Article :
Eating disorders are fast becoming a growing and common problem.
It is not unusual to open up the newspapers and reading about
reports of this condition every other day. Many models,
actresses and famous celebrities are also widely known to have
eating disorders due to their desire to look good for the
camera.
In the United States, statistics show that currently there are
approximately between 5 and 10 million women in the United
States who suffer from some kind of eating disorder, or are at
the borderline of developing one. The wide variance is an
indication of many cases that go unreported or undiagnosed. Many
prefer not to seek treatment as they mistakenly believe that
they do not have a problem.
It is also not true that eating disorders just affect young
women. Young women are thought to be most susceptible as they
are more concerned about beauty and fashion. However, in
reality, people of all ages and from any kind of background can
generally be affected. So long as you become obsessed with
unhealthy eating patterns, you can be said to be showing
symptoms of this condition. It is estimated that over one
million boys and men suffer from some form of eating disorder.
However, there are many experts who believe that this statistic
may be distorted because many men with eating disorders are not
accurately diagnosed. Studies have shown that many men are told
that they are simply exhausted tired or depressed. Doctors fail
to think that men can be affected too.
So what are eating disorders? They refer to conditions whereby
you have an unhealthy preoccupation with food and body image.
The most common types are anorexia nervosa, bulimia, and binge
eating. Anorexia describes a condition whereby you just refuse
to eat due to an obsession with weight loss. Bulimia is
characterized by a cycle of binging and purging that you use to
control your weight. Binge eating disorder is an eating disorder
that involves sessions of intense overeating followed by
feelings of intense guilt. Other disorders that are related to
eating disorders include emotional eating and nocturnal eating.
One startling statistic reveals how prevalent eating disorders
actually are in the United States. According to recent research,
the number of people suffering from an eating disorder is three
times as much as the number of people currently living with
AIDS. Another statistic tells us that there are three times as
many people with eating disorders than there are schizophrenia
patients in the United States.
One of the root causes of eating disorders is the way beauty and
body image are constantly being portrayed by the media. Fashion
magazines and TV commercials present the ideal American model to
be 5'11" tall and of 117 pounds in weight. Yet, the average
modern American woman is 5'4" tall and weighs approximately 140
pounds. Inevitably, this disparity in the numbers can only
result in eating disorders developing so that the perfect body
weight and shape can be attained. Who does not want to look like
a model?
Even young children nowadays are consumed by thoughts of weight
and physical beauty. Recent studies find that about half of all
American elementary age school children would like to be
thinner, expressing dissatisfaction with their current
appearance. Even kindergarten aged children are anxous about
their looks and fear gaining weight. Some have even gone on
diets so that they can look better. Eating disorders used to be
virtually non-existent with young children. It just does not
seem that way anymore.
About the author:
Eating
disorders are becoming a common affliction especially with
young women nowadays. For more information and resources,please
visit this site
disorder-research/com.
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