Académique Documents
Professionnel Documents
Culture Documents
Professor Hofler
ENGL 1001-047
11/2/17
Have you ever looked in the mirror and disliked what you saw? Because of what you
saw, did you decide to take action and change what you didnt like about yourself? This is what
many young girls turn to today when they are unhappy with their appearance. When they look in
the mirror, they think that they look fat or overweight, so they feel they need to do something
about it immediately. This response leads to many issues for those young girls, and is the reason
why anorexia is the third most common chronic disease among young people (NEDA). Why do
young girls in the United States turn to starving themselves in order to feel beautiful or
accepted?
Struggling with appearance and body weight is more common than many people know.
Christy, a victim of the disorder, said, I remember seeing skinny models in magazines, and
trying to do whatever I could to look as beautiful as them or at the time, what I thought was
considered beautiful. She explained how she saw others as an image of what she wanted to be,
and forced herself to do things such as self-starvation in order to reach an unattainable and
unhealthy goal. This worsened over time until she allowed others to help her and overcome her
starvation (CED). The disorder most commonly begins during adolescence, but also can occur
in older adults. For children affected, they struggle gaining an appropriate amount of weight
while they are still growing (NEDA). They begin to form a distorted body image due to not
sustaining the appropriate weight for their age, height, and stature. This is a very quick and
easy way to diagnose the disorder. Although it can be easily identifiable for some children and
adults, people who are heavier and carry more weight can still be affected by the disorder.
Some individuals who weigh more can also have anorexia even though they may be less likely
to be diagnosed. This common misconception comes from a cultural prejudice against being
overweight or obese.
In order to be diagnosed by the disorder, three different criteria must be met. The first
one includes a restriction of energy intake, which leads to a significant amount of weight loss.
The second one includes a large fear of gaining weight and eventually becoming fat. The final
criteria that needs to be met is that there needs to be distress about the appearance of the body
There are many other indications of the anorexia disorder that begin to take control of
the lives of the people who are affected. These indications include dramatic weight loss,
excessively checking weight, frequently looking in mirrors to assess appearance, mood swings
when it comes to weight fluctuations and frequent comments about feeling fat over overweight.
On top of obsessing over the appearance, many believe that exercising almost nonstop will get
them to where they want to be on the scale. Excessive exercise becomes normal and routine
food and preparing it (EDH). They try to avoid weight gain by setting a strict diet and refusing
to eat certain food because of it (EDH). Many deny that they are hungry, and limit food intake.
Some count the calories and calculate the amount of fat in the food that they will consume.
Although these are mostly things that are done by older people rather than younger people, the
unhealthy habits typically begin at a young age and worsen over time.
When it comes to the disorder, anorexia affects more than just a persons physical
appearance. The person affected also begins to have a change in personality and mood. The
common feeling of a person wanting everything about their body to be perfect is something
that begins to correlate to their lifestyle (Mayo Clinic). As they develop habits, they tend to
yearn for perfection at all times. Things such as body avoidance and body checking become an
issue over time. This is when the person who is affected by negative thoughts about their
appearance chooses to either completely ignore their body, or become overly obsessed with it
(Trottier). Not only is perfection an expectation, but some have symptoms of depression and
feelings of anxiety. Depression could be a co-existing disorder along with anorexia, but it
could also be the bodys response to a significant amount of weight loss over time (NEDA).
The disorder can also bring out different responses in people when they are confronted about
their weight or behaviors that relate to it. Another behavioral change that is common includes
Not only does anorexia mentally harm a person that is being affected, but it also causes
many health issues that can worsen over time. As the disorder becomes more severe, the heart
rate begins to slow and blood pressure decreases. Anemia is a common side effect that leads to
shortness of breath and an increased amount of infections (CED). The body becomes more
weak due to muscle loss and bone density begins to reduce, which results in dry, fragile bones
(CED). As the body transforms and becomes more frail, the internal body temperature begins
to drop. This is because it is hard for the body to keep itself warm due to the dramatic loss of
weight and muscle mass. Although the health issues involved with the disorder are all very
important and very dangerous, the most severe side effect includes an increased risk for suicide
(Mayo Clinic). Because he or she is already unhappy with the appearance of their body, they
may turn to the unexplainable and decide to end their feeling of hatred toward themselves.
Many studies have been conducted in order to discover more about the disorder and
why it exists. The psychiatric disorder is described in great detail in models that show and
explain anorexia on a complicated level. Psychologically, the disorder can result from
depression, anxiety, or even a personality disorder (Brytek). Not only can it result from those
factors, but it can also be a result of cultural and family background. There is evidence of how
the disorder effects young girls and adult females. Not only does it just touch on anorexia, but
the study also gives information about a related disorder known as bulimia. The two are very
similar, and are both multifactorial disorders. The source also shows a multidimensional model
of different factors contribute to the formation of eating disorders. The first model begins with
Precipitating Factors and Perpetuating Factors. From those, it branches into four other
categories, such as psychological factors, body dissatisfaction, dieting, and starvation. The model
becomes much more detailed and moves into branches of ideal internalization, familial factors
and cultural factors. Regarding familial factors, mother who is dominant and indecisive and a
father who is passive and in-effective can begin the growth of the disorder (Brytek). Overall, a
family that shows an overprotective attitude and avoids conflict at all costs can be a major
concern to those who already have body image issues (Brytek). The second model is based off of
two major factors that include Eating Pathology and Body Dissatisfaction. Body
dissatisfaction includes factors like pressure to be thin, ideal internalization, dieting, and negative
effect. Eating pathology includes strictly dieting and negative effect. This second model involves
the theoretical components and is known as Stices Dual-Pathway Model of Eating Disorders.
