revolves around dramatic weight loss, diet and exercise. Dana began 2 falling victim to the illness by simply cutting out sweets, and then junk food. After some time, she eliminated more and more foods from her diet and began exercising excessively. She would work herself to the point where she would cry to her mother out of exhaustion, while expressing her wish to continue working out (Dana).
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