Eating Disorder Research Paper
Eating Disorders: Dying to be thin.
Media and society are often looked at as a source of daily entertainment, gossip and news. Every day, people are constantly exposed to thousands of images of glamour, beauty, celebrities, and much more. The media is so compelling that it has the power to change what people believe in. The images that are shown repeatedly make a way into teenagers mind and they want to be a part of what the media shows. Teens feel the need to change their body to look a certain way and be like someone else. But a fact unknown to teenagers is that even celebrities’ body are not perfect.
The most common eating disorders are anorexia nervosa and bulimia nervosa. People with anorexia have a huge fear of gaining weight and a change in their body shape and size (“Eating Disorders”). Anorexia has been characterized as a “rich white girl” disorder because most anorectics are white and about three-quarters of them come from households at the middle income level or above (Davidson and Fundukian). Bulimia on the other hand is when a person eats large amount of food over a short period of time then later performs activities to try to burn the calories off. Binging is the most common symptom of bulimia and it is often done when trying to get rid of the food eaten. Bulimia is thought to affect around 1% to 5% of teenage American girls and up to 3% will be bulimic at some point in their life (Arnold and Walsh 30).
Studies show that “media exposure has a direct impact on disorder symptoms and indirect effects through gender role endorsement, ideal-body stereotype internalization and body satisfaction.” The covers of magazines display pictures of both men and women whose images are offered as near perfection in society. “Research has shown that even brief exposure to ads showing highly attractive models results in decreased satisfaction with one 's own appearance” (McMurray). Teenagers should know that celebrities are not magically beautiful and thin, they are
Media and society are often looked at as a source of daily entertainment, gossip and news. Every day, people are constantly exposed to thousands of images of glamour, beauty, celebrities, and much more. The media is so compelling that it has the power to change what people believe in. The images that are shown repeatedly make a way into teenagers mind and they want to be a part of what the media shows. Teens feel the need to change their body to look a certain way and be like someone else. But a fact unknown to teenagers is that even celebrities’ body are not perfect.
The most common eating disorders are anorexia nervosa and bulimia nervosa. People with anorexia have a huge fear of gaining weight and a change in their body shape and size (“Eating Disorders”). Anorexia has been characterized as a “rich white girl” disorder because most anorectics are white and about three-quarters of them come from households at the middle income level or above (Davidson and Fundukian). Bulimia on the other hand is when a person eats large amount of food over a short period of time then later performs activities to try to burn the calories off. Binging is the most common symptom of bulimia and it is often done when trying to get rid of the food eaten. Bulimia is thought to affect around 1% to 5% of teenage American girls and up to 3% will be bulimic at some point in their life (Arnold and Walsh 30).
Studies show that “media exposure has a direct impact on disorder symptoms and indirect effects through gender role endorsement, ideal-body stereotype internalization and body satisfaction.” The covers of magazines display pictures of both men and women whose images are offered as near perfection in society. “Research has shown that even brief exposure to ads showing highly attractive models results in decreased satisfaction with one 's own appearance” (McMurray). Teenagers should know that celebrities are not magically beautiful and thin, they are
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