One Interpretation Of An Eating Disorder example essay topic

Anorexia It would seem today that eating disorders are on the rise. While this may be true, the numbers may appear to grow only because more cases are being brought out into the open. The purpose of this paper is to discuss eating disorders and prove that these diseases, specifically Anorexia Nervosa, continue to plague both sexes due to psychological and environmental factors along with pressure from the media. This paper will also focus on the often unseen world of Anorexia in athletics, showing that eating disorders result from stress and pressure put upon the athletes by the coaches and the athletes themselves.

One interpretation of an eating disorder is termed as a relationship between the person and food that appears abnormal. Anorexia Nervosa is one of the most prevalent eating disorder diseases. The word Anorexia itself means, "lack of appetite,' according to Matthews, and as for the definition of Anorexia, Dr. Barton J. Blinder gives an interpretation similar to this: Anorexia is an all encompassing pursuit of thinness, occurring most often in adolescents and young adult women. This is accomplished by avoidance of eating by any means possible. The person affected by Anorexia has an absolutely terrifying fear of becoming obese.

In short, "Food becomes the enemy;' one researcher described Anorexia as "weight phobia. ' The person feels "too fat' when in reality the person is terribly underweight, as the American Definition states. Anorexia Nervosa affects all kinds of people, especially teenagers, and is the third most common chronic illness that can be found in adolescent women. An estimated amount of between one-half percent and three percent of teenagers will be diagnosed with Anorexia. This may not sound like very many people until after this fact, but numbers have increased: between the mid 1950's and mid 1970's, a twenty year span, the incidences of Anorexia increased by almost 300%. Of all the patients that visit doctors for Anorexia, about 90% are women.

Anorexia, though, does not plague only women. This disorder is not exclusive to one gender, as the information will prove. Since this problem does not only include women, Dr. Blinder also referred to men as being caught in the trap of Anorexia. The percentage of males diagnosed with the disorder have grown to 10%, and of children dealing with Anorexia, 25% are boys.

The mean onset age of anorexia in males is between the ages of seventeen and twenty-four. Men are actually more likely to conceal an eating disorder, and it may be in an advanced stage before a proper diagnosis has been made. Dr. Binder speaks of instances in which men are the patients accounting for six percent of the cases that are seen in a clinic for eating disorders. Also, Anorexia in males may not be as easily detectable, due to the misinterpretations of physicians in the patients' diagnosis. Physicians may not be as aware of the cases found in men, and therefore rule out an eating disorder as something that has not yet occurred in men, being unaware that these cases do indeed affect males. Much of the same risk factors of an eating disorder may be found in both men and women.

Looking at the psychological perspective, a few reasons can be seen. There are people who have personality disorders such as obsessive-compulsive problems like perfectionism, obsession with appearances, and weight. A person such as this can often be seen standing in front of a mirror for extended periods of time, is often critical of his or her physical appearance and is afraid to lose control of what is going on in day to day life. Low self-esteem, depression, stress and anxiety are also major reasons why a person might suffer from an eating disorder. The effects of surroundings or environment can greatly influence eating disorders.

The family also plays a major role, since close relationships with people influence ones' attitudes and behaviors. For example, if a mother and father are always stressing the importance of being thin, their child may develop an eating disorder because the child knows that thinness is so crucial to the parents. Also, suffering physical and sexual abuse may lead a peron to an eating disorder because they see it as a way to control something in their lives. Aside from family, pressure from peers and the society around us can contribute to the growing number of Anorexics. Since surroundings are so influential on us all, what surrounds us more than the media? When one looks at the media today, it is difficult not to notice the fashion industry.

One model endorses an exerciser; another endorses a diet plan even when these people obviously don't need the items. To look at the fashion models, who are 15% thinner than the average American woman, one can clearly see that underneath the season's hottest new trends the taller-than-average women are very, very slender almost to the point of being gaunt. For example, Kate Moss (nicknamed ' Skeleton'), Calvin Klein's newest supermodel, sports the figure of the newest look for the fashion industry: the waif. This is the look that the media portrays to the public today while millions of children and adults look on. Studies show that children as young as six years of age see themselves as overweight and look up to such personalities of the fashion world as Cindy Crawford, Naomi Campbell, and the before-mentioned Kate Moss; all of whom are extremely thin. Society seems to teach the people that they have to look a certain way to be successful and accepted.

Anorexia Nervosa itself has certain characteristics, signs one might say, concerning the thought processes, the physical aspects, and the eating patterns associated to it. The previously discussed psychological factors that lead up to an eating disorder like depression, low self-esteem, and obsession, all may lead to insomnia, mood swings, hyperactivity, and suicide in Anorectics. The expression of their emotions are dulled, with their ability to communicate emotions limited. The physical signs are quite startling as well.

