Eating Disorders As Anorexia And Bulimia example essay topic

'Just Be' is a familiar slogan to the current American culture. It is the slogan of a well-known designer, Calvin Klein, who, in his advertisements, supposedly promotes individuality and uniqueness. Yet, Calvin Klein, along with all known designers, does not have overweight or unattractive people on his billboard ads, on his runways, in his magazine pictures or on his television commercials. Moreover, the movie, music and the mass media corroborate with the fashion industry in setting and advertising a certain standards for a physical ideal of a human body. Such propaganda promotes the public into depriving themselves of needed nutrition and generates eating disorders within people in order to fit the set standard of the physical ideal. The negative attitude towards overweight population of the modern society is a sociocultural phenomenon.

Yet, historically the negativity towards excess in weight was not constant. If one examines the artwork as relatively recent as the works of the Renaissance period, it can be witnessed that women who were somewhat 'chunky,' were considered beautiful and they were painted and sculpted. 'Fleshy' men and women are in the masterpieces of such artist as Michelangelo, de Vinci, Rafael, Goya y Lucientes and etc. Love handles, fat deposits and skin folds were regarded as attractive and were applauded. Cleopatra, for example, was praised for her beauty, yet by modern standards she would be considered overweight. Aphrodite, the goddess of love and the image of perfection, is also viewed as overweight and thickset in the contemporary society and would not be painted or sculpted as 'heavy set' as she has been created previously.

Nonetheless, she was painted in accordance with the timely regards of beauty. Thus, it 2 may be observed that during that time frame, as well as during most of the historic periods, the full figured body was preached as normal and ideal and was, though not as intensely and as high-tech, commercialized to the public and society. The change in the beauty standard has been observed since 1970's, when beauty pageant contestants, actresses and models began to continuously show a decrease in weight. The analysis of the weight of advertised models, contestants and playboy centerfolds showed that over sixty percent of all sample had a fifteen percent less body weight than expected according to their height. Such results are alarming, for in accordance with American Psychiatric Association, being at least fifteen percent below expected body weight is a symptom of anorexia nervosa (Kristen Harrison, 1997). Therefore, the commendation of such look and shape commercializes unhealthy body image and procreates eating disorders.

Unfortunately, at present the commercialism of a perfect body is encountered by almost everyone on everyday basis. The public is bombarded daily with images of glamorously thin women in commercials, on billboards, in movies in magazines and etc... According to Melanie Katzman, a consultant psychologist from New York, the media has actively defined the thin ideal as success and treats the body as a commodity. (Rhona MacDonald, 2001) It is evident that the persistent advocating of the media and the society produced a constant pursuit of thinness, which became a new religion. A study conducted by Harvard researchers has revealed the effect of media and magazines on adolescent girls in high schools. The children were exposed to fashion magazines and television commercials, and a while after were given self-rating surveys.

The study found that sixty-nine percent of the girls said that magazine pictures 3 influenced their version of the ideal body shape; forty-seven said that they wanted to lose weight because of magazine pictures. Girls who read fashion magazines frequently were two to three times more likely than infrequent readers to attempt to lose weight and diet, because of a magazine article and to feel that magazines have an effect on their perception of the ideal body shape (Allison Field, 1999). Dieting to fit the perfect body ideal had become an important factor, and has condoned dieting behavior in which the focus on thinness and reduction of food intake often involves eating less during the day, which can encourage anorexia nervosa or can result in binge eating in the latter part of the day, when hunger intensifies. As Eric Stice, of Behavior Research and Therapy, notes the media promotes abnormal eating behavior through social reinforcement of the thin ideal (Eric Stice, 1998).

Although the societal and media influence has been alike in most parts of the world, the Western culture is experiencing a significant rise in the incidents of eating disorders and is seen as the root of the eating disorder disease. The occurrences of eating disorders have considerably emerged among the male population, and in the instances of anorexia nervosa men presently account for over ten percent. Yet many cases of these disorders are left unreported or are misdiagnosed, because a general false perception that eating disorders occur only in females exists. Such rise in male anorexia is mostly due to the demand of selling such products as soda and underwear, which creates the pressure for men to conform to a specific body type (Cindy Crosscope-Happel, 2000). Though the rates of eating disorder among men have arose significantly, the prevalence of occurrences of such among women grand.

The reason for growing incidences of eating 4 disorders among women in the Western culture has mainly been related to the dramatic change in the roles of women in the past three decades. Furthermore, according to Luis Rojas-Marcos, a psychiatrist who is the president of New York City Health and Hospitals Corp, up to seventy-five percent of the United States female population have been on some sort of a diet at least once during their lifetime, though only twenty percent of them weighted above the norm. In addition, Luis Rojas-Marcos also stated that the fear of obesity of most of those females 'exceeds the fear of dying' (Xavier Bosch, 2000). Additionally, within the Western female population, differences between the numbers of incidents of eating disorders and the types of eating disorders between White and African American women are significant. Such differences suggest that major ethnic deviations exist between the body ideals of White and those of African American women. African American women appear to be more satisfied with their weight and appearance than the White women, and are less likely to develop anorexia nervosa or bulimia nervosa.

Yet African American women are more likely to have high rates of obesity, which can be attributed to the fact that in the culture of African Americans the standard weight for a female body is higher than the standard set by the White culture for White females (Meg Lovejoy, 2001). On average, African American women are more than twenty pounds heavier than the White women. Heavier ideal body weight, along with higher body satisfaction, produces less problematic eating behavior and less dietary restraints in African Ame rican women. The research conducted by Gregg Henriques and associates found that the dynamics underlying body satisfaction are different for African American women and White women are different. Unlike African American women, the body 5 satisfaction in White women fluctuates in accordance with mood or situations that influence self-esteem. Thus it can be seen that White women attempt to improve their self-esteem by increasing their body satisfaction (Gregg Henriques & associates, 1996) Another influence on eating disorders is religion.

