Dangerous Eating Disorders example essay topic

Anyone that has stayed up late at night watching television is sure to have been bombarded by infomercials promising miraculous dieting programs. They promise unbelievable results in a remarkable short amount of time. The truth is they wouldn't still be on for this long if they weren't appealing to an audience. Let's face it, when the average American is obese, of course there's a market. I suppose it's no joking matter, when for some, it's the fear of being over weight that leads to dangerous eating disorders. The problem of obesity, or simply trying to avoid it, can develop to two weight-related disorders, anorexia nervosa and bulimia.

Obesity is being twenty percent above the average weight for a person of a certain height and the problem results from biological and social factors, or a mix of the two. Biological factors such as the natural change in glucose levels in the blood, telling us when we " re hungry. Part of the brain called the hypothalamus, regulates these glucose levels, so if it was damaged in some way, our natural weight set point, or the particular level of weight that the body strives to maintain, could be off center. Another biological factor that's a major determinate in whether a person is obese or not is ther metabolism.

People with a high metabolism rate can stuff themselves with all manners of food and not put on weight. On the other side of that coin are the unfortunate people with the low metabolism rate, who eat much less than the previous person and still constantly gain weight. Some social factors might be eating dessert when a person is already full, or serving the same quantities all the time, disregarding the current amount of exercise being done. A few others are tend to be a bit more psychological, such as coming home from a tough day and going to the fridge to gorge on a chocolate cake as a form of escape and to help deal with stress.

Anorexia nervosa is a sever eating disorder in which people refuse to eat, while denying that their behavior and appearance are unusual. The fact that ten percent of anorexics actually starve themselves to death summarizes the danger of this disorder quite well. It usually occurs following serious dieting, which somehow gets out of control. Food becomes to focus of life, and while people suffering from the disorder still refuse all but the smallest amounts of food, they seem to be obsessed with it. They " ll cook for friends, buy food frequently, and even collect cook books.

The other eating disorder, bulimia, is when people binge on large quantities of food. Entire chickens and cakes will be eaten in a single sitting, but following the gorging the sufferers will start to feel guilty and depressed. Soon they " re sneaking off the restroom to induce vomiting, while some take laxatives to get the food out of their systems as soon as possible. The constant bingeing and use of laxatives can lead to heart failure, all the while the person's weight has remained relatively constant. Both disorders are believed to be a constant battle to become as slender as possible, due to belief that their weight is some kind of gauge of social acceptance.

Other causes are believed to be biological, such as some kind of chemical imbalance in the hypothalamus or pituitary gland. Dieting can be healthy but it has been found that as foreign countries become more westernized, making dieting more popular with its people, an apparent increase in eating disorders eventually follows. I'd personally believe that eating disorders are mainly psychological and an attempt to find some control, or to deal with stress and personal pain. But what's to be done to help someone that suffers from eating disorders? Especially if they " re a family member or loved on? First, help can't be forced upon anyone that suffers from any kind of personal abuse.

Talk to them and let them know that they have your complete support, and to look into the problem thoroughly. Research the disorder, know ever facet of it, knowledge is indeed power. The might be the time to look into some mode of recovery such as one-on-one therapy, group counseling, art therapy, church groups, or maybe something totally different and unique to the person. Who would have thought decades ago that people would be killing themselves over their weight?

It's a strange would that has evolved or perhaps mutated from the dawn of time. Nevertheless, no matter the kind of disorder, it needs to be dealt with before it's too late. Even though I can't understand how something as silly as food could be such a problem for some people, to the point they'd let it kill them, no one wants to regret not helping a loved one when they had the chance.