These signs include an irregular heartbeat, the person is often cold and has frequent headaches, a tingling sensation in the hands, feet, and face, (this is due to vitamin deficiencies, such as the vitamin potassium), dizziness, lightheadedness and feeling faint, blood in a person's vomit, bruised or callused knuckles and fingers from induced vomiting, dry skin, brittle hair or loss of hair, and amenorrhea 1. Victims lose fifteen-percent of their total body weight with a failure to gain the weight back. Other symptoms of anorexia may include the person complaining of musculoskeletal pain, intolerance of cold, palpitation 2, hypotension 3, dry skin, brittle hair and nails, dental deterioration, muscle wasting, and lanugo 4. The eating behavior of the anorectic may look similar to the following: cutting food into tiny pieces, eating extremely slow, aimlessly pushing food around on his / her plate, and using noncaloric condiments in excess. As devastating as Anorexia Nervosa is, it can be treated. The very basic principle of treatment is this: to prevent death by starvation.

This often entails the patient being admitted to a hospital program for monitoring, followed by an outpatient program after improvement is noted. While being treated as an in-patient 5, the person should be weighed in the morning, after urination. The daily fluid intake should also be monitored. The restroom should be taken off-limits for a minimum of two hours after eating to prevent induced vomiting.

The daily calorie intake should be in the range of 1,500 to 2,000 calories and be gradually increased to allow for the body to adjust to the new amounts of food. The treatment in males with anorexia nervosa differs slightly from the treatment for women. The in-patient treatment is perhaps needed if it is a severe case, with emaciation and other complications becoming shockingly apparent. Many males are managed on an out-patient 6 basis. The next area to address is how anorexia affects athletes.

Some may question why athletes would even want to deprive their bodies in such a way. For some, the reason is just this: Anorexia delays puberty, lending time to the budding female athlete to maintain her boyish figure, the muscular shape giving time to her until the fatty deposits on the breasts and hips form, which may disturb her competitive edge. The athletes who are at the highest risk for anorexia are female athletes and dancers: ballerinas, figure skaters, gymnasts, along with the endurance sports such as track and cross country. The male sports where athletes are most at risk are wrestling and those in light weight rowing.

The estimates of the bouts with eating disorders and athletes go as high as sixty to seventy percent. With such a competitive field in sports, perfectionism is generally present, and as mentioned before, is a sign of anorexia. Eating disorders also develop in athletes because of pressure from family and coaches, and especially in athletes, one may see the influence of the coach on the athlete's eating habits. An example of this will be illustrated in the following story: In the mid 1970's a girl by the name of Mary Waz eter was entering seventh grade in northeast Pennsylvania.

Her brother, David, ran on the high school cross country team. Mary, being a younger sibling who looked up to her older brother, began running with the team as well. Mary did quite well and made a name for herself even before she was able to compete on a varsity level. In her junior year, Mary began to encounter some problems.

During track she was forced to miss out on the chance of being a state champion because of a knee injury. Her weight fluctuated in the low hundred-pound range, normal for an athlete in training. Determined to weigh only one-hundred pounds by the date of the prom, Mary began watching what she ate religiously. She achieved her goal, but that was only the beginning. Since she was not able to run, she began counting calories furiously, allowing herself only a strict amount of intake a day. This is how she began on the road to anorexia.

It continued through her senior year, into the time when Mary was doing interviews with prospective colleges who wanted her to run for them. All were concerned first with her weight; all knew of her accomplishments in running and in academics. The compounded sight of the slender runners and the coaches inquiring about her weight was ever present, and all the more emphasis was on her need to keep her weight low. Mary had dropped weight; now she weighed 95 pounds. This continued, and she became more strict with her eating ritual, and lost more. Food became her life and her enemy.

In college the eating disorder took over her life. At the lowest point, Mary came to one conclusion: the only way out of this was death. One night in the midst of winter, Mary went out for a run with the dog. Finally she came to an old train trestle that spanned the Susquehanna. Leaving the dog behind, she stepped up and walked out to the middle of the bridge. With a deep breath she took one step; the one she thought would be her last Mary survived, she hit thick ice covering the river and was found and rescued.

She had long hospitalization from the suicide attempt, and many complications. Through it all, the seed of Anorexia remained. If Mary lives today, she may still be battling with the monster known as Anorexia. In conclusion, Anorexia Nervosa greatly affects all who are touched by it.

Boyfriends, girlfriends, best friends, and close family all feel the icy finger of pain as they see the one they love try to fight such an overwhelming battle. The information given in this paper is just touching briefly on what can happen to someone who is fighting such a battle within themselves. With these cases becoming more and more apparent in today's world, more are also being spotted in the world of athletics. It is important that people are aware of these problems, know how to spot eating disorders, and help someone else or themselves overcome something like Anorexia

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