Eating Disorders
How the Perception of Beauty Influences Eating Disorders

With everything changing in this society, the aspect of beauty especially when it comes to women has kept changing, sometimes desperately to the extent of individuals adopting extreme behaviors in the pursuit of the ideal 'beauty'. Instances where different kinds of media communicate the significance of physical beauty in the contemporary world and the means of achieving such traits are widespread. The attachment of food and modes of consumption of these same foods and the positive effects they produce as regards an enhanced attraction, as the society propagates goes without saying. The problem of eating disorders has increased in the contemporary world thanks to the spread of notions like these, as this paper reports. The focus of this report is to explore the influence of the idea of beauty to eating disorders with specific reference to anorexia. The discussion opens with a….

Eating Disorders
Is there a link/relationship between pathological dieting and eating disorders in young adolescents? (no American quotes or stats as I'm in Australia)

Eating disorders and pathological dieting: An overview

According to the Australian Psychological Society (2011) it is estimated five percent of all women and girls are suffering from anorexia nervosa, and two to three per cent have bulimia nervosa and other eating disorders. Males also suffer from eating disorders, affecting an estimated ten percent of the total national eating disordered population. This translates into 0.5% and 0.5-1% of the Australian population as a whole who are identified as 'eating disordered' (Eating disorders, 2011, Women's Health).

Physicians and psychologists have reported a notable increase in the past decades in eating disordered patients in Australia. In 2004-05, 14% of all hospitalisations for mental and behavioural disorders in women aged 12-24 were due to eating disorders and in 2003, according to the Australian government,….

Eating disorder, according to the National Association of Anorexia and Associated Disorders (ANAD) is "an unhealthy relationship with food and weight that interferes with many areas of a person's life" (ANAD). The topic of eating disorders has gained significance over the past owing to the ongoing healthy eating campaign. This text presents the causes, symptoms, and prevalence statistics of four common eating disorders among the American populace.
Anorexia Nervosa

Anorexia Nervosa is a complex eating disorder characterized by an obsession about the food one eats, and the weight they maintain. ANAD identifies anorexia as a leading cause of death, and the third-largest cause of long-term illness among women aged between 15 and 24. omen make up over 80% of those with the condition, which is more prevalent among teenagers and young adults between ages 15 and 24.

Anorexic persons have an intense fear of gaining weight, often preferring to maintain a distorted body….

Eating Disorders
Understanding the reason for eating disorders and why they can occur is important in order to intervene in the lives of sufferers. The first step in identifying the problem is to understand more about the different types of eating disorders and some of the symptoms.

Bulimia nervosa is a term used to describe an eating disorder. The person suffering from Bulimia Nervosa often overeats and then afterwards purges the food eaten. The disease is considered a psychological traumatic disorder due to the reasons for indulging in such behavior. The induced vomiting of food is under the attempt to control ones weight and the amount of food eaten. Some of the characteristics of Bulimia Nervosa are fasting, using laxatives or water pills to cause the body to release water in order to reduce weight gain. Each of these type of methods are an attempt to control weight in addition to exercising….

5. I believe someone with disordered eating would be more likely to want to talk about eating disorders. In many cases, those who eat disorderly have no idea they themselves are on the brink of the different side of eating orders, and so don't associate any personal grief to the topic. Yet, people with eating disorders are more likely to be embarrassed or shameful of their enactment of such voluntary eating disorders which might have gotten out of hand.

6. This is a very delicate issue, and must therefore be brought up slowly in the event that you believe someone to be affected by eating disorders. I would first casually bring it up just to get a reaction in order to collect a better understanding of how the issue should be approached. After it had been brought up in casual conversation with no personal allegations, I would take the person aside….

(Hall, C.C. 1995).
This fact is proven by studies of Asian women outside the United States. For instance, studies in Korea and China point out that a high rate of eating disorder cases are being recorded in these countries as a direct result of economic change and the influence of Western culture. (Park, E. 2000) in Japan as many as 1 in 500 women have shown signs of an eating disorder.

3.2. Marginalization and Stereotypes

The fact that Asian-American constitutes a marginal population group within the Unities States also place psychological and cultural strain on their

Marginalization... 11 sense of identity. This is worsened by the fact that in some instances prejudice and discrimination can create feelings of low self-esteem and lead to symptoms of eating disorders. "... It has been suggested that the pressures of discrimination, trying to blend into Western society, and certain stereotypes compound the problem for Asian-Americans.' (Park E,….

just because they require concentration to your weight and shape. efuse wearing clothes that are painful or that you don't like. Make a promise to work out for the joy of feeling your body move and grow stronger, not to cleanse fat from your body or to recompense for calories eaten.
Help children welcome and oppose the ways in which television, magazines, and other media disfigure the true diversity of human body types and mean that a slim body means power, excitement, popularity, or perfection. Teach boys and girls about many forms of prejudice, including weightism, and help them know their task of avoiding them. Do whatever you can to encourage the self-worth and self-confidence of all of your children in academic, sporty, and social activities. Give boys and girls the same prospects and support. Be cautious not to give advice that females are less significant than males, that is….

