Eating Disorders Among Teenage Girls

Eating Disorders Among Teenage Girls

Eating disorders have become an epidemic among teenage girls. Fueled in large part by the media's promotion of thinness as a physical ideal for young women, the eating disorder problem has escalated over the past few decades. Girls are beginning to diet in elementary school and may be binging, purging, or starving before they are ten years old. Because eating disorders reflect complex psychological issues, there is no clear cause or solution to the problem. However, there are clear connections between eating disorders and media influence. Eating disorders tend to be the symptom of larger psychological distress, and they are often accompanied by severe depression, self-mutilation (as in "cutting" practices), and other addictions. While many teenage girls eventually recover from their eating disorders to live a healthy lifestyle, many either continue their disordered eating habits. Some, up to 15%, will die. While eating disorders affect a large portion of the population, especially in the United States, most sufferers are adolescent women. Due to a variety of factors, including peer pressure and exposure to mainstream fashion magazines, teenage girls seem uniquely susceptible to developing one of the manifestations of disordered eating. There is no exclusive cure for anorexia, bulimia, or compulsive eating, but treatment usually includes some form of psychotherapy.

Eating disorders are extremely varied in scope and it can be difficult to strictly categorize young women as either being anorexic or bulimic. Many sufferers exhibit symptoms of both, and often patients will shift from one type of eating disorder to another. The New Zealand Health Information Network estimates that 40% of girls with anorexia go on to develop bulimia ("Scary Statistics"). Anorexia nervosa literally means a nervous loss of appetite. According to the National Association of Anorexia Nervosa and Associated Disorders (ANAD), the term is a misnomer ("Eating Disorders Definitions"). Anorexia nervosa is characterized by an abnormal fear of being fat, and is accompanied by severe self-imposed dietary restrictions. These may begin with simple, common attempts to diet or lose weight. This is one reason why parents may fail to recognize the early signs of an eating disorder: eating disorders often begin at innocent attempts to lose weight (Costin. p. 4). Anorexia differs from typical dieting by being obsessive in nature. For example, anorexics might cut out recipes and cook things they refuse to eat, or play with their food (Callahan). Anorexics do not simply lose their appetite; rather, they deny their natural hunger sensations (Callahan; "Eating Disorders Definitions"). One of the main signs of anorexia nervosa is the distorted body image, or constantly feeling fat. Teenage girls most likely feel this way because of media influences (Costin, p. 7; Van Nostrand).

Bulimia nervosa shares many traits in common with its sister disease, anorexia nervosa. Bulimic girls will ingest a huge quantity of food, only to throw it up immediately afterwards. Like anorexics, bulimics also have a distorted body image and are probably obsessed with dieting. However, many bulimics remain at a normal weight, making it difficult for parents to recognize. Bulimia is characterized by a binge-purge cycle. Girls will consume massive amounts of food and either induce vomiting or take laxatives. Teenage girls who take diet pills or laxatives are more likely to be avid readers of health and fitness magazines ("Possible Link between Eating Disorders and Avid Fans of Health & Fitness Magazines"). Most teenage girls who develop bulimia nervosa will also become adept at hiding their habits. Going to the bathroom immediately after a meal may not be as innocent as it seems.

Compulsive eating is not commonly referred to as an eating disorder and is often not categorized with anorexia and bulimia. However, compulsive eating often goes in tandem with both anorexia and bulimia. Compulsive eating, or binge eating, can often lead to weight gain and obesity. Just as with anorexia and bulimia, compulsive overeating can cause a host of health problems. Compulsive eating can also cause low self-esteem due to weight gain, which can lead to the development of anorexia, bulimia, or both. In all cases of eating disorders, the behavior masks emotional and psychological distress. Teenage girls who develop eating disorders are more likely to have low self-esteem and a negative self-image; they are also more likely to be depressed ("Certain Behaviors Can Predict Binge-Eating Disorders in Teenage Girls").

There is an obvious correlation between distorted self-image among teenage girls and the development of eating disorders. There is also a clear connection between the media and teenage eating disorders because young girls are highly impressive and "less skeptical of advertisements," (Van Norstrand). Astonishingly, anorexia nervosa is being touted as a "lifestyle choice" by distorted young women. Websites created by girls aged 20 and younger offer tips and advice for how to become a "better anorexic," (Atkins). This eating disordered web ring is called the "weborexia," and may include up to 400 cites, many of which have been taken off of major search engines due to their controversial nature. Pet names for their diseases, like "Ana" for anorexia, and "Mia" for bulimia, belittle and glamorize this serious issue. The visitors to these websites are likely to be teenage girls, who will already be heavily influenced by other media like fashion magazines. The weborexia sites promote the practice of eating disorders as a viable way to boost self-esteem. Unfortunately, equating thinness (or in many cases, emaciation) with confidence and joy are the hallmarks of eating disorders. Because girls who develop anorexia nervosa tend to be competitive, these websites offer incentive to master the "art" of starvation (Atkins).