This culture leads to increased youth turning to eating disorders compared to other cultures due to the media and opposing perspectives on life. In order to “fit in” people turn to unhealthy ways to lose weight. Individuals will turn to eating large amounts of food as a comfort, but then feel guilty afterwards and force themselves to purge the food they ate. A big reason for this is that they put their identity in the way they look and how others perceive them. Feelings of shame or worthlessness will cause these “episodes” of binging to take place. Binge eating is usually co-occuring with depression with feelings of anger and anxiety. Placing their identity solely on looks will inevitable lead them into a depressed state affecting their entire behavior and actions. Learning to love ones own body and taking pride in oneself will help to change these eating patterns and guide into a healthier diet and safe …show more content…
An eating disorder can easily disrupt that process, so it is imperative for parents and teachers to diagnose the symptoms early on and get the help the child needs. According to Harper, “approximately 2 out of every 10 girls in any school class are at risk for developing an eating disorder (Formula for failure)”. An anonymous 19 year old women explained, “I could not stay focused on myschool studies. My concentration level was terrible and I could never read book assignments without my thoughts wandering. I was always too tired to stay awake, and more often than not my head was on the desk top sleeping. All of my energy went towards my eating disorder (Harper)”. Studies have shown that students performance and grade averages will significantly decrease while living with this disorder. The first step in getting better is admitting you have a problem in order to seek out help. It is up to the teachers and parents to recognize this problem in society and learn to recognize the signs leading to binge