First, which factors are most likely to influence the development of an eating disorder? What types of social environments are most conducive to healthy vs. unhealthy behavioral patterns? Social demographic issues including race, class, and gender may be taken into account to determine whether eating disorders are related to social norms. Pressure to conform to social norms about beauty and body image may also be related to how an eating disorder develops. Does the media have a direct, provable relationship to the development of distorted body image, unrealistic weight goals, or the acceptance of poor eating habits.
Social psychologists might also ask why are girls more likely than boys to develop eating disorders. What factors cause boys to develop eating disorders and how are they different from those that cause girls to develop the same behavioral problems? Second, researchers may want to investigate single social psychological variables including pressure to….

Finally, McDermott et.al also provided us with valuable clue in early detection and possibility of avoiding worsening of the condition. y identifying a positive relation between laxative use and severity of disorder the study serves as a warning, indicating treatment measures for such children who abuse laxatives. These researchers have clearly stressed the importance of early detection and treatment to minimize the chances of a full blown disorder. Medicos, nursing professionals, school counselors and most importantly parents must be attentive and detect behavioral abnormalities, negative eating behaviors and other such clues at an early stage and administer appropriate medical intervention and counseling support. Parents in particular play a major role in helping the child develop a positive self-image which is the best way to avoid these dangerous psychiatric conditions.
ibliography

Walsh, . Timothy, "Longitudinal Relationships etween Childhood, Adolescent, and Adult Eating Disorders.(Statistical Data Included), Journal of the American Academy of Child….

These conditions include maternal anemia, maternal diabetes, and maternal high blood pressure during pregnancy, which increase the risk of anorexia in the child. After-birth complications in the newborn infant such as heart problems, low response to stimuli, early difficulties in eating, and below-normal birth weight have also been found to increase the risk of anorexia and bulimia (Ibid.)
Genetic easons Some experts consider genetics to be the root cause of most cases of eating disorders and anorexia has been found to be "eight times more common in people who have relatives with the disorder" (Ibid., para on Genetic Factors). Certain specific chromosomes (e.g., regions chromosome 10) have been identified that may be associated with bulimia and anorexia. In addition, genetic factors may be responsible for certain behavioral patterns such as anxiety and obsession or traits such as minimum body mass index that are precursors to development of eating disorders.

Psychological easons:….

This includes self-vomiting and/or the misuse of laxatives, diet pills, diuretics (water pills) excessive exercise or fasting." (2000) the American Psychiatric Association states of individuals with ulimia Nervosa, that while they may "...may frequently diet and vigorously exercise, individuals with bulimia nervosa can be slightly underweight, normal weight, overweight or even obese." (2005) the individual with this condition will consume an unbelievably high volume of food and do so by eating it quickly and with no enjoyment of eating being experienced. Upon having consumed this great amount of food, the individual with bulimia nervosa will experience guilty and a feeling of being out of control. At this point, the individual with bulimia nervosa will make themselves vomit. This cycle may repeat many times a week or during the month. Generally, the family of these individuals does not know that their loved one is affected by this disorder. The following….

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. hile 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. hile eating disorders affect a….

Eating Disorders
Anorexia nervosa: American society seems to have an obsession with thinness, particularly for women. Over the last two decades, the United States has seen two eating disorders become more and more common: anorexia nervosa and bulimia nervosa. In both disorders, the person takes extreme measures to lose weight. The young women who develop these conditions tend to tend toward perfectionism and be high achievers who try to meet all demands placed on them.

The clinical picture: the person, usually a girl, has a distorted sense of her own self-image and an exaggerated fear of becoming overweight. It often starts with a more moderate diet, but gradually they start rejecting more and more food until they are eating very little and become emaciated, but believe that they look fat. As they eat less and less, they may talk and think about food a lot, carefully planning their miniscule meals. Some people….

Eating Disorders
The argument regarding the medical and ethical treatment of anorexia nervosa patients has been highly debated throughout the medical and philosophical circles. On the one side, there is the belief that doctors can only go so far before forced treatment and involuntary hospitalizations should be unethical. On the other hand, doctors have taken their oaths to do everything they possibly can to save a patient's life, even to the point of expertly deciding the fate of the patient, regardless of the patient's contrary decisions. The general argument -- pointed out by the likes of James L. Werth (2003) and Heather Draper (2002) -- lies in the premise that one inflicted with anorexia nervosa is incapable of thinking competently. This incompetency thus allows medical experts the ultimate decision of involuntarily hospitalizing the patient and/or subjecting the patient to a forced treatment for the disorder. Doctors alike have taken their respective….

Eating Disorders
Systems Theory Model integration

Article by Lisa & Owen (2008).

Inputs: values: research eating disorder continuum by measuring self-esteem, perfectionism, and eating disorder behavior; offer validation evidence on the measure of eating disorder behavior, and QEDD. Resources include the EDI-2 subscale score, Multidimensional Perfectionism Scale, contingency tables and Kappa values, QEDD, 261 students, questionnaires, literature, and survey results.

Throughput includes measurement of using tests, counterbalance results of surveys, critical analysis of literature, multivariate analysis, discussion, and interpretation.

Outcomes include statistical figures, descriptive texts, and percentages of sample population with eating disorder. Increase in eating disorder on a continuum is due to decreased self-esteem, increased perfectionism, and increased scores on the seventh subscale.

Article by Green et al. (2009).

Input includes a comprehensive analysis of the link between psychological and unipolar depression and comorbid ED behavior. Identify etiological correlations, and compare relevant contributors of correlates. Identify key psychological factors influencing Ed unipolar depression. Resources include socio-cultural….