Anorexia Nervosa Argumentative example essay topic

Anorexia Nervosa is a mental disorder in which a person has an intense fear of gaining weight and a distorted perception of their weight and body shape. People with this illness believe themselves to be fat even when their weight is so low that their health is in danger. A person with anorexia nervosa severely restricts food intake and usually becomes extremely thin. People with this disease are sometimes known as anorectics or anorexics. Anorexics have a preoccupation with food, weight, dieting, and body image. They are dissatisfied with their bodies, perceive themselves to be fat regardless of their actual weight, and are obsessed with becoming thin.

Many are so focused on outward appearance that they have little awareness of internal sensations such as hunger and fullness. Anorexics usually undertake strict diets, severely restricting food intake and avoiding certain foods they deem taboo. They may also undergo intense, strenuous exercise regimens and weigh themselves frequently. Despite eating very little, many people with anorexia nervosa become overly involved with food by preparing elaborate meals for others or taking over food shopping or preparation for the family. At meals, they may cut their food into tiny pieces, eat very slowly, and dispose of food secretly. The incidence of anorexia is higher among teenage girls and young women than in other groups of Americans.

Females account for about 90 percent of eating disorders in the United States. In Western society, the number of people who have this disorder seems to be increasing. Anorexia nervosa may be mild and transient or severe and long lasting. Anorexia nervosa primarily affects people in middle and upper socioeconomic classes. About 30 percent of people with anorexia nervosa also develop bulimia nervosa. This is a type of eating disorder in which individuals engage in episodes of binge eating, or consuming large amounts of food in a short period, and then purging the food from their bodies by self-induced vomiting or abuse of laxatives.

Death rates as high as 10 to 20 percent have been reported. However, because mild cases may not be diagnosed, no one knows exactly how many people have anorexia nervosa or what percentage die of it. This has been stated. According to the American Psychiatric Association, between 0.5 percent and 3.7 percent of females experience anorexia in their lifetime. Only about 10% of people with anorexia and bulimia are male. This gender difference may reflect our society's different expectations for men and women.

Men are supposed to be strong and powerful. They feel ashamed of skinny bodies and want to be big and powerful. Women, on the other hand, are supposed to be tiny and thin. They diet to lose weight, making themselves vulnerable to eating disorders The average woman has a height of 5'4", a weight of 145 pounds, a dress size of 11-14, a bust of 36-37", a waist of 29-31", and hips of 40-42".

Barbie has a height of 6'0", a weight of 101 pounds, a dress size of 4, a bust of 39", a waist of 19", and hips of 33". A store mannequin has a height of 6'0", a dress size of 6, a bust of 34", a waist of 23", and hips of 34" These comparisons show the perceptions that society holds about a woman's weight. Nutrients are chemical substances supplied from the environment that humans require for survival. Digestion breaks down nutrients to sizes that can be absorbed and transported into the bloodstream. Metabolism refers to the way that nutrients are altered chemically and used in anabolism, building up or synthesis, and catabolism, breaking down, of chemical compounds to support the activities of life. We eat to obtain nutrients that power everyday processes of life.

In a more literal sense, eating is a complex, finely tuned homeostatic mechanism that balances nutrient utilization with nutrient procurement. At the center of this control are parts of the hypothalamus called the accurate and para ventricular nuclei. Here, a molecule called neuropeptide Y links biochemical messages concerning nutrient use to regulators of food intake. These regulators include release of peptides that control appetite, pituitary hormones that oversee endocrine control of nutrient use and storage, and insulin release..