Anorexia & Bulimia: Why Are American Teens Starving Themselves?
Anorexia & Bulimia:
Why Are American Teens Starving Themselves?
Dina Males
Mr. James Wieber
English 111
Image is very crucial for a teenager; the pressure of school and fitting in with there classmates and friends can be very difficult for a teenager. It is when a teenager starts taking image to the extreme and starts harming themselves by starving themselves. More and more teenagers are becoming anorexic and bulimic and it is not only affecting girls but boys are starting to come out and say they have an eating disorder. Anorexia and bulimia is a disorder that can not be taken lightly and needs to have more focus and the dangers to be taught to youth. Anorexia and bulimia sometimes are thought of as the same, they are not. Anorexia is an eating disorder, marked by extreme fear of being over weight and leads to excessive dieting to the point of serious ill health. Bulimia is a condition in which bouts of overeating are followed with bouts of under eating, use of laxatives or self induced vomiting. The two disorders are very much alike and they are both linked to a disorder called obsessive compulsive disorder (Anorexia Nervosa and Related Eating Disorders, 2002). It seems that many people who develop anorexia and bulimia have OCD tendencies. They become obsessive with there weight and eating habits. Research has shown that this anorexia and bulimia are also control issues, and that is why so many teens develop the disorder. Teenagers don't always have control over there life and feel that they need to control something they feel that they can control there weight. It is something that know one else can control but them. If they think they are thin or will become thin teens think that they will like themselves better and so will everyone else. Researchers say that 1% of adolescents are dealing with anorexia that means that one out of one hundred has an eating disorder. Bulimia affect's 4% of adolescents that is four out of every one hundred
Why Are American Teens Starving Themselves?
Dina Males
Mr. James Wieber
English 111
Image is very crucial for a teenager; the pressure of school and fitting in with there classmates and friends can be very difficult for a teenager. It is when a teenager starts taking image to the extreme and starts harming themselves by starving themselves. More and more teenagers are becoming anorexic and bulimic and it is not only affecting girls but boys are starting to come out and say they have an eating disorder. Anorexia and bulimia is a disorder that can not be taken lightly and needs to have more focus and the dangers to be taught to youth. Anorexia and bulimia sometimes are thought of as the same, they are not. Anorexia is an eating disorder, marked by extreme fear of being over weight and leads to excessive dieting to the point of serious ill health. Bulimia is a condition in which bouts of overeating are followed with bouts of under eating, use of laxatives or self induced vomiting. The two disorders are very much alike and they are both linked to a disorder called obsessive compulsive disorder (Anorexia Nervosa and Related Eating Disorders, 2002). It seems that many people who develop anorexia and bulimia have OCD tendencies. They become obsessive with there weight and eating habits. Research has shown that this anorexia and bulimia are also control issues, and that is why so many teens develop the disorder. Teenagers don't always have control over there life and feel that they need to control something they feel that they can control there weight. It is something that know one else can control but them. If they think they are thin or will become thin teens think that they will like themselves better and so will everyone else. Researchers say that 1% of adolescents are dealing with anorexia that means that one out of one hundred has an eating disorder. Bulimia affect's 4% of adolescents that is four out of every one hundred
Cited: About Eating Disorders, Anorexia Nervosa and Related Eating Disorders, Inc., (2005) http://www.anred.com/welcome.html Causes of Eating disorders, National Eating Disorders Association, 2004 http://www.nationaleatingdisorders.org/p.asp?WebPage_ID=286&Profile_ID=41144 Lee Hoffman, (2004) Eating Disorders, February 16, 2005 http://www.athealth.com/consumer/disorders/NIH_eatdis.html#Treatment The National Eating Disorder Association,(2004) NEDIC http://www.nedic.ca/