An Examination of the Epidemic of Anorexia Nervosa

Anorexia Nervosa affects a large portion of women across the country. It is a growing epidemic fueled by society's constant perfection-driven media. Each day women and men are bombarded with photoshopped images on billboards, on TV and in magazines. One could be considered to be a victim of Anorexia Nervosa if they show signs that include, but are not limited to, having an intense fear of gaining weight even if she is underweight, refusing to keep weight normal for her age and height, have a body image that is distorted, exercising all the time, refusing to eat around others and using pills to make themselves defecate.

Physical symptoms include blotchy or yellow skin that is dry, confused or slow thinking along with poor memory or judgment, depression, dry mouth, loss of bone strength, wasting away of muscle and loss of body fat. Treatments include a range of options that vary depending on each case's intensity. Increasing social activity or reducing the amount of physical activity can assist in weight gain as well as using a schedule for eating. For more serious patients they may require a hospital stay in a psychiatric hospital, this person may have medical complications, severe depression, or malnutrition. Many women and young girls find refuge in support groups and therapy, this helps to change their thought pattern and encourage healthy behavior. (NLM.NIH.GOV)

The social determinants of health play a large role in any mental health disorder. For Anorexia, social support the largest factor in determining the outcome of your treatment. The support women receive from family; friends, doctors and therapists can make or break their success. The support a woman has before she has the disease can cause her to progress into becoming sick. If a woman's social support pressures them to be thin it can lead them down this road. If her social support is lacking it can cause her to think that she must be thinner to acquire friends. The other social determinant of health that is applicable is early childhood development.

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It is shown that if a girl's mother has fought through an eating disorder she is more likely to develop one as well. (Today) Anorexia Nervosa affects college women largely because it is a crucial time in a woman's life. Women are off on their own and it is very easy to "get away with" having Anorexia. Men have been known to struggle with the disease as well in college due to all of the pressure and coming of age issues like weight gain from drinking. (wiki)

The stigma and discrimination for those who face eating disorders are largely due to their representation in the media. Other women make fun of girls who are not eating and losing weight but do not realize it is a serious disorder. Men pressure girls to be thin and skinny whether they notice it or not, they find skinny attractive and women notice that. Society does not take Anorexia seriously because they think, "why don't you just eat?" When in reality the issue is not their appetite it is their state of mind and needs to be handled by a medical professional.

Women are fueled to not seek help when they see results and people tell them they look great but there is always room for improvement in their minds. The larger culture is affected because girls getting skinner changes societies definition of beauty and soon our children start to develop disordered eating. To reduce consequences and improve health outcomes we must attack this as a culture. We need to start young, showing girls in middle school (where this thinking pattern develops) that your size is not what defines you.

Halting the thought processes is the first step in addressing this disease. We can each take our own steps to help our children to see the beauty in themselves; we can compliment their personality and not their physical appearance. We can help young girls find value in themselves, and in turn prevent this horrible disease.

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