Eating Disorders in Adolescents

Eating is a basic survival behavior. To many people eating is a way of life, brining families together, creating relationships and bonds between people and is an expression of feelings and emotions. But there are negative aspects to food as well, such as obesity and other eating disorders. Eating disorders are very dehabilitating and misunderstood disorders that affect an unbelievable amount of the population; they not only put strain on the body, but also on the mind, and often the families of those with an eating disorder. There is a wider range of eating disorders in childhood and adolescence than is commonly realized, and these are frequently either not recognized or misdiagnosed. With children as early as age seven showing dissatisfaction with their bodies, and as young as nine starting dieting, eating disorders are a serious issue in our society. Taking a look at perceptions, peer influence and medical issues associated with the disorders of anorexia and bulimia and how it effects adolescents. Individuals with eating disorders often perceive the image of their bodies as larger instead of what is normal for them. Views of what is attractive have become so distorted and skewed by the things children grow up around, such as their environment and home life ie television. What young adults see in the mirror isn’t necessarily what they actually look like. People with eating disorders often believe they are over weight even when they are grossly underweight, among normal weight women, a self-reported weight overestimation of at least five percent of one’s body weight significantly predicts the presence of one or more disordered eating behaviors, even when other known risk factors for eating disorders are controlled for (Conley, 2007).

This may be due to Distorted Body Image. A common type of Distorted Body Image is Dysmorphic Body Disorder, a condition that involves obsessions, which are distressing thoughts that repeatedly intrude into a person 's awareness

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