The clear representations give multiple explanations as to why anorexia and other eating
disorders begin to sprout. As a whole, the models and research explain body image problems and
how they are issues that arise from other problems in a persons life.
To ensure the research collected can be backed up, surveys and testing are done to
promote credibility. A source gave out a questionnaire to 20 female adolescents who had a
diagnosis of anorexia nervosa. After gathering 10 girls with bulimia and 10 girls with anorexia
nervosa, a control group of 115 girls were also gathered. Using the Offer Self-Image
Questionnaire, also known as OSIQ, several factors regarding the girls age, height, weight and
duration of the illness were recorded. This test is shown to be very reliable, especially for
adolescent girls. The results showed that all of the girls showed very different attitudes about
their body and self-esteem. Although they showed different responses, they all displayed
disturbances in mood, social relationships, and had issues regarding impulse control. This is a
major sign when it comes to eating disorders, such as bulimia and anorexia nervosa (Erkolahti).
The journal also explained how the syndrome worked and how the body becomes emaciated over
time without the female noticing its severity. By the end of the test, it was concluded that the
two disorders, bulimia and anorexia, should be treated and responded to differently. They were
not as closely related as originally believed, which is an explanation for why the girls with
different disorders did not react the same (Erkolahti). The statistics gathered in this journal of
pediatrics showed many different things. Some girls handled their body image better than others,
even though they were all diagnosed with the illness. This could easily support the research
question because all of the girls were affected in some way, but handled it differently. It was
proven by the statistics that the older the females were, the more critical they were with how they
There are many things that can be the root of why eating disorders, such as anorexia,
occur. Bullying is a very common problem in the lives of children. Because it is so common,
research and studies have been done to figure out exactly how it affected children in the long run.
An analysis that was based on a study of whether or not childhood bullying increases the risk of
developing eating disorders was conducted. Bullying is known to predict eating disorder
symptoms, such as binge eating, vomiting, and not eating at all. To fully support this,
participants who were involved in the study were between the ages of nine and twenty-five, and
they were asked in interview sessions if they were involved in bullying. If so, they were asked
how they were involved, and if they had been teased or bullied multiple times or bullied in the
last three months directly before their interview. This was later connected to symptoms of
anorexia nervosa and bulimia. This study found that children who were victims of bullying at a
The analysis involving children and generally younger people who experienced bullying
when they were younger provides reasoning for why people develop eating disorders. Bullying
increases poor perceptions of how one feels about his or her body due to the constant negative
attention they get about their weight and appearance (Copeland). It can also lead to emotional
problems and be the reason for low self-esteem. Although the problem can arise in both girls and
boys, the senseless act of bullying has a greater effect on girls than boys (Copeland). Even
though there was a more noticeable effect in girls, it was usually boys who participated in the
actual bullying and teasing. Not only were the victims proven to have formed unhealthy eating
disorders due to bullying, but the bullies themselves were also proven to have had problems with
eating disorders. This is correlation between the actual bully came from their feelings of
insecurity and low self-esteem that gave them a desire to humiliate others in the first place
(Copeland). Because they were made to feel inferior and self-conscious at a young age, they had
issues relating to those events later on in life. It was proven that victims of bullying were at the
Anorexia Nervosa. Mayo Clinic, Mayo Foundation for Medical Education and Research, 23
Aug. 2017
Anorexia Nervosa. The Center for Eating Disorders, Sheppard Pratt Health System
Anorexia: Overview and Statistics. National Eating Disorders Association, National Eating
Disorder Association
Psychiatry & Psychotherapy, vol. 19, no. 1, pp. 19-21, Jan. 2017. Accessed 12 Oct. 2017
Copeland, William E., "Does Childhood Bullying Predict Eating Disorder Symptoms? A
Ekern, Jacquelyn. About Anorexia: Signs, Symptoms, Causes & Articles For Treatment
Erkolahti, Ritva K., et al. "Self-Image of Anorexic and Bulimic Female Adolescents." Nordic
Journal of Psychiatry, vol. 56, no. 6, pp. 447-450, Nov. 2002. Accessed 12 Oct. 2017
Trottier, Kathryn, "Adjunctive Graded Body Image Exposure for Eating Disorders: A
Disorders, vol. 48, no. 5, pp.494-503, July 2015. Accessed 12 Oct. 2017