In many religions, for example Christian Orthodox and Jewish Orthodox such occurrences as postings and fasts exist, as well as themes of self-denial, asceticism and abstinence are common in numerous religions. Historically many deprived themselves of food to achieve greater spirituality and closeness to God, and in such, a most respected virtue in the society. If compared with the pursuit of thinness today, as aiming for an ideal, these phenomena could be claimed as similar incidences of one of the known eating disorder, anorexia (Helen Baxter, 2001). There are three types of known and classified eating disorders: anorexia, bulimia and compulsive overeating. Anorexia Nervosa Anorexia is characterized by significant weight loss, which results from excessive dieting. People suffering from anorexia consider themselves overweight, disregarding the required proportional norms of height and weight.

Anorexics set high standards for themselves and feel a need to prove their competence, and if otherwise, they feel as if they have failed. Starvation and the use of diet pills are prevalent in this disease, and an estimated ten to twenty percent will eventually die from complications related to this disease. Such complications as dehydration, fatigue and lack of energy, shortness of breath, irregular heartbeats, hair loss, decreased metabolic rate, loss of bone mass, kidney 6 and liver damage, insomnia, anemia, infertility, depression, cardiac arrest and, consequently, death can result from anorexia. According to the American Journal of Psychiatry, anorexics strive for perfection and usually suffer from obsessive-compulsive disorder as well, and the possibility of crossover to bulimia, and vice versa, is as high as fifty percent (Laura Bellodi & associates, 2001). Bulimia Nervosa Bulimia is characterized by cycles of binge eating followed by purging. Unlike anorexia, people suffering from bulimia are preoccupied with not gaining weight, rather than loosing weight.

Many bulimics use ipecac syrup to induce vomiting, and laxatives to try to rid the body of the consumed calories. Prolonged bulimia can lead to all the side effects of anorexia and to constipation and diarrhea, tears of esophagus, stomach pain and bloating, erosion of teeth enamel, chronic sore throat, parotid gland enlargement, electrolyte imbalances, cathartic colon (caused from laxative abuse), edema (swelling of hands and feet), low blood pressure, chest pains, development of peptic ulcers, pancreatitis (inflammation of the pancreas), gastric dilation and rupture, and eventually, cardiac arrest and death. As well as in anorexia, perfectionism and negative self-evaluation appear to be common in both eating disorders (Christopher G. Fairbum, 1999). Compulsive overeating Characteristics of compulsive overeating are uncontrollable eating and significant weight gain.

Compulsive overeater's cope with stress through consuming large quantities of food and along with consequent weight gain; they acquire heart ailments, mobility 7 problems, diabetes, hernias, embolism, sleep deprivation, high blood pressure, shortness of breath, high cholesterol levels, cardiac arrest and finally, death. Among population women of African American decent, compulsive overeating has the highest rate than anorexia or bulimia (Amy Mulholland & associate, 2001). In conclusion, contemporary society has changed significantly, and along with those changes new responsibilities for and ambiguities about the future, which generate anxiety, appeared as well. Furthermore, over the past several decades the ideal human body has significantly decreased in weight, and the societal pressures to conform to an ideal physical model accumulated more power through media and commercialism.

Such commercialism could be devastating to one who attempts to achieve that ideal. He or she may encounter physical resistance from own body, yet the will to belong and be admired will push him or her further, and if not controlled, may cause eating disorders. Such eating disorders as anorexia and bulimia, as well as compulsive overeating, are dangerous and if left untreated, fatal. Yet our society and culture do not regard these disorders with appropriate attention and care, and overlook the significant influence media has upon these disorders. Thus, our society should consider advocating a healthy eating pattern, rather then promoting an ultra-thin physique and diet pills.

8 References Baxter, Helen. (2001) 'Nibbles: Religion and Eating Disorder' European Eating Disorders review. 9, pp 137-139. Bellodi, Laura, Cavalli ni, Maria Cristina, Bert elli, Sara, & Chiapparino, Danilo.

(2001) 'Morbidity risk for obsessive-compulsive spectrum disorders in first-degree relatives of patients with eating disorders' The American Journal of Psychiatry 158, pp 563-569. Bosch, Xavier. (2000) 'Please don't pass the paella: Eating disorders upset Spain' JAMA 283, pp 1405-1410. Crosscope-Happel, Cindy, Hutchins, David E., Getz, Hilly G. & Hayes, Gerald L. (2000) Journal of Mental Health Counseling. 22, pp 365-370. Fairbum, Christopher G., Cooper, Zara, Doll, Helen A., & Welch, Sarah L. (1999) ' Risk factors for anorexia: Three integrated case-control comparisons.

' Archives of General Psychiatry. 56,468. Field, Alison E., Cheung, Lilian, Wolf, Anne M., Herzog, David B., Goltmaker, Steven., & Cold itz, Graham A. (1999) 'Exposure to the mass media and weight concerns among girls' Pediatrics. 103.

Harrison, Kristen (1997) 'Does interpersonal attraction to thin media personalities promote eating disorders?' Journal of Broadcasting and Electronic Media. 41. Henriques, Gregg R., Calhoun, Lawrence G. & Cann, Arnie. (1996) 'Ethic differences in women's body satisfaction: an experimental investigation.

' The Journal of Social Psychology. 136, pp. 689-697.9

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